US Navy Outline Specification OS-112

• Boeing 482
• Curtiss-Wright VF-31
• Curtiss-Wright VF-37 (P-538)
• Curtiss-Wright VF-38 (P-551)
• Douglas 1163
• Lockheed L-180

In 1946, both the Air Force and the Navy realized that they needed to develop long-range escort fighters to protect the strategic bombers in the next war, if it came to that. Neither service was actually successful in that regard, but the Air Force's efforts to develop parasite fighters (the McDonnell F-85) and long-range fighters (the McDonnell F-88 and Lockheed F-90) are well known and documented. Not so the Navy's. I had only heard about studies but seen nothing specific until diligent researcher Ryan Crierie found two Curtiss-Wright proposals in George Spangenberg's papers at the National Archives.

I'm still a little fuzzy on the details, but it appears that the Navy issued OS-112 to define the requirements for a carrier-based fighter to accompany its planned force of long-range, carrier-based, atomic bombers. The most significant number was the combat radius: 1,200 nautical miles, roughly twice that of existing carrier-based fighters. As envisioned by Curtiss-Wright, it was to be a big airplane with a four-man crew. The armament consisted of a forward and aft facing radar-directed turrets. The large pods on the wing tips were not fuel tanks, but housed search radars, one covering the upper hemisphere and the other the lower. (An alternate approach had one covering the right hemisphere and the other the left.)

The crew consisted of a pilot and copilot and two gunners, one facing aft and one forward across from each other in a compartment aft of the cockpit. Presumably the copilot was there as a relief pilot, since the mission time was over six hours for the jet version and almost eight hours for the turboprop. (As it happened, all the Navy's strategic bombers were single-piloted, with the crew consisting of a bombardier and a third man whose duties varied over time and with the aircraft type.)

The artist's concept above is the Curtiss Wright 551, which was powered by four Westinghouse J46 engines with afterburners and had a takeoff gross weight of 68,500 pounds. The turboprop version, the 538, was powered by two Allison T40s and only weighed 51,000 pounds. By way of comparison, the biggest Navy carrier-based jet fighter at the time, the Douglas two-seat F3D Skynight, weighed about half that and had a combat range, not radius, of 1,200 nautical miles. (It was actually used to escort Air Force B-29s on night missions during the Korean War.)

The operational concept appears to have been that the crew of the escort "fighter" would detect the approaching enemy interceptors with its search radars, get into position to block them from approaching the bombers, and shoot them down when they came within range of either the forward or aft turrets.

After a review of the proposals and a rethink, the Navy decided to send its bombers out on their own, protected only by speed in the case of the AJ Savage, the placeholder for the A2J and A3D that were both designed with tail turrets.

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hesham said:

Great find my dear Bill.

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masher47 said:

This is to either clarify some points or make them more confusing. My data comes from 40 years ago sent to me by Jerry Scharfenberger, but I’m showing a section of the same document from Jared’s site as the drawings are much cleaner. Hopefully Bill S will join in.

This material crosses several threads, Bill S’s US Navy Outline Specification OS-112, allysonca’s

Vought V-356 Navy Attack Proposal, and nugo’s USN competition of Carrier-Based Long-Rang Escort Fighter.

To me all of the views shown are as Bill S mentions are V-356 variation. Enclosed are four of the turbo-prop versions, one PT-2 powered model CVS 17421, and three XT-40 powered designs, one a twin engine CVS 17407 and two single engine, the tractor tail dragger Bill S has posted the CVS 17419, and a tricycle gear pusher CVS 17420.

Bill S has produced some interesting data, I couldn’t find the T40 models when I had the opportunity to go through the files in Arlington, nore could anyone else when I asked for specific models. I under stand all the microfilm has been transferred to the SDASM. If so did they also get the color portrate of the 30 F6U Pirates on the runway? Bill S do you still have access? Would love more views of the pusher CVS 17420, especially a cut-away. Where did the CVS 17402 DeLaval views come from? Are there more XT-42 designs? Where did Allysonca drawing come from and what is the sub number, the CVS 17---? Feel free to contact me is you don’t want to post.

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masher47 said:

Thanks Bill for taking the time to fill me in. Did you guys disband and if so did the O2U Corsair replica get finished? I was last there when you were painting the V-173 and and the Pirate had been primed. I see its at Pensacola now. Thank you and your fello Vought employees for working all those years filling in voids of our history that others so willing disregard.

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Skybolt said:

These are the Lockheed submissions. Original specs for the type were: 4-man crew, combat radius = 1.788 Nmi, cruise speed = 335 knots, maximum speed @ 48,888 feet = 465 knots, rate of climb @ SL = 5600 fpm.
L-180-2 was on the specs but was too slow and too heavy for small-carrier operations; L-180-3 (I don't have this design) was a compromise, lighter but too short on range; L-180-4 was a simplified design, essentially an F-90 with enlarged surfaces. Lockheed results showed that an aircraft designed exactly to specs would have been impractical. Lockheed went on and proposed a bomber able to attack without escort on most missions. Designated L-180-5 it could be included in the OS-111 projects. Main data were at a GTOW of 52.625 pounds: bombing raius 1200 nmi, bombing atitude max 45.000 feet, cruise speed 450 knots, max speed 500 knots, max speed with a/b 600 knots, stall speed 94 knots, rate of climb at SL 2860 fpm, with a/b 5800 fpm. The L-180-5 used drop-tanks, had no landing gear but took-off from a dolly and landed on belly, the bomb-bay was targeted to a single type of bomb (nuclear).

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acegeek9992 said:

If you said you didn't have the L-180-3 design, then why is there a picture of it on your post? On the other hand, I'd love to see a drawing for the L-180-4

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hesham said:

acegeek9992 said:

If you said you didn't have the L-180-3 design, then why is there a picture of it on your post? On the other hand, I'd love to see a drawing for the L-180-4

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May it will be mention in the book,ASP5 ?.

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acegeek9992 said:

If that book ever exists, I wonder when it could be released for all of us to read

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Skybolt said:

These are the Lockheed submissions. Original specs for the type were: 4-man crew, combat radius = 1.788 Nmi, cruise speed = 335 knots, maximum speed @ 48,888 feet = 465 knots, rate of climb @ SL = 5600 fpm.
L-180-2 was on the specs but was too slow and too heavy for small-carrier operations; L-180-3 (I don't have this design) was a compromise, lighter but too short on range; L-180-4 was a simplified design, essentially an F-90 with enlarged surfaces. Lockheed results showed that an aircraft designed exactly to specs would have been impractical. Lockheed went on and proposed a bomber able to attack without escort on most missions. Designated L-180-5 it could be included in the OS-111 projects. Main data were at a GTOW of 52.625 pounds: bombing raius 1200 nmi, bombing atitude max 45.000 feet, cruise speed 450 knots, max speed 500 knots, max speed with a/b 600 knots, stall speed 94 knots, rate of climb at SL 2860 fpm, with a/b 5800 fpm. The L-180-5 used drop-tanks, had no landing gear but took-off from a dolly and landed on belly, the bomb-bay was targeted to a single type of bomb (nuclear).

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acegeek9992 said:

Anyone have pics on the Boeing 482 and Douglas 1163 yet?

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