The Bell XP-77: The little fighter that couldn't
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From the Planes You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of Department of Wingspan, we bring you the Bell XP-77.
In the early stages of WWII, the US was faced with two problems, one potential, and the other frighteningly real. The first was the possibility that the light metal alloys used in the construction of aircraft might become scarce, mainly because the production of these metals for aircraft could soon outstrip the country’s ability to produce them. If that became the case, then other materials would have to be used, and there was one thing the US had in abundance: wood. The second, very real problem was the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, a lightweight, agile fighter that took the Americans by surprise in the Pacific. Heavier, less maneuverable American fighters had suffered greatly in dogfights with the Zero, so a comparable, lightweight fighter might be the answer to the scourge of the Zero-Sen.
The small size of the XP-77 is readily apparent as it sits between a North American B-25 and a Douglas A-20
To solve both problems at once, the Bell Aircraft Corporation proposed the Tri-4 in 1941. Inspired by the small and light racers that had taken part in the Thompson Trophy air races of the 1930s, the Tri-4 was constructed mainly of wood, and its aft fuselage was made as small as possible. Bell estimated that the Tri-4, soon to be designated the XP-77, would have a top speed of 410 mph at 27,000 feet while carrying two .50 caliber machine guns and two 20mm cannons. Its thin wings allowed no room for fuel tanks, so a single tank containing just 56 gallons of fuel was placed ahead of the cockpit. Complete with a supercharged Ranger V-770 inverted 12-cylinder engine, they projected that the XP-70 would weigh no more than 3,700 pounds.
Though it wasn’t much of a performer in the air, the XP-77's tricycle landing gear, a trademark of the Bell Corporation, gave the little fighter excellent handling on the ground.
The US Army Air Corps initially ordered 25 aircraft for testing in 1942, but delays in procuring a supercharger meant that the first flight didn’t take place until 1944, by which time the USAAC had already canceled the project, as aircraft aluminum had not become scarce, and traditional fighters had come to grips with the Zero. Tests with the unsupercharged Ranger engine proved less than spectacular, with the little fighter only reaching 330 mph at 4,000 feet. Problems with the wooden wings and persistent vibrations from the engine’s being mounted directly to the airframe meant that the XP-77 was difficult to fly, even without the added weight of guns and armor plating. Though testing continued, the loss of the second prototype in a crash doomed the wooden wonder to termination in December 1944.
If you enjoy these posts, please join in the conversation and let me know. If you missed an episode, you can find them all at Wingspan. Other aircraft also-rans can be found at Planes You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of.
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A quick experiment. How do you get the photo to show up on the front page?
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@ttyymmnn There's a four square icon at the top right
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@skyfire77 said in The Bell XP-77: The little fighter that couldn't:
@ttyymmnn There's a four square icon at the top right
What @Skyfire77 Sky said...thumbnails for posts are not automatic on NodeBB (we're looking into seeing if that is possible, like it is on Kinja), but are manual for the time being in that you can pick any image as the thread thumbnail.
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@rallydarkstrike Thanks. I thought I remembered seeing something like that but then couldn't remember. Having some other photo than the top be the thumbnail is a nice feature.
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@ttyymmnn I thought the same - some folks don't like it though. Doesn't really matter much either way though.
Thanks for making a post!
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@jminer O/T, but I tried to log into this on my laptop, but I guess I forgot the password I created last night. I requested a reset, but it never arrived.
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@ttyymmnn Yeah, email isn't working yet. That's near the top of the list of big issues to fix.
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@ttyymmnn The aeroplane that has excellent handling on the ground. WIN!
Jminer created this in like a day. That guy has some crazy skills. He also just moved to within about 30 miles of my home.
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@jminer Not like you have a lot on your hands right now....
Thanks.
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Dude, that's only 91 lbs heavier than my car... that things crazy small, but also crazy flawed. Thanks for the quick read, though it's going to be hard to follow all the stuff you write on all these different platforms.
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@taylor-martin Thanks. It's going to be hard to keep up with it myself. Of course, when (and if) Oppo gets the plug pulled, I'll only be here and DT. I think I'm going to keep posting my aviation stuff there in hopes of reaching a wider audience.
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@ttyymmnn That makes a lot of sense. This is kind of an enclosed bubble. DT is a place for growth and recognition and fame (okay, maybe not fame, but growth for sure).
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@jminer They just need to get used to it.
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@taylor-martin Which is one reason why I think moving there could be good. It keeps new blood coming in. How do we get new members here?
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@ttyymmnn I mean, we could link this website on the DT frontpage, since this is the official oppositelock.com thing (at least for now). People can join of their own free will, or it can just be a he says she says forum where we invite friends to join.
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@taylor-martin It could still definitely grow. There are several mainstream forums like advrider that have readership way larger than Oppo has been in a long time (maybe ever). Front page for featured articles and that sort of thing.
That'd be my ultimate goal for this. Not now, but eventually. A place to showcase oppo talent like you or ttyymmnn to a broader audience.
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@skyfire77 I was just chatting with jminer about categories, specifically a #Planelopnik category. We agreed that we need one, but he asked if we wanted to keep going with -lopnik convention. Certainly no reason to. I suggested a plain old #Aviation or something, but I also said we should check with you first, since you and I are the ones making the most long-form aviation posts. I am so used to #Planelopnik that it seems to still fit, but I also like the idea of moving away from that. Thoughts?
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@ttyymmnn I'd love to keep the "Planelopnik" tag for a new category. Sounds like a plan to me.
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@ttyymmnn Do you have any info on why Bell got out of fixed wing aircraft?
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@3point8isgreat Not really sure. Bell flew their first helicopter in 1943, and aside from the X planes, they went pretty much all in on helicopters and VTOL.
