The USA interwar planes (2 Viewers)

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Sopwith 1&1/2 Strutter being loaded aboard a US Navy Battleship for launching from Main Gun turret. 1920/22
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Originally ordered as a V12-engined Curtiss P-1A, s/n 26-300 was converted to what was initially described as "P-1A with Curtiss radial" (the latter a 390hp Curtiss R-1454) and designated XP-3. Following test flights with Curtiss the aircraft was accepted at McCook Field on 5 October 1926.

The Curtiss engine proved unsatisfactory and in May 1927 the aircraft was routed for conversion to XP-3A standard to mount a 410hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-9; the first image would appear to show the aircraft at around the time of its delivery in this configuration to Wright Field on 29 October 1927. Of note, despite the known date of conversion to XP-3A standard (and indicated thus by the rudder markings), the presence of an "AS" (US Army Air Service) prefix to the serial number shows that a repaint had not been done to reflect the change to "AC" (Air Corps) which should have come into effect on 2 July 1926.

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In the second photo the aircraft's appearance has been transformed by the addition of an engine cowling but the rest of the airframe appears largely unchanged.

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This aircraft was converted at Wright Field to become an XP-21 in October 1930 (300hp Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior - third photo) and remained there until July the following year when it was flown to the Fairfield Air Depot and scrapped.

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