Tony Buttler was born in 1956 and joined High Duty Alloys in Redditch in 1974 as a metallurgist. For nearly 20 years he was closely involved in the testing of aluminum and titanium airframe and engine components for many of the world’s most important airplanes. It was during this timeframe that his interest in military aircraft grew into a passion. Since 1995, Tony has been a freelance aviation historian, with this book being his 44^th major release. This includes hard cover books on British Secret Projects, American Secret Projects, Secret Soviet Projects, and X-Planes of Europe. He has also written many titles for the Warpaint series of monographs as well as many articles for most of the popular historical aviation magazines.

This tome includes 24 chapters covering U.S. fighter prototypes that failed to enter production. The primary focus is on propeller driven aircraft that flew between 1940 and 1946 but does include a few mixed propulsion and jet aircraft. This 320-page portrait hard cover book [8.75” x 12”] features a black and white photograph of the first Convair XP-81, 44-91000. Intended as a long-range escort fighter, the XP-81 featured the high speed of a GE J33 turbojet engine along with a GE TG-100 [later designated XT31] turboprop for endurance. Both prototypes were stripped and consigned to a bombing range at Edwards AFB on April 29, 1949. Both prototype airframes survive today as they were rescued in 1994 and transferred to the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio, where they are waiting in line for restoration.The photograph at the bottom of the page is the Curtiss XF14C-2 that is featured in Chapter 21. The rear cover features a color photograph of the Grumman XF5F Skyrocket, and black and white photographs of the Grumman XP-50, the McDonnell XP-67, and the Curtiss-Wright 24-B that are included within the book. I counted 491 black and white photographs and illustrations and 24 color photographs. There are also 51-line manufacturing drawings, many of the three-views, but some show off structure details.

Tony Buttler kicks off with a chapter on the Curtiss XP-46 and XP-46A. Based on the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk that was already on order, the XP-46 design finished 3^rd in the Army design competition. Hoping to have an improved product based on experience and advances in Europe, the XP-46 never lived to the expected higher speed calculations of 425 mph. Chapter 3 focuses on the Grumman XP-50, an update of their XF5F proposal to the US Navy.The Skyrocket ended up second in the US Army design competition to the Lockheed XP-49 [Chapter 2], but still a prototype was ordered. Notable changes from the US Navy XF5F was turbocharged Wright R1820 engines, a lengthened nose, and tricycle landing gear. Page 33 shows off two views of the Grumman XP-50 before its ultimate demise when the starboard supercharger blew up, forcing the test pilot, Robert L. Hall, to abandon the prototype into Long Island Sound. Grumman continued to develop this concept that led to the Grumman F7F Tigercat. The US Army did become interested, even providing a XP-65 designation for a land based Tigercat but ended up backing out when evaluating the changes necessary to meet US Army needs.

Four fighter prototypes resulted from a US Army design competition, the Vultee XP-54 Swoose Goose, the Curtiss XP-55 Ascender, the Northrop XP-56 Black Bullet, and the McDonnell XP-67 Moon Bat. All four have their own chapters devoted to them. Page 88 shows off one of the features of the Northrop XP-56 Black Bullet.This being the wingtip ducts that used ram-air to operate the rudder boost system. The XP-56 was originally designed around a Pratt & Whitney liquid cooled X-1800 driving contra-rotating propellers in a pusher configuration. The lack of this engine’s availability led to the substitution of the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial, necessitating an increase in fuselage dimensions. Aluminum was forecasted to be in short supply as the war went on, so a large majority of the airframe was built with magnesium. This required a new welding technique which developed into the heliarc technique that employed inert gas shielding. The first prototype was destroyed in a high-speed ground run in 1943, but the second prototype survives in storage at the Paul Garber Restoration Facility.

The XP-67 Moonbat was an evolution of McDonnell’s first aircraft design. McDonnell Model 1 was a single engine twin propeller pusher design that finished 21^st out of twenty-two proposals submitted.The US Army Air Corps was impressed enough to issue money to rework the design, although another factor was to add the fledgling McDonnell to the roster of aviation manufacturers. The resulting Model 2A was a bit more conventional with a pair of engines with the propellers in the front. It still was an ambitious design trying to establish an airfoil through both nacelles and the fuselage, utilizing laminar flow sections wherever possible. The top of Page 141 shows the engine nacelle on an outdoor test stand. With the two lower photographs depicting the assembly of the sole prototype. If you look closely in the bottom photograph, one can spy the six, wing root 37mm M4 cannon ports. The XP-67 suffered delays as the proposed XI-1430-17/19 engines development lagged. The final nail came when the Moonbat caught fire during a test flight. The test pilot E.E. Elliot was able to land the XP-67, but the fire gutted the aircraft. Not the brightest beginning for McDonnell, but they soon made their name in jets.

