Eighty years ago, on January 7, 1944, the first and only prototype of the MacDonald XP-67 Moonbat (a vampire bat) heavy twin-engine fighter made its first test flight.
The prototype of the XP-67 in the production workshop.
The prototype was the first work of the famous future aircraft designer James Smith McDonnell (April 9, 1899, August 22, 1980), who later introduced the F-4 Phantom II, F-15 Hawk and F A-18 Hornet fighters, which are still in service with the United States and other countries. Unexpectedly, the designer's first work was so well finished that he decided to give it a "perfectly streamlined shape", with a very smooth transition between the fuselage, wings and engine nacelles.
Three views of the XP-67 prototype with a pronounced aerodynamic design.
The aircraft is equipped with two 1350 hp 12-cylinder Continental Xi-1430 turbocharged engines, and has a maximum flight speed of 760 km h. The XP-67's ** system is extremely powerful, with 6 37mm cannons, which can tear any heavy bomber to shreds in an instant.
XP-67 prepares for test flights.
However, during test flights, it turned out that the adoption of the Continental engine was a mistake. Engine manufacturers have never been able to get these engines to work perfectly and deliver the power in the design specifications. During the test flight, the engine power did not exceed 1060 horsepower. In addition, such engines can easily overheat and there is a risk of fire. Dragged down by the engine, the benefits of "ideal aerodynamics" were never realized.
The shape of the XP-67 is stunning.
In a light state without installation ** and ammunition, the XP-67 has a maximum flight speed of 652 kilometers per hour. Although this speed was not bad, in 1944 there was no significant advantage, and the United States already had a production fighter that flew faster. In addition, the US side believes that the "Moon Bat" system is excessive, because the potential adversaries of the United States do not have and will have bombers worthy of such powerful firepower.
XP-67 prototype in flight.
In the end, the $500,000 (which was a huge amount of money back then) was eventually grounded. Despite this, a number of test flights were still being carried out until September 6, 1944, with one of the engines in flight**. The test pilot successfully made a forced landing on the burning XP-67 prototype and left the cockpit. When the fire was extinguished, the damage to the prototype was irreparable.
XP-67 prototype in flight.
Aircraft were scrapped, R&D projects were canceled, and all the money was wasted. However, James Smith MacDonald had already planned to develop a new aircraft and was trying to secure funding here.