Thanks folks. Here comes some ugly ones
You are teasing... [/quote]
Only because I forgot to bring my travel drive to the computer lab
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A Whale of a Fighter - Eastern Aircraft and the Propeller-TurbineEven the biggest
Wildcat fans would not claim that corpulent fighter to be the most aesthetically pleasing example of the aeronautical arts. But, judged on looks alone, two of the designs of the Eastern Aircraft Division hit a new low.
Eastern was asked to flight-test the new General Electric TG-100 turboprop [1] engine intended for the mixed-power Ryan XF2R-2 '
Dark Shark' fighter. As a proven airframe, the FM-3 was chosen for the task. The TG-100 was to be attached to the
Wildcat's firewall and governed to 1,600 shp.
An early-production FM-3 [2] was selected for conversion to turboprop power. Engine installation was straightforward but governing proved unnecessary - the TG-100, on its best days, only produced 1,500 shp. Even still, it was necessary to add considerably to the tail surfaces to match the now much-lengthened nose. This was accomplished with a long ventral strake and an enlarged tail (as intended for the production FM-4 model) to which was added a huge dorsal fin extension.
The resulting conversion was redesignated XFM-6 [3] but the aircraft's grotesque appearance earned it the sobriquet of '
Whale Shark' at Eastern. The long 'snout' of the XFM-6 combined with the
Wildcat's narrow-track undercarriage made taxiing the XFM-6 in any degree of crosswind more than challenging. Nonetheless, the US Navy was satisfied with this test bed and the sole XFM-6 was delivered to Ryan for XF2R '
Dark Shark' development work.
[
Top] Eastern XFM-6 '
Whale Shark' conversion prior to delivery to Ryan Aeronautics
Before the lessons of the '
Whale Shark' experience were tallied, Eastern's Linden design office staff began work on a new TG-100 powered fighter. Dubbed the 'Turbine-Propeller Escort Fighter', this was a fresh design which incorporated a number of FM-3 components. At the time, the Linden office was cooperating with Bell Aircraft (of which, more later) and that Buffalo firm's expertise in mid-engined arrangements and tricycle undercarriages was drawn upon.
The Bureau of Aeronautics encouraged Eastern to 'flesh out' its design study but thought was given to a prototype construction contract. Other than being turboprop-powered, the 'TPEF' concept followed the general arrangement of Bell's P-39 and P-63 fighters. Initial concerns were that fuel carried for the 'thirsty' TG-100 was inadequate but plans existed for detachable wing tip tanks to increase range. Once the limitations of GE's TG-100 engine were apparent, work on the 'TPEF' was ended.
[
Bottom] General appearance of the final 'Turbine-Propeller Escort Fighter' concept. No mockup was ever built of the 'TPEF'.
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[1] The TG-100 engine was later designated T31 but General Electric could never get its turboprop to deliver the promised power.
[2] FM-3 BuAer 57167 had been returned to Eastern after suffering a major engine fire on the ground at NAS Pensacola (where it had been assigned to Cadet Advanced Flight Training duties).
[3] The XFM-6 was a 'recycled' designation. The original FM-6 proposal was for an unbuilt FM-3A development armed with four 20 mm cannons in place of the standard .50 cal machine guns.