The USAAF contracted for a pair of prototypes under the "XB-42" designation (s/n 43-50224 and 43-50225). Douglas engineers responded quickly with a flyable prototype which first took to the air on May 6th, 1944 and the other prototype was set aside to be fitted with Westinghouse turbojet engines at the USAAF's request. It became immediately apparent that the double-bubble canopy interfered with communication between the two pilots so a single, smooth bubble canopy took its place which also added additional streamlining. Other issues involved the aircraft's design itself which proved unstable in certain flight envelopes. Power from the inline engine arrangement was quite sound however - as fast as any conventional two-engined mount seen in the war to this point.
The XB-42 program then came under threat with the end of the war in August of 1945 which also ended up threatening just about every program still in development. Adding insult to injury, the jet age was dawning as piston-powered prop aircraft were seeing their technological apex. Rather than put more funding into piston-powered types, the U.S. military favored development of purely jet-powered aircraft for the long-term. Despite this, work on the XB-42 continued to an extent as a December 1945 endeavor saw a record-setting flight accomplished from Long Beach, California to Washington, D.C. covering some 2,300 miles in under 5.5 hours while tipping the speed scales at 433.6 miles per hour.
The other prototype was outfitted with 2 x Westinghouse 19XB-2A turbojet engines of 1,600 lb thrust each and, to differentiate the from the prop-powered model, the designation of "XB-42A" was assigned. Interestingly, the inline propeller engines were retained at the rear of the fuselage. First flight of the jet-powered aircraft was on May 27th, 1947 and managed to reach a maximum speed of 488 miles per hour. A hard landing during testing damaged the tail unit enough to ground the aircraft for a time. Though repaired, the aircraft was no longer an interest to U.S. military authorities during the massive post-war drawdown - also more dedicated turbojet designs were in the works that promised increased performance gains. Prototype s/n 43-50225 was lost to an accident at Bolling Field leaving just s/n 43-50224 intact.
The XB-42 program was officially cancelled in 1948.
Unlike many other prototype aircraft witnessed after the war which were scrapped, s/n 43-50224 survived the test of time and currently awaits its turn at restoration through the National Museum of the United States Air Force of Dayton, Ohio.
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