Thomas-Morse XP-13 Viper - Aeroplane

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The XP-13 Viper was a prototype biplane fighter aircraft designed by the American company Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation. The airplane was delivered to the United States Army in 1929, but they did not adopt it.

XP-13

Thomas-Morse XP-13
Role	Fighter Type of aircraft
Manufacturer	Thomas-Morse
Designer	B. Douglas Thomas[1]
Introduction	June 1929
Primary user	United States Army Air Service
Number built	1[2]

Design and development

This aircraft was one of several B. Douglas Thomas designs built in hopes of a production contract from the Army, following the successful Thomas-Morse MB-3 of 1919. Financed by the company, and named the "Viper", it was officially purchased by the Army in June 1929 and designated "XP-13".

The XP-13 fuselage had a corrugated aluminum skin built over a metal frame; the flying surfaces were also metal-framed, but covered with the traditional fabric. While designed to use the 600 hp Curtiss H-1640-1 Chieftain engine, (a novel 12-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial with the rear cylinders directly behind the front cylinders rather than staggered as normal in a two-row radial[3]) for which the XP-13 incorporated a complex system of baffles to direct cooling air over the engine, the engine simply would not stay cool enough, and in September 1930 it was replaced with a Pratt & Whitney SR1340C Wasp of 450 hp. Ironically, the lower-power engine actually resulted in a speed increase of 15 mph, at least partly because of the weight savings.[4]

In the end, the Army decided against production, Thomas-Morse was acquired by Consolidated Aircraft, and the prototype was lost to an inflight fire.

Variants

XP-13: Prototype, serial number 29-453 with 600 hp (448 kW) Curtiss H-1640-1 Chieftain hex engine[2]

XP-13A: The XP-13 modified with a 525 hp (391 kW) Pratt & Whitney SR-1340-C enclosed in a NACA cowling, along with a revised fin and rudder[5]

XP-14: This designation was used for a proposed Curtiss version of the Viper with the Curtiss H-1640-1 Chieftain hex engine

Operators

United States

United States Army Air Service

Specifications (XP-13 (Chieftain engine))

Data from William Green; Gordon Swanborough (1994). The Complete Book of Fighters: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Every Fighter Aircraft Built and Flown. Salamander. ISBN 978-0-86101-643-3.

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 23 ft 6 in (7.16 m)
Wingspan: 28 ft 0 in (8.53 m)
Height: 8 ft 5 in (2.56 m)
Wing area: 189 sq ft (17.6 m²)
Empty weight: 2,262 lb (1,026 kg)
Gross weight: 3,256 lb (1,477 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Curtiss H-1640-1 Chieftain 12-cyliner two-row air-cooled radial engine, 600 hp (448 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 150 kn (172 mph, 277 km/h) (at sea level)
Cruise speed: 113 kn (130 mph, 209 km/h) [6]
Range: 168 nmi (193 mi, 312 km) [6]
Service ceiling: 20,775 ft (6,300 m)
Rate of climb: 1,700 ft/min (8.6 m/s) [6]

Armament
none

References

Notes

The Complete Book of Fighters Editors: William Green & Gordon Swanborough (Barnes & Noble Books New York, 1998, ISBN 0-7607-0904-1)
"U.S. Army Aircraft 1908–1946" by James C. Fahey, 1946, 64pp.
Gunston 1986, p.46.
"U.S. Fighters", by Lloyd S. Jones, (Aero Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-8168-9200-8, 1975) pp. 46–47
"The American Fighter", Enzo Angellucci and Peter Bowers, (Orion Books ISBN 0-517-56588-9), 1987
Dorr and Donald 1990, p.43

Bibliography

Dorr, Robert F. and David Donald. Fighters of the United States Air Force. London:Temple, 1990. ISBN 0-600-55094-X.
Gunston, Bill, World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. London: Guild Publishing, 1986.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas-Morse XP-13 Viper.

v t e Thomas-Morse aircraft
Thomas Brothers	D-5 T-2 S-4 SH-4
Thomas-Morse	MB-1 MB-2 MB-3 MB-4 MB-6 MB-7 MB-9 MB-10 R5 TM-23 TM-24 O-19 Y1O-41 Y1O-42 XP-13 Viper

USAAS/USAAC/USAAF/USAF fighter designations 1924–1962, and Tri-Service post-1962 systems

1924 sequences
(1924–1962)

Pursuit (1924–1948)	P-1 P-2 P-3 P-4 P-5 P-6 P-7 P-8 P-9 P-10 P-11 P-12 P-13 P-14 P-15 P-16 P-17 P-18 P-19 P-20 P-21 P-22 P-23 P-24 P-25 P-26 P-27 P-28 P-29 P-30 P-31 P-32 P-33 P-34 P-35 P-36 P-37 P-38 P-39 E P-40 P-41 P-42 P-43 P-44 P-45 P-46 P-47 P-48 P-49 P-50 P-51 P-52 P-53 P-54 P-55 P-56 P-57 P-58 P-59³ XP-59 P-59 P-60 P-61 P-62 P-63 P-64 P-65 P-66 P-67 P-68 P-69 P-70 P-71 P-72 P-73² P-74¹ P-75 P-76 P-77 P-78 P-79 P-80 P-81 P-82 P-83 P-84 P-85 P-86 P-87 P-88 P-89 P-90 P-91 P-92
Fighter (1948–1962)	F-38 F-39 F-40 F-47 F-51 F-59 F-61 RF-61C F-63 F-80 F-81 F-82 F-83 F-84 F/J H F-85 F-86 C D/G/K/L F-87 F-88 F-89 F-90 F-91 F-92 F-93 F-94 F-95 F-96 F-97 F-98 F-99 F-100 B F-101 F-102 B F-103 F-104 S XF-104 NF-104A F-105 F-106³ XF-106 F-106 F-107 F-108 F-109² F-110 F-111 B C K AFTI EF-111A
Pursuit, Biplace	PB-1 PB-2 PB-3
Fighter, Multiplace	FM-1 FM-2
Non-sequential	F-24 P-322 P-400

Tri-service sequence
(1962–present)

Main sequence	F-1 C/D E/F F-2 F-3 F-4 K/M F-5 G F-6 F-7 F-8 F-9 F/G/H/J F-10 F-11 F-12 C² F-13¹ F-14 F-15 E J STOL/MTD F-16 XL VISTA F-17 F-18 E/F G F-19¹ F-20 F-21 F-22 YF-22 FB-22 F-23
Non-sequential	F-35 I X-35 F-117

Covert designations

YF-110
- B/D
- C
YF-113 (I)
- A
YF-113 (II)
- B/D
YF-113 (III)
- C
YF-114
- C/D
YF-117
- A
- D
YF-118

Related designations

FV-12

¹ Not assigned • ² Unofficial • ³ Assigned to multiple types
See also: "F-19" • 1919-1924 sequence

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