The Army appreciated the Bell direction and eventually assigned the working designation of "XP-52" to the project. Two engine types were to be considered (Continental XI-1430 and Pratt & Whitney R-2800 "Double Wasp"). The Army began to draw up a contract to cover the two prototypes carrying the aforementioned engine fits.
On the drawing boards, the XP-52 exhibited an overall length of over 34 feet, a wingspan of 35 feet and a height of over 9 feet. It would sit at 6,480lb on empty and 8,200lb when loaded and maximum speed from the single engine coupled to the twin-boom design was around 430 miles per hour (at 20,000 feet). The rate-of-climb was within the requirements and an operating ceiling of 40,000 thought possible. Operational range was out to 960 miles giving the aircraft a good reach.
Proposed armament for the XP-52 was 2 x 20mm cannons mounted to the nose assembly. Each of these guns were afforded 100 projectiles of ammunition for short, controlled bursts capable of bringing down any bomber of the day. Each boom lead was also intended to fit a "triple arrangement" of 0.50 caliber heavy machine guns for a total of six heavy machine guns. All told, the armament offered to the XP-52 was quite considerable by 1940 standards.
The XP-52 marked the first serious attempt by the U.S. Army to pursue a "pusher fighter". However, the service decided against furthering the project even before the end of 1940. Bell continued work on the design as the larger "Model 20" (designated by the USAAC as "XP-59"), detailed elsewhere on this site. This project, too, was shelved due to the ongoing wartime commitments for both Bell and the Army. Pusher fighters never made much headway in the war as pullers continued to dominate the skies.
The XP-52 saw official cancellation on November 25th, 1941 before the American entry into World War 2.
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