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Seversky XP-41

1939 WORLD WAR 2 X-PLANE

Seversky XP-41 History

The predecessor of Republic Airlines, the manufacturer of the World War II victory P-47 Thunderbolt, was known as Seversky Aircraft Company in 1931. Founded by ex-Russian Alexander Seversky, the company eventually produced America's first modern single-seat, single-engine fighter jet, the "P-35" (detailed elsewhere on this page).

The plane features a metal skin, an enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear all of modern interwar quality.

While not a great design in any way (substandard design, under-equipped, and lacking in agility), the 196 series spawned what would later enter the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC), the Swedish Air Force and the Philippine Army Air Corps . This model then became the basis for the Republic P-43 "Lancer" fighter, the predecessor of the famous P-47 Thunderbolt.

With the support of USAAC, Seversky used the P-35 as the starting point for a new, more powerful and deadlier fighter. Seversky engineers went back to their drawing boards to produce an improved version of the P-35 with performance and characteristics similar to those of its European contemporaries, including the now British Supermarine Spitfire and the German Messerschmitt Bf 109.

This meant that a fighter jet could outperform any known competitor at the time, being well equipped and possessing the agility needed to outsmart any attacker - the result of this work was the "XP-41".

The distinctive feature of the XP-41 was the addition of a two-foot fuselage to the fuselage to expand its otherwise stately-looking design. Engineers then ditched the exposed main gear outrigger shells for a more streamlined shape - adding a more standard wide-gauge layout, with folding door flaps fully embedding the main outriggers into the design. This engine became an upgraded Pratt & Whitney R-1830-10, rated at 1,200 hp, turning a three-bladed propeller unit in the nose.

A tight-fitting fairing was designed for aerodynamic efficiency, and an air intake was embedded in the port wing root for the intended two-stage supercharger.

The lone pilot sits under a "greenhouse"-style canopy that blends into the rear line of the fuselage and offers relatively good visibility from the cockpit. Straight main planes received rounded tips and mounted lower along the sides of the fuselage.

The fins have a traditional flat layout - a single fin with a low mounting level surface. A small tail wheel is mounted under the structure for ground operation.

The proposed weapons are modest: 1 x .50 caliber heavy machine gun (HMG) and 1 x .30 caliber medium machine gun (MMG).

The prototype flew for the first time in March 1939, a few months before the official start of World War II (September 1, 1939). In a flight test at 15,000 feet, a top speed of 325 mph was achieved - justifying the design.

Wide tracked landing gear provided better ground handling, although visibility was still largely hampered by tail drag/nose attitude, wide wingspan and long nose ahead of the pilot - although these were all monoplanes of the day limitations.

Despite promising looks and improved quality, the XP-41 is not the future solution for USAAC. By the time the United States entered the war, more impressive designs had taken shape, so the XP-41 became a stepping stone to the eventual Seversky/Republic fighter P-47 through the limited production P-47.

43.

The XP-41 was the last fighter design to use the Seversky name - the company was restructured in 1939 and moved to the better known Republic Air brand.