REPUBLIC P-43 LANCER

Republic P-43 Lancer was an American low-wing fighter, which was flown in 1940, and during its production (which lasted in 1940-1941), about 270 machines of this type were created. The plane, in the P-43A version, was 8.7 meters long with a wingspan of 11 meters. The drive was provided by a single Pratt and Whitney R-1830 engine with a maximum power of 1200 HP. The maximum speed was 573 km / h, with a climb speed of 13 m / s / The on-board armament consisted of 4 M2 Browning 12.7 mm machine guns. The Republic P-43 Lancer was developed for the needs of the US Air Force, then known as the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC), as a new primary interceptor. It stood in competition with prototypes, for example: P-38 Lightning or P-40 Warhawk. Interestingly, he did not come out of this fight completely defeated, because the US Air Force placed an order for the short-series production of this machine. Interestingly, despite the good performance and piloting properties and the ability to fly at high altitude, the machine was quickly recognized as unsuitable in combat and moved to the reserve or rebuilt into photographic reconnaissance planes, as well as exported to China and Australia. However, controversy continues to this day as to whether the Republic P-43 Lancer was not rejected too hastily by the USAAC. The main development version of the machine was the P-43A model, which compared to the P-43 model had better armor in the pilot's cockpit, self-sealing fuel tanks and a different version of the engine Pratt and Whitney R-1830. It was also a version with over 100 copies given to China.