Curtiss XP-53

[Justo Miranda]

The XP-53 was the second attempt to produce a successor of the P-40, after the cancellation of the ‘european-style fighter’ XP-46.

Curtiss XP-53 technical data

Power plant: one 1,600 hp Continental XIV-1430-3, twelve-cylinder, inverted Vee, liquid cooled engine driving a three-bladed Curtiss-Electric propeller with 11.2 ft of diameter, wingspan: 41.4 ft (12.62 m), length: 35.2 ft (10.74 m), height: 12.3 ft (3.75 m), wing area: 284 sq.ft (25.54 sq.m), estimated maximum speed: 430 mph (692 kph), estimated maximum weight: 10,618 lbs (4,810 kg), estimated service ceiling: 30,500 ft (9,300 m), armament: eight 0.50 cal M2 wing mounted machine guns.

 

[GTX]

armament: six 0.50 cal M2 wing mounted machine guns.

Errr...your own drawing implies 8

 

[Justo Miranda]

O.K.

 

[hesham]

From the book; American Fighters.

 

[Apophenia]

According to William Green's War Planes of the Second World War: Fighters, Vol. 4 , the XP-53 was to have eight 50-cal wing guns ... which was reduced to six wing guns for the later XP-60.

 

[blackkite]

What is this drawing? Exhaust nozzle is small and no radiator flap.

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/some-photo-or-artist-impression-about-curtiss-xp-60.9213/

 

[blackkite]

U.S. Experimental & Prototype Aircraft Projects

This book focuses on those American fighter projects of WWII that never reached combat forces, or only in a very limited manner. The book illuminates little known or minimally documented aircraft and projects that significantly advanced fighter design that never went into full-rate production...

books.google.co.jp

 

[Apophenia]

What is this drawing? Exhaust nozzle is small and no radiator flap.

I assume that you've answered your own query in reply #7.

My question is why does the XP-60 'left side view' (widok lewej strony) show a P-40/XP-53-style undercarriage? From the outset, the XP-60 was to be fitted with an XP-46-style, inward-retracting main gear (as shown on the XP-60D sideview).

 

[blackkite]

Oh thanks. XP-53 was planned to have a turbocharged XI-1430 engine.
I can't understand this engine at all.

"the I-1430 adding sodium-filled exhaust valves in its own multi-valve design"
"sodium cooled exhaust valves"

Why use sodium as exhaust valve coolant?
Where are exhaust nozzles?
What is the device located top of the engine?

Continental Hyper XI-1430-15, Inverted V-12 Engine

airandspace.si.edu

 

[Aubi]

Sodium was allegedly used as coolant since the 1920s. I'm not a rocket surgeon so my explanation will be a little clumsy, but if you use sodium as filling inside the stem of a valve, it sucks the heat from the head of the valve, melts itself and transfers the heat to the back of the stem where the heat transfers to the much-better cooled valve guide. It can lower the temperature by some 100-150 °C.

 

[blackkite]

Specifications (I-1430-1)

Data from Aircraft Engines of the World 1946

General characteristics

• Type: 12-cylinder, liquid-cooled, inverted Vee​
• Bore: 5.5 in (139.7 mm)​
• Stroke: 5 in (127.0 mm)​
• Displacement: 1,425 cu in (23.35 l)​
• Dry weight: 1,615 lb (732.6 kg)​

Components

• Valvetrain: Overhead cam with 4 valves per cylinder​
• Supercharger: Gear driven centrifugal 5.97:1 gear ratio​
• Turbocharger: 1 x General Electric turbo-charger with intercooler​
• Fuel system: 1 x Bendix-Stromberg PD-12P2 updraught injection type carburetor with automatic mixture control​
• Fuel type: 100/130 grade aviation gasoline​
• Oil system: Pressure feed at 100 psi (689,475.73 Pa) with dry sump, 100–120 S.U. (20.5–25.1 cs) grade oil​
• Cooling system: liquid, 50% Glycol, 50% water​
• Reduction gear: 0.385:1 spur reduction gear​

Performance

• Power output: *(take-off) 1,600 hp (1,193.1 kW) at 3,300 rpm at 61 in (1,549.4 mm) Hg / +15.5 lb (7.0 kg) boost​
• (emergency) 2,100 hp (1,566.0 kW) at 3,400 rpm at 25,000 ft (7,620 m)​
• (military) 1,600 hp (1,193.1 kW) at 3,300 rpm at 25,000 ft (7,620 m)​
• (normal) 1,150 hp (857.6 kW) at 3,000 rpm at 25,000 ft (7,620 m)​
• (cruising) 920 hp (686.0 kW) at 2,780 rpm at 25,000 ft (7,620 m)​
• Specific power: 1.47 hp/cu in (67.18 kW/l)​
• Compression ratio: 6.5:1​
• Specific fuel consumption: 0.47 lb/hp/hr (0.286 kg/kW/hr)​
• Oil consumption: 0.025 lb/hp/hr (0.015 kg/kW/hr)​
• Power-to-weight ratio: 1.45 hp/lb (2.384 kW/kg)​

Oh thanks alot. So sodium cooled valve used for high revolution?

