Naval Fighters Number 119 Curtiss XF15C-1 "Stingaree" Book

Naval Fighters Number 119 Curtiss XF15C-1 "Stingaree" Book By Steve Ginter Copyright date: 2024 UPC: 9798989950928 SKU: GIN119 Softcover During WWII, the Navy ordered two carrier capable composite powered fighters (each equipped with one prop and one jet engine) to counter the land based all jet aircraft being developed by the Germans. The first was the small Ryan FR-1 “Fireball” followed by the much larger Curtiss XF15C-1 “Stingaree” heavy fighter. Three XF15C-1s, BuNos 01213-01215 and a static airframe were ordered on 7 April 1944. They were powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W prop engine of 2,100 hp in the nose and an Allis-Chalmers H-1B (J36) (British “Goblin’) jet engine of 2,700 lbs thrust in the tail. Ship one’s first flight was made on 27 February 1945. All three ships were completed with a conventional tail group. During flight testing of ship one it was decided to retrofit ships two and three with “T”-tails to improve overall performance and to increase the number o