Lockheed YP-24

infobox Aircraft
name=YP-24
Y1A-9
type=Two-seat fighter Ground attack
manufacturer=Detroit Lockheed


caption=
designer=Robert J. Woods
first flight=1931
introduced=
retired=
produced=
number built=1 YP-24
status=Prototype
unit cost=
primary user=United States Army Air Corps
more users=
developed from=
variants with their own articles=Consolidated Y1P-25 Consolidated XA-11 Consolidated P-30The Lockheed-Detroit YP-24 was a 1930s prototype two-seat fighter aircraft. An attack version called the A-9 was also proposed. The YP-24 is most remarkable for being the first fighter aircraft to bear the Lockheed name.

Design and development

In 1930, Detroit Aircraft Corporation undertook a private venture to develop a new fighter ("pursuit aircraft" in contemporary terminology) for US Army Air Corps based on the successful Lockheed Altair transport plane. Designed by Robert J. Woods, the aircraft was completed in 1931 with Detroit Aircraft fabricating the metal fuselage and Lockheed providing the wooden wings, essentially identical to the Altair. Wright Field assigned the prototype the designation XP-900.The aircraft was purchased by USAAC in September 1931 and redesignated YP-24, serial number "32-320". Early testing was sufficiently impressive to generate an order for five Y1P-24 fighters and four Y1A-9 attack aircraft intended to replace the Berliner-Joyce P-16. The A-9 differed in having four forward-firing machine guns, underwing racks for bombs, and a V-1570-27 engine better low-altitude performance.

Operational history

On 19 October 1931, the sole aircraft crashed when the landing gear lever had broken off. Unfortunately, the Great Depression forced Detroit Aircraft into bankruptcy in October 1931 with Lockheed following suit in June 1932. Although Lockheed was resuscitated by a group of investors only five days after it closed doors, the financial hardships had taken their toll and the P-24/A-9 project was cancelled with no aircraft built beyond the original prototype. Four pre-production Y1P-24s, "32-321/324", were cancelled. [Andrade, John M., "U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909", Midland Counties Publications, Limited, U.K., 1979, page 144.] However, after Robert Woods left Detroit Aircraft for Consolidated Aircraft, he continued to develop the YP-24/A-9 concept into Consolidated Y1P-25/Y1A-11 which eventually entered service as Consolidated P-30.

pecifications (YP-24)

aircraft specifications
jet or prop?=prop
plane or copter?=plane

crew=two
capacity=
length main=28 ft 9 in
length alt=8.8 m
span main=42 ft 9 in
span alt=13.0 m
height main= ft in
height alt= m
area main= ft²
area alt= m²
empty weight main= lb
empty weight alt= kg
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main= lb
max takeoff weight alt= kg

engine (prop)=Curtiss V-1570-23 "Conqueror"
type of prop=liquid-cooled V12 engine
number of props=1
power main=602 hp
power alt=449 kW
propellers=3-bladed
propeller or rotor?=propeller

max speed main=215 mph
max speed alt=187 knots, 346 km/h
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
range main=560 mi
range alt=490 nm, 900 km
ceiling main=26,400 ft
ceiling alt=8,050 m
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=

guns=
** 1× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine gun firing through the propeller
** 1× 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun firing through the propeller
** 1× 0.30 in machine gun in rear cockpit

ee also

aircontent
sequence=
* "A" sequence: A-6 - XA-7 - XA-8 - A-9 - YA-10 - XA-11 - A-12

related=
* Lockheed Altair
* Consolidated P-30

similar aircraft=

lists=
* List of fighter aircraft
* List of Lockheed aircraft
* List of military aircraft of the United States

see also=

References

Bibliography

* Bowers, Peter M. and Angellucci, Enzo. "The American Fighter". New York: Orion Books, 1987. ISBN 0-517-56588-9.
* Francillon, René J. "Lockheed Aircraft Since 1913". Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987. ISBN 0-87021-897-2.
* Swanborough, Gordon and Bowers, Peter M. "United States Military Aircraft Since 1909". Washington, DC: Smithsonian Publications, 1989. ISBN 0-87474-880-1.

External links

* [http://home.att.net/~jbaugher4/a9.html Joe Baugher page on P-24/A-9]
* [http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/research/p24.htm USAF Museum page on P-24/A-9]