As with most other "X" plane design attempts emerging in World War 2, armament played an increasingly vital role in terms of lethality. American warplanes tended to favor the proven and high rate-of-fire inherent in their Browning air-cooled .50 caliber machine guns, almost always mounted in pairs in the wings or upper forward fuselage. The other world powers of the time preferred to work around the heavier hitting power of their 20mm, 30mm and 37mm cannons instead, albeit with slower rates of fire and complimented by machine guns. As such, the Fisher XP-76 would sport 6 x .50 caliber machine guns in her wings (the wings belonging to the P-40 Warhawk) and an additional 4 x .50 caliber machine guns in her upper forward fuselage. This ten-machine gun armament would have made a single burst from the XP-75 something to behold, however, fate would see to it that none of the proceeding XP-75 (or production P-75s) would have their armament installed.
As production geared up for the aircraft, General Motors found themselves caught up in the patriotic fervor gripping American companies. In response, the designation name of "Eagle" was now being applied to the XP-75. The XP-75 was completed and went airborne on November 17, 1943.
First results of the XP-75 in the air were far from what the US Army, or General Motors - or Allison for that matter - envisioned. The system proved highly underpowered and sluggish at the controls. Overall performance was nothing close to what was advertised and all looked to the Allison powerplant as the culprit. The second completed prototype joined the first in the air shortly thereafter with similar results from her Allison engine.
As wartime development goes, the US Army now changed their stance on the product at hand. Whereas the original requirement of 1942 stated a need for a new pursuit fighter fitting the interceptor mold, advances in the air and ground war led to a new need for a long-range "penetration" fighter in 1943 instead. Aircraft would now need the long range capabilities to escort bombers deep within enemy-held territories in their defense and leave the formations to tangle with equally adept enemy fighters. The Army, nevertheless, saw some hope in the XP-75 and put in an order for 2,500 P-75 Eagle production examples.
Knowing the specification had changed their plans altogether, Fisher put forth an new contract for six additional prototypes to fulfill the changed Army requirement. The contract was granted and work immediately began on evolving the base XP-75 design. A revised Allison powerplant emerged under the designation of V-3420-23 and promised improved performance and output. The framed canopy of old was also revised into a more modern "bubble" type assembly, offering vastly increased viewing angles from the pilot's seat. To fulfill the long-range qualities of a penetration fighter, additional fuel tanks were added. A new empennage was installed with a larger vertical tail fin and associated rudder plane.
The six long-range XP-75 Eagles were ready for further testing and review. These systems fared just as well as their preceding forms and fell well below expectations. As a fighter, the XP-75 was simply too big an aircraft with a low-powered engine to be of much use. Her maneuverability and handling suffered just as much to make the XP-75 virtually useless in any field of combat.
Production on other proven and more adept systems was well underway by 1944 and the war, for the most part, had begun to turn in the favor of the Allies on many fronts. As such, the XP-75 program was cancelled in full by the US Army on October 6th, 1944, putting an end to the failed Eagle program once and for all. Despite its cancellation, the Army allowed construction of six production P-75's (P-75A-1-GC) to continue for the sole purpose of trialing the Allison powerplant for possible future use.
Testing of the engine proved a limited endeavor resulting in the loss of the first prototype to a crash. the rest were left to their own fate and only one example survived the scrap heap to become a museum display piece (fully restored) at the Museum of the USAF in Dayton, Ohio.
Fisher assigned the following performance specifications to their aircraft. Many of these numbers were estimates and never achieved with the troublesome Allison V-3420-23 (rated at 2,600 horsepower): Maximum speed of 404 miles per hour with a cruising speed of 250 miles per hour. A service ceiling of 40,000 feet with a rate-of-climb equaling 4,200 feet-per-minute. Range was anticipated at 1,150 miles. An empty weight of 11,255lbs was listed as was a loaded weight of 19,420lbs.
The initial two prototypes were given serial numbers 43-46950 and 43-46951. The long-range XP-75s were given s/n 44-32161, 44-32162, 44-32163, 44-32164, 44-32165 and 44-32166. The six production Eagles became s/n 44-44549, 44-44550, 44-44551, 44-44552, 44-44553 and 44-44554.
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