Wedell-Williams XP-34

The Wedell-Williams XP-34 was a fighter aircraft design submitted to the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) before World War II by Marguerite Clark Williams, widow of millionaire Harry P. Williams, former owner and co-founder of the Wedell-Williams Air Service Corporation.

Design and development

Derived from an original proposal made in 1932, the XP-34 was based on a design by air racer Jimmy Wedell, who was considered, "one of the most noted race plane designers of its day".<ref name= "Jones p. 80">Jones 1975, p. 80.</ref> The aircraft was a direct result of the development of Wedell's most successful designs, the Model 44 and Model 45.<ref name="Dorr and Donald 1990, p. 61"/> The forward fuselage was intended to be metal, the after part and control surfaces covered in fabric.<ref name= "Jones p. 80"/>

The interest expressed from the USAAC was based on the success of the private racing aircraft in the 1930s that were reaching 300 mph speeds in competition, a performance level not achieved by standard aircraft types in service in the U.S. military.<ref name="Dorr and Donald 1990, p. 61">Dorr and Donald 1990, p. 61.</ref>

On 1 October 1935, the USAAC ordered a full set of drawings and issued the XP-34 designation. It soon became apparent, however, with its original 700 hp (522 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1535 Twin Wasp Junior engine, the anticipated performance of the XP-34 would be insufficient compared to designs already in production.

Wedell-Williams suggested substituting the 900 hp (671 kW) Pratt & Whitney XR-1830 instead. Although the promise of high speed was still there, other considerations such as the complete redesign of the airframe to accommodate a heavier and more powerful engine were considered impractical with the new design subsequently rejected by the Air Corps before any aircraft were built.<ref name="Dorr and Donald 1990, p. 61"/>

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Dorr, Robert F. and Donald, David. Fighters of the United States Air Force. London: Temple, 1990. Template:ISBN.
• Jones, Lloyd S. U.S. Fighters, Army-Air Force: 1925 to 1980s. Los Angeles: Aero Publishers Incorporated, 1975. Template:ISBN.