Chapter 16 covers another Northrop ‘flying wing’, the XP-79. Similar to the XP-56 Black Bullet, the XP-79 used a magnesium alloy structure with the pilot in a prone position. Originally conceived as rocket powered, the first flight was powered by two Westinghouse 19B turbojets. Page 211 shows off the original rocket motor in a photograph at the top of the page with a picture of the Westinghouse 19B (J30) at the bottom of the page. Although sometimes referred to as the “Flying Ram”, there apparently was not intention for the XP-79 to actually ram other aircraft.Sadly, test pilot Harry Crosby, was killed trying to bail out of the aircraft as it went into a vertical spin, ending the program.

The US Navy’s Curtiss-Wright XF14C is addressed in Chapter 21. The XF14C-1 was originally designed around the 24-cylinder liquid-cooled Lycoming XH-2470 Hyper engine. The first mock-up was evaluated in November 1941, and again in February 1942. Concern over the slow development of the Lycoming prompted a design change [XF14C-2] to an air cooled turbocharged radial engine, the Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone, driving 3-bladed counter-rotating propellers.Two XF14C-3s were also ordered, being similar to the XF14C-2 but featuring pressurized cockpits. Unfortunately, the demand for the Wright R-3350 was the top priority, delaying the completion of the XF14C-2. The XF14C-2 did end up flying on July 4, 1944, and was accepted by the US Navy on September 2, 1944. The black and white photograph at the top of Page 272 shows off the XF14C-2 on September 7, 1943.

The sections include:

• Acknowledgements
• Glossary
• Biography and Source Notes
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Curtiss XP-46
  • Flight Test
  • XP-46 Structure
  • XP-46 Data [Table]
• Chapter 2: Lockheed XP-49
  • Design Competition
  • Flight Test
  • XP-49 Structure
  • XP-49 Data [Table]
• Chapter 3: Grumman XP-50 Skyrocket
  • 39-775 Prototype
  • Flight Test [Page 033]
  • XP-65
  • XP-50 Structure
  • XP-50 Data [Table]
• Chapter 4: North American XP-51 Lightweight Mustangs
  • Three Versions
  • British Testing
  • XP-51-F Structure
  • XP-51 Data [Table]
• Chapter 5: Vultee XP-54 Swoose Goose
  • Design Competition
  • Flight Test
  • XP-68
  • XP-54 Structure
  • XP-54 Data [Table]
• Chapter 6: Curtiss XP-55 Ascender
  • Curtiss 24-B
  • XO-55 Flight Test
  • XP-55 Structure
  • XP-55 Data [Table]
• Chapter 7: Northrop XP-56 Black Bullet
  • Flying Wing
  • Flight Test – Second Prototype
  • XP-56 Structure [Page 088]
  • XP-56 Data [Table]
• Chapter 8: Lockheed XP-58 Chain Lightning
  • Flight Test
  • XP-58 Structure
  • XP-58 Data [Table]
• Chapter 9: Curtiss XP-60 and XP-40Q
  • XP-53
  • XP-60 and P-60A
  • XP-60A, XP-60B, XP-60C
  • XP-60D
  • XP-60E
  • YP-60E
  • XP-60 Structure
  • XP-60 Data [Table]
  • XP-60A Data [Table]
  • XP-60B Data at 26 October 1942 [Table]
  • XP-60C Data [Table]
  • XP-60D Data [Table]
  • XP-60E Data [Table]
  • YP-60E Data [Table]
  • XP-40Q
  • XP-40Q Flight Test
• Chapter 10: Curtiss XP-62
  • Flight Test
  • XP-62 Structure
  • XP-62 Data [Table]
• Chapter 11: McDonnell XP-67 [Page 141]
  • Flight Testing
  • Structure
  • XP-67 Data [Table]
• Chapter 12: Republic XP-47H, XP-47J, and XP-72
  • XP-47H
  • XP-47J
  • XP-47H Data [Table]
  • Structure
  • XP-47J Data [Table]
  • Republic XP-72
  • XP-72 Data [Table]
• Chapter 13: Hughes XF-11
  • A New Project
  • Disastrous Crash
  • Second Best
  • Structure
  • XP-11 Data [Table]
• Chapter 14: Fisher XP-75 Eagle
  • Flight Test
  • XP-75 Structure
  • XP-75 Data [Table]
• Chapter 15: Bell XP-77
  • Flight Test
  • XP-77 Structure
  • XP-77 Data as at 26 June 1945 [Table]
• Chapter 16: Northrop XP-79
  • Scale Models [Page 211]
  • Flight Test
  • XP-79B Structure
  • XP-79 Data
• Chapter 17: Convair XP-81
  • Flight Test
  • XP-81 Structure
  • XP-81 Data
• Chapter 18: Bell XP-83
  • Flight Test
  • Structure
  • XP-83 Data
• Chapter 19: Bell XFL-1
  • Flight Test
  • XFL-1 Structure
  • XFL-1 Data
• Chapter 20: Boeing XF8B-1
  • No Competition
  • Flight Test
  • XF8B-1 Structure
  • XF8B-1 Data
• Chapter 21: Curtiss XF14C-1
  • Flight Test [Page 272]
  • XF14C Structure
  • XF14C-1 Data
  • XF14C-2 Data
• Chapter 22: Curtiss XF15C-1
  • Flight Test
  • XF15C-1 Structure
  • XF15C-1 Data (Original Structure)
• Chapter 23: Grumman XF5F-1 Skyrocket
  • Unusual Design
  • Flight Test
  • XF5F-1 Structure
  • XF5F-1 Data
• Chapter 24: Ryan XF2R-1 Dark Shark
  • Modified Airframes
  • Flight Test
  • XF2R-1 Structure
  • XF2R-1 Data
  • XF2R-2 Data
• Appendix One : Official USAAF Review of Fighter Projects, November 1942
• Appendix Two: Standard Types as Trials and Testbed Aircraft
  • Curtiss XP-42
  • Contra-Rotating Propellers
  • V-Tail
  • Laminar Flow
  • Goodyear F2G Super Corsair
• Index
• Aircraft
• People

