Douglas XFD

XFD

National origin: United States
Manufacturer: Douglas Aircraft Company
Designed by: James H. Kindelberger, Arthur Emmons Raymond
First flight: January 1933
Status: Abandoned project
Number built: 1

The Douglas XFD was a carrier-based biplane fighter aircraft; the first fighter to be built by Douglas Aircraft Company.

Development

The XFD was designed to the Bureau of Aeronautics Specification No. 311, requesting a carrier-based two-seat biplane fighter. On 30 June 1932, the Navy ordered the XFD, Vought XF3U, and Curtiss XF12C for testing. The XFD was all metal with a fabric covering. The crew sat in tandem in a single bay, enclosed by a long canopy. It was fixed gear with a tailwheel. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp, it first flew in January 1933, and was evaluated by the Navy between 18 June 1933 and 14 August 1934. The XFD performed well, but the Navy had stopped using two-seat fighter aircraft; therefore no orders were received.

Specifications

Data from Angelucci, 1987. pp. 182-183

General characteristics

Crew: 2
Length: 25 ft 4 in (7.72 m)
Wingspan: 31 ft 6 in (9.60 m)
Height: 11 ft 1 in (3.37 m)
Wing area: 295 ft² (27.40 m²)
Empty weight: 3,227 lb (1,464 kg)
Gross weight: 4,672 lb (2,119 kg)
Powerplant: 1 x— Pratt & Whitney R-1535-64 fourteen-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 700 hp ( kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 208 mph (335 km/h)
Cruise speed: 170 mph (274 km/h)
Range: 576 miles (927 km)
Service ceiling: 23,700 ft (7,224 m)
Rate of climb: 1,670 ft/min (8.48 m/s)

Armament

3 x— .30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns
500 lb (227 kg) bombs

Comparable aircraft

Vought XF3U

Bibliography

Angelucci, Enzo (1987). The American Fighter from 1917 to the present. New York: Orion Books.

Douglas XFD Pictures

More aircraft.

Source: WikiPedia