No fighter would be complete without an armament suite so the D-36 was proposed with 4 x 20mm cannons fitted to the nose assembly. An additional 20mm cannon was to be installed, aft-facing, at either engine nacelle to offer a rearward-firing function and counter the threat posed by any trailing interceptor. Interestingly, each gun mounting was to have a small degree of movement to offer fine-tuning when aiming. While the aforementioned armament was to be a standard fit and fixed in place, the D-36 was also designed with the required bomb- and rocket-carrying capability. This was to encompass 2 x 1,000lb bombs along with 8 x 5" (127mm) High-Velocity Aircraft Rockets (HVARs).
The Bell D-36 proposal was passed on by authorities due to issues centering on the complexity of the conjoined engine arrangement as well as what was deemed below average vision out-of-the-cockpit. There were also concerns about the basic design as it stood and its general acceptance of ejection seats for the crew which would have required a redrawing of the forward section. The gun armament in the nose was also thought to have blinded the crew when firing in the dark of night. Perceived control characteristics and estimated performance were the high marks of the submission but not enough to warrant a development contract - in fact authorities found the other competing designs bested Bell's design in several major performance categories. Of the nine proposals submitted, Bell's ended in sixth place.
The winning bid, presented by Northrop as the "N-24", would go on to become the Cold War-era warrior F-89 "Scorpion" jet-powered fighter in operational service. The Curtiss XP-87 "Blackhawk" jet-powered interceptor (detailed elsewhere on this site) also came from the same all-weather heavy fighter requirement but was also passed on after two prototypes were completed. This ended Curtiss' involvement in fighter-making.
Performance estimates of the Bell D-36 included a maximum speed of 550 miles per hour, a service ceiling of 43,250 feet, and a range of 2,600 miles (when flying at 20,000 feet altitude). Rate-of-climb was to reach near 7,660 feet-per-minute.
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