Bell YFM-1 Airacuda

The Bell YFM-1 Airacuda was an American heavy fighter that Bell Aircraft developed for the United States Army Air Corps in the mid-1930s, and it was the first military aircraft Bell produced. Conceived as a bomber destroyer, it carried a forward-firing 37 mm cannon with its own gunner in a compartment on the front of each of its two engine nacelles. The first aircraft flew on 1 September 1937, and its first flights used single-stage supercharged engines that delivered less power than the intended turbo-supercharged ones. Bold design features were offset by serious flaws: the aircraft was heavy, slower than most bombers and not manoeuvrable enough to dogfight. Only one prototype and 12 production aircraft were built, and by early 1942 the survivors had been stricken from inventory.