Northrop N-63 (1950)
VTOL Convoy Fighter Concept
STATUS: RETIRED
PRODUCTION RUN: 2016-2021
STATUS: RETIRED
PRODUCTION RUN: 2016-2021
About the Design
During the late 1940s, the U.S. Navy launched a program to develop a small, tail-sitting fighter that could launch vertically from its supply ships. In 1950, it launched the Convoy Fighter Competition, which ultimately yielded the Convair XFY-1 "Pogo" and the Lockheed XFV-1 "Salmon." But these two planes weren't the only designs the Navy considered.
Also in the running was Northrop's N-63. Like the others in the competition, the N-63 was a VTOL tail-sitter featuring two counter-rotating propeller spinners. It was to be armed with four 20mm cannons mounted in large wingtop pods. The design's most distinguishing characteristics were its severe upper wing dihedral and its large ventral fin. The N-63 never made it past the proposal stage. |
About the Model
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