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The Republic XP-72 was an American prototype fighter-interceptor developed by Republic Aircraft as a progression of the P-47 Thunderbolt design. The XP-72 was designed around the Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major 28-cylinder air-cooled radial engine with a supercharger mounted behind the pilot and driven by an extension shaft from the engine. The armament consisted of six .50 caliber (12.7&nbsp;mm) wing-mounted Browning AN/M2 machine guns and underwing racks for two 1,000 lb bombs; Alternative armament packages included two 37&nbsp;mm M4 autocannons with four .50 caliber AN/M2s, or four M4 autocannons.

Design and development

The XP-72 development paralleled that of another Republic design, the XP-69 that was to be powered by an experimental 42-cylinder Wright R-2160 liquid-cooled radial engine mounted in the nose of the aircraft and driving contra-rotating propellers. The XP-69 was intended for high altitude operations and featured a pressurized cockpit and armament of two 37&nbsp;mm cannon and four 50 caliber machine guns. 387mph (623 km/h at sea level)

|range miles=1200

|range km=1932

|ceiling ft=42000

|ceiling m=12805

|climb rate ftmin=5280

|climb rate ms=26.8

|wing loading lb/sqft=48.1

|power/mass=0.24 hp/lb (0.39 kW/kg)

|armament=

  • 6× 50 caliber Browning machine guns

or

  • 2x 37mm M4 cannons and 4x 50 caliber Browning machine guns

or

  • 4x 37mm M4 cannons
  • 2× 1,000 lb (476&nbsp;kg) bombs

See also

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

  • Bodie, Warren. "The Whine of the Jug". Wings Magazine (Vol. 4, No. 4), August 1974, pp.&nbsp;33–39.
  • Freeman, Roger A. Thunderbolt: A Documentary History of the Republic P-47. London: Macdonald & Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1978. .
  • Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War - Fighters (Volume Four). London: Macdonald & Co.(Publishers) Ltd., 1961. .
  • Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. WW2 Aircraft Fact Files: US Army Air Force Fighters, Part 2. London: Macdonald & Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1978. .
  • Jarski, Adam and Robert Michulec. P-47 Thunderbolt, P-35/P-43/XP-72 (Monografie Lotnicze 26) (in Polish). Gdynia: AJ-Press, 1996. .