Curtiss YP-20

Last updated
YP-20
Curtiss YP-20.jpg
Parked YP-20
RoleBiplane fighter
Manufacturer Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
Primary user United States Army Air Service
Number built1

The Curtiss YP-20 was an American biplane fighter project developed by Curtiss for the United States Army Air Service.

Contents

Design and development

In 1929, three Curtiss P-11 Hawks were ordered with 600 hp (447 kW) Curtiss H-1640 Chieftain engines. These proved a failure, and before completion, the third was converted to use a 9-cylinder 575 hp (429 kW) Wright Cyclone, being completed as the YP-20. Testing with the R1820 was prolonged, so the Army's intention to promptly switch to a Curtiss V-1570 Conqueror engine and redesignate the aircraft XP-22 was dropped; another P-11 was chosen for that instead.

Except for the engine change and its Townend ring cowling, the YP-20 was not drastically different from the P-6 from which both it and the P-11 derived, though the YP-20 had more fin and less rudder area, [1] and featured a steerable tailwheel, rather than the original skid. [2] Later, a crankcase cover, gear strut fairings, and wheel pants were added.

In June 1931, the AAC held a competition to evaluate the P-6, P-12, XP-22, and YP-20. The XP-22 came out the winner, but the YP-20 was given a nose and landing gear graft from the XP-22, becoming the XP-6E (P-6E prototype). With the addition of a supercharger and an enclosed cockpit, it was tested as the XP-6F.

Operators

Flag of the United States.svg  United States

Specifications (original YP-20)

Data from Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947 [3]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

Related Research Articles

Curtiss A-12 Shrike American attack aircraft

The Curtiss A-12 Shrike was the United States Army Air Corps' second monoplane ground-attack aircraft, and its main attack aircraft through most of the 1930s. It was based on the A-8, but had a radial engine instead of the A-8's inline, water-cooled engine, as well as other changes.

Curtiss P-36 Hawk American fighter aircraft

The Curtiss P-36 Hawk, also known as the Curtiss Hawk Model 75, is an American-designed and built fighter aircraft of the 1930s and 40s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, it was one of the first of a new generation of combat aircraft—a sleek monoplane design with a retractable undercarriage making extensive use of metal in its construction.

Curtiss XP-46 1941 prototype fighter aircraft

The Curtiss XP-46 was a 1940s American prototype fighter aircraft. It was a development of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation in an effort to introduce the best features found in European fighter aircraft in 1939 into a fighter aircraft which could succeed the Curtiss P-40, then in production.

Curtiss P-60 1941 fighter aircraft family

The Curtiss P-60 was a 1940s American single-engine single-seat, low-wing monoplane fighter aircraft developed by the Curtiss-Wright company as a successor to their P-40. It went through a lengthy series of prototype versions, eventually evolving into a design that bore little resemblance to the P-40. None of these versions reached production.

Curtiss XP-62 Prototype fighter aircraft

The Curtiss XP-62 was a prototype single-engine interceptor aircraft, that was built at the request of the United States Army Air Forces, by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. It first flew in 1943.

Curtiss P-6 Hawk Fighter aircraft in use by the US Army Air Corps 1929-1937

The Curtiss P-6 Hawk is an American single-engine biplane fighter introduced into service in the late 1920s with the United States Army Air Corps and operated until the late 1930s prior to the outbreak of World War II.

Curtiss P-1 Hawk 1923 fighter biplane family by Curtiss

The P-1 Hawk was a 1920s open-cockpit biplane fighter aircraft of the United States Army Air Corps. An earlier variant of the same aircraft had been designated PW-8 prior to 1925.

Curtiss F11C Goshawk Type of aircraft

The Curtiss F11C Goshawk was an American naval biplane fighter aircraft that saw limited success. It was part of a long line of Curtiss Hawk airplanes built by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company for the American military.

Curtiss YA-10 Shrike American attack aircraft prototype

The Curtiss YA-10 Shrike was a 1930s United States test and development version of the A-8 Shrike ground-attack aircraft using various radial engines in place of the inline Vee.

Curtiss XA-14 American attack aircraft prototype

The Curtiss XA-14 was a 1930s United States airplane, the first multi-engine attack aircraft tested by the United States Army Air Corps. Carrying a crew of two, it was as fast as the standard pursuit aircraft in service at the time.

Curtiss A-18 Shrike American attack aircraft

The Curtiss A-18Model 76A Shrike II was a 1930s United States twin-engine ground-attack aircraft. It was the production test version of that company's A-14 Shrike.

Curtiss XP-42 American Experimental Fighter Aircraft

The Curtiss XP-42 was an experimental fighter built by Curtiss Aircraft in the late 1930s to research engine cooling and improving the performance of the Curtiss P-36.

Curtiss F7C Seahawk Type of aircraft

The Curtiss F7C Seahawk was a carrier-capable biplane fighter aircraft of the United States Navy Marine Corps in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Curtiss BF2C Goshawk United States Naval Biplane

The Curtiss BF2C Goshawk was a United States 1930s naval biplane aircraft that saw limited success and was part of a long line of Hawk Series airplanes made by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company for the American military, and for export as the Model 68 Hawk III.

Curtiss T-32 Condor II Family of airliners and bomber aircraft

The Curtiss T-32 Condor II was a 1930s American biplane airliner and bomber aircraft built by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. It was used by the United States Army Air Corps as an executive transport.

Curtiss XP-22 Hawk Experimental biplane fighter

The Curtiss XP-22 Hawk was a 1930s American experimental biplane fighter built by Curtiss for evaluation by the United States Army Air Service.

Curtiss JN-6H Type of aircraft

The Curtiss JN-6H was an American biplane trainer aircraft built by Curtiss for the United States Army Air Service during World War I.

Fokker T.IV Type of aircraft

The Fokker T.IV was a Dutch torpedo bomber/maritime reconnaissance floatplane of the 1920s and 1930s. First flying in 1927, it served with the Dutch Naval Aviation Service in the Dutch East Indies until the remaining aircraft were destroyed during the Japanese invasion in 1942.

Curtiss YP-37 Experimental fighter aircraft

The Curtiss P-37 was an American fighter aircraft made by Curtiss-Wright in 1937 for the US Army Air Corps. A development of the Curtiss P-36 Hawk to use an inline engine instead of the radial engine of the P-36 the fuselage was lengthened and the cockpit moved back. A small number of YP-37 aircraft was built for Air Corps evaluation. The expected top speed was not achieved and the project terminated in favor of the Curtiss P-40.

Curtiss-Wright CA-1 American biplane amphibian designed by Frank Courtney

The Curtiss CA-1 was an American five-seat biplane amphibian designed by Frank Courtney and built by Curtiss-Wright at St Louis, Missouri.

References

  1. Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. Illustrated Encyclopedia of Weapons and Warfare (London: Phoebus, 1978), Volume 12, p.1255.
  2. Fitzsimons, p.1255.
  3. Bowers, Peter M. (1979). Curtiss aircraft, 1907-1947. London: Putnam. pp. 256–266. ISBN   0370100298.
  4. Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.

Further reading