 

[iverson]

Specifications (I-1430-1)
No, sodium-filled valves cool the exhaust valve. The exhaust valve is one of the hottest parts of the engine. It has a high surface-area-to-volume ratio (because of its shape), and most of that surface area is directly exposed to hot combustion gases. The valve is also is a moving part that cannot be directly cooled by the engine's normal cooling medium (water, glycol/water, or air). So the valves are made hollow using temperature-resistant alloy and filled with metallic sodium, which transfers heat, as Aubi describes, via a heat-pipe mechanism (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_pipe).


Data from Aircraft Engines of the World 1946

General characteristics

• Type: 12-cylinder, liquid-cooled, inverted Vee​
• Bore: 5.5 in (139.7 mm)​
• Stroke: 5 in (127.0 mm)​
• Displacement: 1,425 cu in (23.35 l)​
• Dry weight: 1,615 lb (732.6 kg)​

Components

• Valvetrain: Overhead cam with 4 valves per cylinder​
• Supercharger: Gear driven centrifugal 5.97:1 gear ratio​
• Turbocharger: 1 x General Electric turbo-charger with intercooler​
• Fuel system: 1 x Bendix-Stromberg PD-12P2 updraught injection type carburetor with automatic mixture control​
• Fuel type: 100/130 grade aviation gasoline​
• Oil system: Pressure feed at 100 psi (689,475.73 Pa) with dry sump, 100–120 S.U. (20.5–25.1 cs) grade oil​
• Cooling system: liquid, 50% Glycol, 50% water​
• Reduction gear: 0.385:1 spur reduction gear​

Performance

• Power output: *(take-off) 1,600 hp (1,193.1 kW) at 3,300 rpm at 61 in (1,549.4 mm) Hg / +15.5 lb (7.0 kg) boost​
• (emergency) 2,100 hp (1,566.0 kW) at 3,400 rpm at 25,000 ft (7,620 m)​
• (military) 1,600 hp (1,193.1 kW) at 3,300 rpm at 25,000 ft (7,620 m)​
• (normal) 1,150 hp (857.6 kW) at 3,000 rpm at 25,000 ft (7,620 m)​
• (cruising) 920 hp (686.0 kW) at 2,780 rpm at 25,000 ft (7,620 m)​
• Specific power: 1.47 hp/cu in (67.18 kW/l)​
• Compression ratio: 6.5:1​
• Specific fuel consumption: 0.47 lb/hp/hr (0.286 kg/kW/hr)​
• Oil consumption: 0.025 lb/hp/hr (0.015 kg/kW/hr)​
• Power-to-weight ratio: 1.45 hp/lb (2.384 kW/kg)​

Oh thanks alot. So sodium cooled valve used for high revolution?

 

[jcf]

Where are exhaust nozzles?
What is the device located top of the engine?

The exhausts are covered with blanking plates.
The device is the magneto.

Lots of photos here:

IV-1430 Images

Grahame White running his restored IV-1430:

 

[blackkite]

Thanks a lot!!
There are people in the world who know everything.

 

[blackkite]

Oh Inconel!!

 

[aim9xray]

 

[blackkite]

Oh this is what I want to know. Temperature distribution!!
I can't believe such a technology.
I once designed and tested some part of steam generator and piping sysrtem of Japanese liquid metal (sodium) cooling fast breeder reactor (LMFBR) Monju.
Sodium is very hard to handle. For example sodium water reaction.

 

[jcf]

Sam Heron invented the sodium-cooled valve, he had previously worked with Kettering who had used mercury-filled
valves for the same purpose. The sodium valve was perfected and put on the market by Thompson Products, the
forerunner of TRW.

 

[blackkite]

Thanks a lot.

Japanese site. No new information.

Curtiss XP-53

Curtiss XP-53 P-40 Development, P-60 Original

The Curtiss failed once on the XP-46 as a successor to the P-40, but the XP-53, the company-name Model88, was redesigned for the occasion of the humiliation. The main wing equipped with a 1600hp Continental XIV-1430 engine,ia s laminar flow wing, radiators / intakes that had become three-stage in XP-46 is summarized in one place on the fuselage lower side of the wing root, At least it was supposed to be a pretty clean aircraft. The main leg is a 90-degree rotation rear pull-in, but this seems to be a treatment for mounting 12.7mm 4 tsubo to the main wing.

In November 1940, the military suddenly demanded that The Curtiss "want a single-engine laminar-wing edizable fighter with a Merlin engine." It may have been a bit of a hit horse for the Promotion North American P-51 Mustang, which was the first flight in October of the same year. In response, Curtiss proposed an in-house name Model90 that replaced the design of the XP-53 with Merlin, which was designed as an XP-60, and the project was to proceed with a separate machine.

