Republic XP-72

infobox Aircraft
name =P-72
type =Fighter
manufacturer =Republic Aviation Company



caption =
designer =
first flight =2 February 1944
introduced =
retired =
status =Cancelled
primary user =
more users =
produced =
number built =2
unit cost =
variants with their own articles =

The Republic XP-72 was an American prototype interceptor fighter developed as a progression of the P-47 Thunderbolt design. The XP-72 was designed around the Pratt & Whitney R-4360 twenty-eight cylinder radial air-cooled engine with a turbo-supercharger mounted behind the pilot and driven by an extension shaft from the engine. The armament consisted of six 0.5 in wing-mounted machine guns and underwing racks for two 1,000 lb bombs.

Design and development

The XP-72 development paralleled that of another Republic design, the XP-69 that was to be powered by an experimental forty-two cylinder Wright R-2160 radial engine mounted behind the pilot and driving contra-rotating propellers through an extension shaft. The XP-69 was intended for high altitude operations and featured a pressurized cockpit and armament of two 37 mm cannon and four 0.5 in machine guns. As the XP-72 displayed greater promise than the XP-69, the XP-69 was canceled on 11 May 1943 and an order for two XP-72 prototypes was placed on 18 June 1943.

Operational history

The XP-72 flew for the first time on 2 February 1944, equipped with a four bladed propeller. The second prototype was completed on 26 June 1944 and was equipped with an Aero-Products contra-rotating propeller. As the XP-72 displayed exceptional performance during flight tests an order for 100 production aircraft was awarded. The order included an alternate armament configuration of four 37 mm cannon. By this time the war had progressed to where the need was for long-range escort fighters and not high-speed interceptors. Also, the advent of the new turbojet-powered interceptors showed greater promise for the interceptor role. Thus, the production order for the P-72 was cancelled.

pecifications (XP-72)

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
crew=One
length main=36 ft 7 in
length alt=11.15 m
span main=40 ft 11 in
span alt=12.47 m
height main=16 ft
height alt=4.88 m
area main=300 ft²
area alt=27.9 m²
empty weight main=11,476 lb
empty weight alt=5,216 kg
loaded weight main=14,433 lb
loaded weight alt=6,560 kg
max takeoff weight main=17,490 lb
max takeoff weight alt=7,950 kg
more general=
engine (prop)=Pratt & Whitney R-4360-13
type of prop=radial engine
number of props=1
power main=3,000 hp @ sea level (dash 13 engine)
power alt=2,574 kW

max speed main= 480 mph [Bodie 1974, p. 33. Note: Test pilot Tom Bellinger stated flatly that the no flights ever exceeded 500 mph. The dash 13 engine was not supercharged. With the planned but never installed dash 19 engine (with a remote supercharger) rated at 3,650 HP at 25,000 ft. (3,000 HP at sea level) a top speed of 504 mph at approximately 25,000 feet was expected. Planned further development of the dash 19 engine was expected to yield approx 4,000 hp and a speed of 540 mph at 25,000 ft.]
max speed alt=789 km/h at sea level
range main=1,200 miles
range alt=1,932 km
ceiling main=42,000 ft
ceiling alt=12,805 m
climb rate main=5,280 ft/min
climb rate alt=26.8 m/s
loading main=48.1 lb/ft²
loading alt=235 kg/m²
power/mass main=0.24 hp/lb
power/mass alt=0.39 kW/kg
more performance=

armament=
* 6× 0.50 in Browning machine guns
* 2× 1,000 lb (476 kg) bombs

ee also

aircontent
related=
*P-47 Thunderbolt

similar aircraft=

sequence=

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Bodie, Warren. "The Whine of the Jug". "Wings Magazine" (Vol. 4, No. 4), August 1974, p. 33-39.
* Freeman, Roger A. "Thunderbolt, a documentary history of the Republic P-47". London: Macdonald & Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1978. ISBN 0-345-01166-9.
* Green, William. "War Planes of the Second World War - Fighters (Volume Four)". London: Macdonald & Co.(Publishers) Ltd., 1961. ISBN 0-356-01448-7.
* Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. "WW2 Aircraft Fact Files: US Army Air Force Fighters, Part 2". London: Macdonald & Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1978. ISBN 0-354-01072-7.
* Jarski, Adam and Michulec, Robert. "P-47 Thunderbolt, P-35/P-43/XP-72 (Monografie Lotnicze 26)" (in Polish). Gdynia: AJ-Press, 1996. ISBN 83-86208-41-4.