Robert Porter
Senior Master Sergeant
Anyone care to guess what this is? It threw me. Not what you may first think it is.
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Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, after years of pushing the P40 its makers had to admit the P51 was better and make a P40 that looked like a P51.
But I suspect the resemblance is just at first glance. Those pods for the landing gear dont look very "laminar flow" and I doubt that the chin radiator had close to zero cooling drag.Looked like a P-51 and used a laminar flow wing like a P-51.
More like Curtiss having so much blind faith in that design, but realizing it could still be improved on.Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, after years of pushing the P40 its makers had to admit the P51 was better and make a P40 that looked like a P51.
More like Curtiss having so much blind faith in that design, but realizing it could still be improved on.
A little whittling here and there, an engine upgrade (...I think...) and what they ended up with was a P-51.
...not to take anything away from the rest of the P-40 line, but yeah, that "Q" version had to be a cold slap in the face for them.
Old Machine Press said:The XP-40Q-1 was the first aircraft, and it was built in 1943 from a P-40K-10 (serial 42-9987) that had been damaged in a landing accident on 27 January 1943. The Q-1 was painted olive drab and had the standard P-40 wing and canopy. The nose of the aircraft was lengthened to accommodate the V-1710-101 (F27R) engine. At 3,200 rpm, the -101 engine produced 1,500 hp (1,119 kW) at 6,000 ft (1,829 m) and 1,325 hp (988 kW) for takeoff. The Q-1's engine air intake was positioned above the cowling. The radiator and oil cooler were moved from the P-40's iconic chin location to the wing center section, just below the fuselage (similar to the XP-40K). The XP-40Q-1 had a 37 ft 4 in (11.4 m) wingspan and was 35 ft 4 in long (10.8 m)—about 2 ft (.6 m) longer than a standard P-40.
The Q-1's first flight reportedly occurred on 13 June 1943 from the Curtiss plant in Buffalo, New York. It is not clear if the aircraft suffered another accident, or if Curtiss was unhappy with its configuration and decided to modify it further. Regardless, by November 1943, the Q-1 had been modified and redesignated XP-40Q-2. The aircraft's rear fuselage was cut down and a bubble canopy installed. Engine coolant radiators were positioned in the wings just outboard of the main gear. The oil cooler and engine air intake were relocated to the classic P-40 chin position, but the scoop was shallower and more elegant. The Q-2 retained the olive drab paint.
Still utilizing the -101 engine, the Q-2 was noted for having excellent visibility and handling.