After the U.S. Navy declared its preference for radial engines, Wright developed the P-1 Simoon. To demonstrate the engine, the F3W was designed to carry it. The F3W was a single-seat biplane, with a steel tubing fuselage and wood wings, covered by fabric. Designed to be a carrier-based fighter and powered by the Simoon engine, its performance was poor. After the Navy took delivery of the aircraft, they installed a rival company's engine, the Pratt & WhitneyR-1340radial. The aircraft was redesignated XF3W, and flew with the new engine for the first time on 5 May 1926.[1]
Operational history
The Navy used the XF3W as a test bed for the Pratt & Whitney engine until 1930, during which time the aircraft set a number of records. On 6 September 1929, the XF3W piloted by Apollo Soucek set the world altitude record for seaplanes of 38,500 ft (11,700 m); on 6 April 1930, Soucek set the landplane altitude record of 43,166 ft (13,157 m).[1] The XF3W was also fitted with a single centreline float to evaluate the concept of basing floatplanes on battleships.[2]
^ abcdAngelucci, Enzo (1987). The American Fighter from 1917 to the present. New York: Orion Books. p. 462. ISBN0-517-56588-9.
^Johnson, E.R (2011). United States Naval Aviation, 1919–1941: Aircraft, Airships and Ships Between the Wars. United States: McFarland Publishing. p. 353. ISBN9780786445509.
