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Northrop P-56 Black Bullet

The XP-56 was developed to specification R-40C, that encouraged the development of unconventional fighters. It was a tailless aircraft of magnesium construction. A setback occured when the original engine was cancelled and had to be replaced by the P&W R-2800. The handling characteristics and performance of the P-56 were unsatisfactory; one was lost and the second was finally declared unairworthy. Important lessons were learnt for the B-35.

General characteristics XP-56
Primary function	Fighter
Power plant	One Pratt&Whitney R-2800-29 engine
Thrust	2,000 HP		1,491 kW
Wingspan	42.5 ft		12.95 m
Length	27.5 ft		8.38 m
Height	11 ft		3.35 m
Wingarea	305.7 sq ft		28.4 sq m
Weight	empty	8,710 lb	3,950 kg
	max.	12,155 lb	5,514 kg
Max. speed	417 mph		671 km/h
Ceiling	33,000 ft		10,060 m
Max. range	660 miles		1,062 km
Armament	2x 20mm cannon, 4x 12.7mm machine gun
Crew	One
First flight	September 30, 1943
Number built	2

Jirka Wagner (If you find some photo, send it to me, please)