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Curtiss XP-37 (Allison Hawk)


Fighter Prototype


United States | 1937



"The Curtiss XP-37 was an attempt by the USAAC to transform the radial-powered P-36 Hawk into an inline piston-engined fighter."

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Curtiss YP-37 Fighter Prototype.
1 x Allison V-1710 inline piston engine developing 1,150 horsepower and driving a three-bladed propeller in the nose.
Propulsion
342 mph
550 kph | 297 kts
Max Speed
32,808 ft
10,000 m | 6 miles
Service Ceiling
621 miles
1,000 km | 540 nm
Operational Range
3,400 ft/min
1,036 m/min
Rate-of-Climb
Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Curtiss YP-37 Fighter Prototype.
1
(MANNED)
Crew
28.5 ft
8.70 m
O/A Length
37.7 ft
(11.50 m)
O/A Width
8.2 ft
(2.50 m)
O/A Height
4,575 lb
(2,075 kg)
Empty Weight
6,030 lb
(2,735 kg)
MTOW
Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Curtiss XP-37 (Allison Hawk) Fighter Prototype .
None Fitted.
Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Curtiss XP-37 (Allison Hawk) family line.
XP-37 - Prototype designation
YP-37 - Service Test aircraft; batch of thirteen ordered.
P-37 - Assumed in-service designation
Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 05/13/2016 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The American Curtiss P-36 "Hawk" marked one of the earliest of the all-modern fighters to appear in the years leading up to World War 2 (1939-1945). It was joined by the likes of the British Hawker Hurricane and the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 but failed to find the same wartime success as its contemporaries. Completed with a Pratt & Whitney "Twin Wasp" air-cooled radial piston engine, 215 examples were built as the P.36 and a further 900 were exported under the "Hawk 75" designation. The design was eventually developed into the classic P-40 "Warhawk".

The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) sought additional value in their P-36 to the point that they commissioned Curtiss in 1937 to develop the aircraft with the Allison V-1710 turbo-supercharged inline piston engine of 1,150 horsepower. This begat the prototype "XP-37" monoplane fighter which retained much of the original's components including its well-streamlined airframe. To compensate for the length and weight of the new engine installation at the nose (and to better balance the revised center-of-gravity), the cockpit was positioned further aft along the dorsal spine which immediately differentiated it from the earlier P-36.

In this configuration, the aircraft was flown for the first time during April 1937 and managed a maximum speed of 340 miles per hour against the P-36A's 313 mph top speed. However, the all-important turbo-supercharger proved troublesome during testing and there grew concern about the nose length and position of the wing mainplanes which considerably inhibited the pilot's forward vision. Views to the rear of the aircraft were no better as the raised fuselage spine and tail planes further masked any approaching danger from the rear.

Nevertheless, USAAC authorities were sold on the potential performance gains of this sleek entry and ordered the XP-37 in a service test form as the "YP-37" through a thirteen-strong batch order. Engineers continued to work on the turbo-supercharger but reliability remained an issue. A developmental-minded YP-37 managed a first flight during June of 1939 but the temperamental aircraft was soon passed over for a more promising - and conventional - venture, this to become the P-40 Warhawk which became an ultra-critical American fighter of the early-war years.

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Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Curtiss XP-37 (Allison Hawk). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 14 Units

Contractor(s): Curtiss-Wright - USA
National flag of the United States

[ United States (cancelled) ]
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Image of the Curtiss XP-37 (Allison Hawk)
Image from the Public Domain.
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Image of the Curtiss XP-37 (Allison Hawk)
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Image of the Curtiss XP-37 (Allison Hawk)
Image from the Public Domain.

Going Further...
The Curtiss XP-37 (Allison Hawk) Fighter Prototype appears in the following collections:
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