LF7260 CURTISS YP-37

The Curtiss YP-37 was an American prototype fighter from the interwar period. The flight of the prototype took place in 1937, and a total of about 15 examples of this machine were built. The plane was, in its basic version, 10.05 meters long with a wingspan of 11.4 meters. The drive was provided by a single Allison V-1710-21 engine with a capacity of 1000 HP. The maximum speed was around 550 km / h, with a flight range of about 920 kilometers. The deck armament consisted of 2 Browning machine guns: 7.62 mm and 12.7 mm. The TP-37 was developed by the Curtiss Airplane and Motor Company as a development of the P-36 Hawk. The major change was the adaptation of the front fuselage structure to the new Allison V-1710-11 and V-1710-21 turbocharged in-line engine. The pilot's cabin was also changed, and it was moved very clearly to the rear of the plane. During the tests, the prototypes of the aircraft turned out to be quite unreliable, and the visibility from the cockpit during take-off and landing was extremely limited. This potentially resulted in numerous accidents in the field. Moreover, the plane was not able to achieve the assumed values for maximum speed or climb. Finally, due to the above-mentioned shortcomings, it did not enter mass production.