US Curtis-Wright XF-87 ''Blackhawk'' Fighter

By Crusader1307

Seen as The Jet Fighter replacement for The P-61 ''Black Widow'' Interceptor of World War II, The XF-87 was a prototype Fighter first developed in 1948. Only (2) Fighters were produced. The Contract with The US Military would fail and as a result, The Curtis-Wright Company had to file for bankruptcy and sell it's assets to North American Aircraft in 1949. Seen as too expensive at the then ''high'' price of 11 Million (USD) as well as several issues with Landing Gear, The ''Blackhawk'' was to be crewed by (2). They were 63-feet in length with a fixed wingspan of 60-feet. They were powered by (4) Westinghouse Turbojet Engines with a combined thrust of 3,000-IBF. Airspeeds were rated at 600-mph. The XF-87 had an operational range of 1,000-miles with a ceiling of 41,000-feet Only (4) 20mm Nose Cannons were installed. None of the prototypes have survived into the 21^st Century.