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Republic P-43 Lancer

1941 WORLD WAR 2

Republic P-43 Lancer History

The road to the classic Republic P-47 Thunderbolt single-seat single-engine fighter of the WWII era began before the war, when Alexander Seversky was still in control of his company (Seversky Aircraft Gesellschaft). However, in September 1939, Seversky was kicked out of the group and the group was reorganized as "Republic Airlines".

Despite the changes, some of the company's early work remains, stemming from the P-35, XP-41 and AP-4 programs.

Before Seversky's departure, his company had signed a contract for a new United States Army Air Forces (USAAC) fighter jet, which was essentially an evolutionary form combining the maturity and best of its predecessor, the XP- quality. 41 and AP-4 models.

The aircraft would carry an air-cooled turbocharged Pratt & Whitney R-1830-35, the design of which was directed by Alexander Kartveli (who is also believed to be the later P-47). The armament was upgraded to 2 x .50 caliber heavy machine guns and 2 x .30 caliber medium machine guns, the former mounted on the upper fairing and the latter (separately) mounted on the wings.

The main-wing aircraft was generally oval in shape, with the intakes for the turbochargers mounted in fairings below the engines (these features were later reused in the P-47). The "Tail-Dragger" landing gear and a vertical tail complete the look of what proved to be a promising fighter development.

Design was finally completed in the "YP-43" named "Lancer" (no "X" designation seen in the program). The first flight was in March 1940.

The YP-43 prototype was handed over to the Army in September 1940 and was the first of thirteen trials. It revealed some early flaws, including the aircraft's poor tendency to "ground loops" (rolling over to its back in extreme cases), forcing modifications to the tail wheel height. Army observers were already noticing the rate at which Eurofighter designs were advancing before the program gained enough momentum. As a result, interest in the P-43 waned as the focus shifted to a more advanced model, the P-44 "Rocket" (later to become the P-47 "Thunderbolt").

The P-43 turned out to be more or less an outdated fighter before it had a chance to fight.

Having invested time and money in the P-43 program -- and to keep the Republic line running until the P-47 arrived -- the Army pushed the lines of putting the still-operating P-43 43 aircraft into service with basic trainers. A contract for 54 such aircraft was established under the YP-43 standard, with an additional 80 aircraft from previously ordered P-44-1 variants - these became "P-43As". The brand was powered by the air-cooled Pratt & Whitney R-1830-49 Radial, and deliveries began in September 1941. A further 125 aircraft were subsequently ordered, designated "P-43A-1", and in service in the Far East (China/Japan).

This included the installation of external fuel tanks or bombs on the centerline of the fuselage, and the main armament consisted of four .50 caliber heavy machine guns (two in the nose and one in each wing).

From 1940 to 1941, a total of 272 Lancers were delivered. The aircraft proved reliable but unobtrusive, with modern qualities such as a fully enclosed cockpit, metal fairing, retractable landing gear and aerodynamic streamlines. The Army certainly wanted the air-cooled fighter type, but radials still kept their place in the grand scheme of war. In addition, the series was an improvement over the previous enterprise offerings for the Republic, even though it did little to the more advanced fighters from Germany and Japan. The P-43 spent most of its time in a secondary role, being transported to far-flung locations, not as a frontline mount.

The main operators became the Royal Australian Air Force, the ROC Air Force and the United States (in the form of Air Force and Air Force).

The P-43Bs are 150 P-43A and P-43A-1 variants converted to photo reconnaissance roles by mounting cameras on the tail fins. The P43C followed this example in both form and function, but the equipment it carried was different, with only two modifications from the P-43A stock. The P-43D was another reconnaissance model, but with PW R-1830-47 series engines and with only six of the original P-43A versions.

The P-43E is a proposed brand (also used for photo reconnaissance) and is powered by the PW R-1830-47 engine. These will be based on the P-43A-1 model. Beginning in 1942, the RP-43 designation was the USAAF designation for marking expired Lancers as "restricted combat".

When complete, the P-43A will have a top speed of 356 mph, a range of 650 miles, a service ceiling of 36,000 feet, and a rate of climb of 2,500 feet per minute. The standard armament eventually became 4 x .50 M2 Browning heavy machine guns, as the .30 machine guns on planes proved to be weak as the war went on.

Many Lancers ended their days as basic instructors in the U.S. Army. The photo reconnaissance role was added in 1942, when it was realized that the P-43's real combat value was very limited. The Chinese model is powered by PW-1830-57 series engines, with heavy machine gun armament, as well as bomb carrying capability and self-sealing fuel tanks (the latter being a very important quality of life).

About 108 were scheduled for service in China, some of which fought directly against the invading Japanese forces - although they were more or less defeated by advanced Japanese fighter jets and experienced pilots deployed in the theater.

All Lancer aircraft were scrapped at the end of the war.