It was decided to power the new fighter through a contra-rotating propeller arrangement, the two propeller units each spinning three blades apiece in opposite directions to achieve inline propulsion. The propeller units would be fitted at the extreme nose of the aircraft and driven by the Allison XT40-A-6 turboprop outputting 5,850 horsepower and coupled to Curtiss Electric propellers. The XT40-A-6 was to serve as an interim solution prior to the fitting of the more powerful, in-development YT40-A-14 model which promised upwards of 7,000 horsepower - this engine essentially a pairing of Allison T38 units driving the propeller units through a common gearbox.
As a naval fighter, it was proposed to arm the XFV-1 through 4 x 20mm cannons or 48 x 2.75" aerial rockets - these to be held in the wingtip pods to help clear the spinning propeller blades.
It was soon found that the A-6 engine could not meet the required VTOL thrust and thusly the XFV-1 prototype had to be fitted with a cumbersome wheeled undercarriage system comprised of twin-strutted main legs held under the vehicle's mass. The fixture was a temporary solution but non-retractable by design and solely intended to test the XFV-1 during its horizontal flight phase.
In March of 1951 two prototypes were ordered from Lockheed and three from CONVAIR with the Lockheed model becoming the first of the entries to go airborne. A brief test "hop" was recorded on December 23rd, 1953 but a true formal first-flight was not had until June 16th, 1954. The XFV-1 was able to accomplish a total of 32 flights but was never used to transition from vertical-to-horizontal flight (and back) due to the unavailability of the YT40-A-14 engine. It was, however, able to achieve a vertical stance after having taken off horizontally (as a conventional aircraft) with a brief hovering action also had.
The Allison YT40-A-14 engine ran into its own troubles and was not a success which played a large part in the XFV-1's program demise during June of 1955. Additionally, Navy authorities realized that the aircraft required an experienced, steady hand at the controls and also would never showcase the performance of conventional fighter types when going head-to-head in combat. As such there proved little to recommend further funding of its research.
Of the two prototypes completed by Lockheed, only one was ever flown. The "FV-2" marked a Lockheed-proposed production-quality version of the XFV-1 for the USN which was to take on the Allison T54-A-16 turboprop engine for the necessary power and also set to include a nose-mounted radar fit, full armor protection and the complete armament suite. This variant was never realized. Both prototypes were salvaged from the scrap heap to become display pieces - on in Florida and the other in California.
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