Overview
The Republic XP-72 was an American prototype fighter-interceptor developed by Republic Aircraft as a progression of the P-47 Thunderbolt design. The XP-72 was designed around the Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major 28-cylinder air-cooled radial engine with a supercharger mounted behind the pilot and driven by an extension shaft from the engine. The armament consisted of six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) wing-mounted Browning AN/M2 machine guns and underwing racks for two 1,000 lb bombs; Alternative armament packages included two 37 mm M4 autocannons with four .50 caliber AN/M2s, or four M4 autocannons.
Specifications
Figures are compiled from public sources and may be approximate; they can vary by variant and configuration.
Photos
Photo 1: San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Some text and images come from Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA licences. Source
