![]() ![]() NX19998 was substantially damaged on 20 November 1940 when North American’s Chief Test Pilot, Paul B. The fuel capacity was 180 gallons (681.37 liters), giving the airplane a range of 750 miles (1,207 kilometers). The service ceiling was 32,000 feet (9,754 meters). The NA-73X had a maximum speed of 382 miles per hour (615 kilometers per hour) at 13,700 feet (4,176 meters). North American Aviation’s prototype fighter, NA-73X, NX19998, at Mines Field, Los Angeles, California. It had a dry weight of 1,310 pounds (594 kilograms). at Sea Level, with 44.5 inches of manifold pressure (1.51 Bar), 5 minute limit and a War Emergency Power rating of 1,490 horsepower at 3,000 r.p.m., with 56 inches of manifold pressure (1.90 Bar). at Sea Level Take Off Power rating of 1,150 horsepower at 3,000 r.p.m. The V-1710-39 had a Normal Power rating of 880 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m. This was a right-hand tractor engine (the V-1710 was built in both right-hand and left-hand configurations) which drove a 10 foot, 6 inch (3.200 meter) diameter, three-bladed, Curtiss Electric constant-speed propeller through a 2.00:1 gear reduction. The NA-73X was powered by a liquid-cooled, supercharged, 1,710.60-cubic-inch-displacement (28.032 liter) Allison Engineering Company V-1710-F3R (V-1710-39) single overhead cam 60° V-12 engine, with a compression ratio of 6.65:1 and a single-stage, single-speed supercharger. Empty weight of the NA-73X was 6,278 pounds (2,848 kilograms) and normal takeoff weight was 7,965 pounds (3,613 kilograms). ![]() The prototype was 32 feet, 2–5/8 inches (9.820 meters) long, with a wing span of 37 feet, 5/16 inch (11.286 meters). As cooling air passed through the radiator, it was heated and expanded, so that as it exited, it actually produced some thrust. The coolant radiator with its intake and exhaust ducts was located behind and below the cockpit. The Mustang was the first airplane to use a laminar-flow wing. ![]() ![]() The fuselage panels were precisely designed and very smooth. The airplane was designed for the maximum reduction in aerodynamic drag. It was primarily of metal construction, though the flight control surfaces were fabric covered. The prototype NA-73X, North American serial number 73-3097, was a single-seat, single-engine, low wing monoplane with retractable landing gear. In a contract amendment dated 9 December 1940, the British Purchasing Commission directed that the NA-73 would be identified by the name, “Mustang.” Vance Breese in the cockpit of the NA-73X, NX19998, at Mines Field, preparing for a test flight. They were to produce 320 fighters before 30 September 1941, approximately 50 per month, at a total price of $14,746,964.35. The Purchasing Commission agreed, and with a letter of understanding, North American began work on the NA-73X on. North American countered with a proposal to design a completely new and superior fighter around the P-40’s Allison V-12 engine, and begin production in no more time than it would take to get a P-40 production line up and running. The British Purchasing Commission asked North American Aviation in Los Angeles, California, to build additional Tomahawks under license from Curtiss-Wright. North American Aviation’s NA-73X fighter prototype, engine idling, with Vance Breese in the cockpit at Mines Field, Los Angeles, 26 October 1941. The RAF called these fighters the Tomahawk Mark I (P-40 Warhawk in U.S. They had taken over an order for Curtiss-Wright Hawk 81-A1 fighters which had been built for France, but which had not been shipped by the time France surrendered. Airplane manufacturers were turning out Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires as rapidly as possible, but they were barely keeping up with combat losses. With Great Britain at war with Nazi Germany, the Royal Air Force was the primary defender of the island nation. He would make six more test flights between 26 October and 13 November, totaling approximately 3 hours, 30 minutes of flight time. Later in the day, Breese flew the NA-73X another ten minutes. (North American Aviation, Inc.)Ģ6 October 1940: At Mines Field, Los Angeles, California (now, Los Angeles International Airport), free lance test pilot Vance Breese took the prototype North American Aviation NA-73X, civil registration NX19998, on a five-minute first flight. North American Aviation NA-73X prototype, left front quarter view. ![]()
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