Curtiss XF14C

The Curtiss XF14C was an American prototype naval fighter developed by Curtiss-Wright after the United States Navy asked in 1941 for a higher-performing shipboard fighter. The Navy planned for it to use the Lycoming XH-2470 Hyper, a 24-cylinder liquid-cooled engine, which was an unusual choice for a service that favoured air-cooled radials. A contract for two prototypes, the XF14C-1, was awarded on 30 June 1941, the same day as contracts to Grumman for the XF6F-1 and XF7F-1. When the Hyper engine lagged and the Navy asked for better altitude performance, Curtiss redesigned the aircraft around a turbocharged Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone with contra-rotating propellers. Only the XF14C-2 was completed, flying in July 1944, and the programme was cancelled after disappointing performance estimates and engine delays.