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The Wedell-Williams XP-34 was a fighter aircraft design submitted to the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) before World War II by Marguerite Clark Williams, widow of millionaire Harry P. Williams, former owner and co-founder of the Wedell-Williams Air Service Corporation.
Design and development
Derived from an original proposal made in 1932, the XP-34 was based on a design by air racer Jimmy Wedell, who was considered, "one of the most noted race plane designers of its day". The aircraft was a direct result of the development of Wedell's most successful designs, the Model 44 and Model 45.
On 1 October 1935, the USAAC ordered a full set of drawings and issued the XP-34 designation. It soon became apparent, however, with its original 700 hp (522 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1535 Twin Wasp Junior engine, the anticipated performance of the XP-34 would be insufficient compared to designs already in production.
Wedell-Williams suggested substituting the 900 hp (671 kW) Pratt & Whitney XR-1830 instead. Although the promise of high speed was still there, other considerations such as the complete redesign of the airframe to accommodate a heavier and more powerful engine were considered impractical with the new design subsequently rejected by the Air Corps before any aircraft were built.