Curtiss XF14C

XF14C
Role	Carrier-based fighter Type of aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Curtiss-Wright
First flight	July 1944
Status	Canceled
Primary user	US Navy
Number built	1

The Curtiss XF14C was an American naval fighter aircraft. It was developed by Curtiss-Wright in response to a request by the United States Navy in 1941 to produce a new shipboard high-performance fighter aircraft.

Design and development

In 1941 the US Navy requested a better-performing carrier-based fighter plane, to be powered by the proposed high performance 24-cylinder liquid cooled Lycoming XH-2470 Hyper engine. This was an unusual step for the Navy, which had been adamant to that time that all its aircraft use air-cooled radial engines.

On June 30, 1941 a contract for two prototype aircraft, designated the XF14C-1, was awarded to the Curtiss-Wright company. On the same date prototype development contracts were also awarded to Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation for the single-engine XF6F-1 and the twin engine XF7F-1, both of which would use air-cooled Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engines.

Early in the development the Navy requested better altitude performance and, in view of unsatisfactory progress in the development of the XH-2470 engine, Curtiss adapted the design of the aircraft around the new turbocharged Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone air-cooled radial engine. The aircraft equipped with this eighteen-cylinder twin-row radial air-cooled engine and three bladed contra-rotating propellers was designated the XF14C-2. The XF14C-1 was canceled. Also, looking at the problems of operation at altitudes of about 40,000 feet (12,000 m), the Navy also initiated work on a third version with a pressurized cockpit designated the XF14C-3.

Ultimately, only the XF14C-2 prototype was completed, flying for the first time in July 1944. Moreover, disappointment with performance estimates and delays with the availability of the XR-3350-16 engine coupled with the evaporating tactical need for an extremely high-altitude fighter led to cancellation of the development.

Specifications (XF14C-2)

Data from Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 37 ft 9 in (11.51 m)
• Wingspan: 46 ft 0 in (14.02 m)
• Height: 17 ft 0 in (5.18 m)
• Wing area: 375 sq ft (34.8 m²)
• Empty weight: 10,531 lb (4,777 kg)
• Gross weight: 14,950 lb (6,781 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Wright XR-3350-16 eighteen cylinder twin row air-cooled radial engine
• Propellers: 6-bladed contra-rotating constant-speed propeller

Performance

• Maximum speed: 418 mph (673 km/h, 363 kn) at 32,000 ft (9,800 m)
• Cruise speed: 172 mph (277 km/h, 149 kn)
• Range: 1,530 mi (2,460 km, 1,330 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 39,800 ft (12,100 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,700 ft/min (14 m/s)

Armament

• Guns: 4 × wing mounted 20 mm (0.787 in) cannon (planned)

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Boeing F8B
• Hawker Sea Fury
• Focke-Wulf Ta 152H
• Nakajima Ki-87

Related lists

• List of fighter aircraft
• List of United States Navy aircraft designations (pre-1962)

References

• Bowers, Peter M. Curtiss Aircraft, 1907–1947. London, UK: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-370-10029-8.
• Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War - Fighters, vol. 4. London, UK: MacDonald, 1961. ISBN 0-356-01448-7.
• Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. WW2 Aircraft Fact Files: US Navy and marine Corps Fighters. London, UK: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1976. ISBN 0-356-08222-9.

Manufacturer
designations

Early types	Golden Flier Reims Racer Beachey Special
Model letters	C D E F FL GS H HA HS J JN -5 -6H K L MF N NC O R S T
Model numbers	1 B F 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 K/P 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 A B 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 I P S 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
"L" series	L-17 L-18 L-19 L-22 L-41 L-44 L-72 L-79 L-85 L-115 L-117 L-710
"CA" series	CA-1
"CR" series	CR-1 CR-2
"CW" series	CW-1 CW-2 CW-3 CW-4 CW-5 CW-6 CW-8 CW-9 CW-10 CW-11 CW-12 CW-14 CW-15 CW-16 CW-17 CW-182 CW-19 CW-20 CW-21 CW-22 CW-23 CW-24 CW-25 CW-26 CW-27 CW-28 CW-29 CW-32 CW-33 CW-40
"P" series	P-200 P-202 P-212 P-218 P-219 P-222 P-223 P-224 P-225 P-227 P-228 P-229 P-232 P-235 P-238 P-239 P-240 P-241 P-243 P-244 P-245 P-247 P-248 P-249 P-250 P-251 P-252 P-253 P-254 P-255 P-256 P-257 P-259 P-261 P-264 P-268 P-269 P-272 P-273 P-274 P-275 P-276 P-277 P-278 P-279 P-280 P-282 P-283 P-291 P-292 P-293 P-295 P-296 P-297 P-298 P-299 P-302 P-303 P-304 P-305 P-306 P-307 P-509 P-517 P-518 P-538 P-539 P-541 P-545 P-551 P-558 P-565 P-586 P-588 P-592
"X" series	X-100 X-200 X-300 X-410 X-425

Operator and role

Civil	Experimental No. 1 Model C SX-5-1 Tanager Racers and record No. 2 Cox Racer CW-B-14R Airliners Eagle Condor 18 Condor II Kingbird Thrush Commando Utility Model D Model E Model F Carrier Pigeon Falcon Robin Lark 6B CW-12 CW-14 Sportsman CW-15 Sedan CW-16 CW-19W
Army	Ground attack A-3 A-4 A-5 A-6 A-8 YA-10 A-12 YA-14 A-18 A-25 A-40 XA-43 Bombers NBS-1 B-2 XNBS-4 Transports XC-10 C-30 Condor C-46 Commando C-55 Commando C-76 C-113 Commando Fighters S 18 PN-1 PW-8 P-1 to P-5 P-6 XP-10 P-11 P-142 P-17 XP-182 XP-192 YP-20 XP-21 XP-22 XP-23 XP-31 P-36 YP-37 P-40 XP-42 XP-46 XP-53 XP-55 YP-60 XP-62 XP-71 XP-87 Observation O-1 O-11 O-12 O-13 O-16 O-18 O-242 O-26 XO-302 O-39 O-40 O-52 Racers R-6 R-8 Trainers J L JN Fledgling AT-4 Hawk AT-5 Hawk BT-4 AT-9 Jeep Experimental X-19 Licensed USAO-1 NBS-1/Model 30
Navy	Bombers CT BFC BF2C SBC SB2C XSB3C2 XBTC XBT2C Fighters HA GS TS-1 FC F2C F3C F4C F5C1 F6C F7C F8C F9C F10C F11C XF12C F13C XF14C XF15C Observation/scout CS/SC S2C XS3C S4C SC OC O2C O3C SOC SO2C SO3C Trainers N-9 N2C SNC Transports RC R4C R5C Maritime patrol H-16 F5L HS-1L & HS-2L Racers and record NC CR R2C R3C
Export	Bombers Canada CW-14 Osprey       Maritime patrol H-2, H-4, H-8 and H-16 F5L HS-2L Fighters CW-17 Pursuit Osprey2 CW-21 Demon Trainers Canuck CW-14 Osprey CW-16 CW-182 CW-22