Model kit wise, many of these aircraft are available in 1/72 scale, although you may be hunting vacuform or resin ‘garage’ kits. Planet Models has released a resin kit of the Lockheed XP-58 Chain Lightning in 1/72 scale that is still available. Valom has released three versions of the Fisher XP-75 Eagle in 1/72 as a plastic injection kit, with the latest still available. RS Models has had 4 releases of the Northrop XP-79B between 1995 and 2021 and should be able to be located. RS Models also has released 4 kits of the Bell XFL-1 Airabonita, the first one in resin and the last 3 as injected plastic. Valom released two kits of the Boeing XF8B-1 in 2004 in injected plastic.Some were even issued in 1/48 scale, like the Collect-Aire Models XP-54 Swoose Goose [and there is now ‘promise’ of a ModelSvit 1/48 injected plastic kit of the XP-54]. ModelSvit also released the Curtiss XP-55 Ascender in 1/48 injected plastic in 2018 and it is buildable. Squadron-Czech Model released a multi-media kit of the Northrop XP-56 in 2001, and again ModelSvit has promised a new tool since 2023.

This book presents plenty of new photos of aircraft where you may have only seen a single photograph in an aircraft identification contest. Tony Buttler is able to weave in a tremendous amount of design and flight data in conjunction with flight testing and still manages to provide a compelling and readable storyline. Many of these aircraft featured new and exciting approaches. Just consider what might have happened if the Northrop XP-79B had not crashed. Whether your focus is as an aviation historian or as a modeler, this tome has plenty of photographs for both.

Established in 1997, Crécy Publishing is one of Europe’s leading publishers of transport and military history titles. We have a strong emphasis on aviation titles and, since the acquisition of the Ian Allan Publishing list, we are also the world’s leading railway book publisher. Starting with the publication of a single book, our company has grown through a mixture of organic growth and the acquisition of quality publishing lists. Today, Crécy Publishing imprints include: ABC guides, Classic, Goodall, Hikoki Publications, OPC (Oxford Publishing Company) Pilot’s Notes. Imprints we have absorbed into our list include Air Data, Flight Recorder, Ian Allan, Noodle Books and Nostalgia Road.

My thanks to Casemate, Crécy Publishing, Hikoki Publications, and IPMS/USA for the chance to review this great book.

Highly recommended