Work progressed on the original XP-60 to the point that a supercharged Merlin 61 series inline was now fitted and the variant was redesignated as "XP-60D". However, this airframe was lost in an in-flight accident on May 6th, 1943 during a diving demonstration. The XP-60A suffered its own mishap in October of 1942 when an engine fire grounded it and forced some speedy modifications. A first flight followed in November. That same month, the airframe was removed from active testing and cannibalized for parts.
The XP-60C was able to secure a new Army contract later that month for 500 production-quality aircraft in a "P-60A-1" guise. The switch to a Pratt & Whitney powerplant offered promising performance gains and the lot would include both single-prop and contra-rotating prop forms for both evaluation and standard service use. Armament for both versions centered on 4 x 0.50 caliber heavy machine guns. A new variant emerged as the XP-60E which fitted a PW R-2800-10 with a four-bladed propeller and GE turbosupercharger though this model saw very little life. The XP-60C - with the odds stacked against it - competed unsuccessfully against other types in a USAAF (United States Army Air Forces) fly off. The government ended its interest in the P-60 as a production aircraft on June 3rd, 1943.
Development of the XP-60E continued at least until January 1944. The aircraft was then tested by the Army and fared poorly when compared to existing offerings seeing actual combat service in the war. one final form then emerged, interestingly at the behest of the Army, and this aircraft was given the developmental designation of "YP-60E". The lines of the P-40 were all but gone from this model as it carried an appearance more akin to the Republic P-47 "Thunderbolt" by this point - low rounded wing mainplanes, a deep fuselage, four-bladed propeller, and a bubble canopy YP-60E flew once for the USAAF and was written off in December of 1944. Another proposed XP-60 form became the XP-60F which was to carry an alternate version of the PW R-2800 series engine. This was not furthered.
By this time, the service was doing quite well with its stable of modern fighters that had evolved to also become effective fighter-bombers - the P-47, North American P-51 "Mustang", and the Lockheed P-38 "Lightning" were all used to excellent effect over Europe and elsewhere. 1944 also served as a turning-of-the tide for the Allies which resulted in the end of the war in Europe during May of 1945. The Pacific War followed in August of that year.
The XP-60 program was a long and arduous one with very little result to show for itself by the end of it all. It joined a long line of abandoned (or cancelled) Curtiss products that never would match the popularity of its "Warhawk".
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