About a year later, the XIV-1430 was revealed to be an irrefusant defect engine, and the XP-53 plan was cancelled. The aircraft was being used for the Strength Test Stand for the P-60 design, and the armed and bulletproof tanks supplied by the military for P-53 manufacturing were applied to the XP-60.

 

[blackkite]

This side view is little strange as we already know.

Curtiss XP-53 (Model 88) Lightweight Monoplane Fighter Proposal

Page details technical specifications, development, and operational history of the Curtiss XP-53 (Model 88) Lightweight Monoplane Fighter Proposal including pictures.

www.militaryfactory.com

 

[WJPearce]

Specifications (I-1430-1)

Data from Aircraft Engines of the World 1946

Components

Valvetrain: Overhead cam with 4 valves per cylinder

The above is incorrect. My copy of Aircraft Engines of the World 1946 states that there is one inlet valve and one (sodium cooled) exhaust valve. Service instructions of the I-1430-9 engine state that there were two valves per cylinder. This all matches up with the O-1430 and Hyper Cylinders No. 1 and 2, which used the same basic cylinder design with just two valves.

Iverson and JCF are on point. Sam Heron, who developed the sodium-cooled valve, was responsible for the design of Hyper Cylinder No. 1. This was modified into Hyper Cylinder No. 2, which was used on the O-1430, which was changed to the I-1430. Of course, there is a lot more to the story, about 5,000 more words in my attempt to cover the O-1430 and I-1430. Those stories should come to life in April.

 

[blackkite]

Good news for me.

 

[Gobloxx]

Specifications (I-1430-1)

Data from Aircraft Engines of the World 1946

General characteristics

• Type: 12-cylinder, liquid-cooled, inverted Vee​
• Bore: 5.5 in (139.7 mm)​
• Stroke: 5 in (127.0 mm)​
• Displacement: 1,425 cu in (23.35 l)​
• Dry weight: 1,615 lb (732.6 kg)​

Components

• Valvetrain: Overhead cam with 4 valves per cylinder​
• Supercharger: Gear driven centrifugal 5.97:1 gear ratio​
• Turbocharger: 1 x General Electric turbo-charger with intercooler​
• Fuel system: 1 x Bendix-Stromberg PD-12P2 updraught injection type carburetor with automatic mixture control​
• Fuel type: 100/130 grade aviation gasoline​
• Oil system: Pressure feed at 100 psi (689,475.73 Pa) with dry sump, 100–120 S.U. (20.5–25.1 cs) grade oil​
• Cooling system: liquid, 50% Glycol, 50% water​
• Reduction gear: 0.385:1 spur reduction gear​

Performance

• Power output: *(take-off) 1,600 hp (1,193.1 kW) at 3,300 rpm at 61 in (1,549.4 mm) Hg / +15.5 lb (7.0 kg) boost​
• (emergency) 2,100 hp (1,566.0 kW) at 3,400 rpm at 25,000 ft (7,620 m)​
• (military) 1,600 hp (1,193.1 kW) at 3,300 rpm at 25,000 ft (7,620 m)​
• (normal) 1,150 hp (857.6 kW) at 3,000 rpm at 25,000 ft (7,620 m)​
• (cruising) 920 hp (686.0 kW) at 2,780 rpm at 25,000 ft (7,620 m)​
• Specific power: 1.47 hp/cu in (67.18 kW/l)​
• Compression ratio: 6.5:1​
• Specific fuel consumption: 0.47 lb/hp/hr (0.286 kg/kW/hr)​
• Oil consumption: 0.025 lb/hp/hr (0.015 kg/kW/hr)​
• Power-to-weight ratio: 1.45 hp/lb (2.384 kW/kg)​

Oh thanks alot. So sodium cooled valve used for high revolution?

The modern LS engines and later LT engines use sodium filled valves. It's still very common to see them in modern performance engines.

 

[blackkite]

XP-53 had a Continental I-1430 engine with gear driven centrifugal supercharger and 1 x General Electric turbo-charger with intercooler.
So XP-53 needs air intake for radiator, inter cooler, oil cooler and turbocharger.
Also XP-53 needs air outlet for turbocharger, radiator, intercooler and oil cooler.
We have some XP-53 drawings. Those drawings are almost same. But little different, such as wing shape, air intake shape.
XP-53 turbo charging system is perhaps surprisingly compact same as Raiden. Perhaps intercooler is liquid cooling type located near the engine same as Raiden.
Radiator for intercooler is combined with engine radiator same as Merlin engine.
There are no XP-53 picture still now. Mysterious aircraft,too.

Sorry I made a mistake. Air intake located under thw wing leading edge also include air intake for turbo charger.

 

[blackkite]

Hi! Raiden turbochaging system.
排気タービン過給器 : Turbo charger, 中間冷却器 : Inter cooler