Design and Development
On 22 June 1940, the Curtiss-Wright company received an Army contract for preliminary engineering data and a powered wind tunnel model. The designation P-55 was reserved for the project. The USAAC was not completely satisfied with the results of these tests, and Curtiss-Wright took it upon itself to build a flying full-scale model which it designated CW-24B. The flying testbed was powered by a 275 hp (205 kW) Menasco C68-5 inline engine. It had a fabric-covered, welded steel tube fuselage with a wooden wing. The undercarriage was non-retractable.
On 10 July 1942, the United States Army Air Forces issued a contract for three prototypes under the designation XP-55. Serial numbers were 42-78845 through 42-78847. During this time, the Pratt & Whitney X-1800 H-block sleeve valve engine was experiencing serious developmental delays, and was eventually cancelled. Curtiss decided to switch to the 1,000 hp (750 kW) Allison V-1710 (F16) liquid-cooled inline engine because of its proven reliability. Armament was to be two 20 mm (0.79 in) cannons and two 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns. During the mock-up phase, it was decided to switch to the more powerful 1,275 hp (951 kW) V-1710-95. The 20 mm cannons were also replaced by 0.50 in machine guns.
A special feature of the XP-55 was a propeller jettison lever located inside the cockpit to prevent the pilot from hitting the propeller during bailout.
Read more about this topic: Curtiss-Wright XP-55 Ascender
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