This Day in Aviation History
February 2nd, 1944
First flight of the Republic XP-72.
 
The Republic XP-72 was an American prototype interceptor fighter developed as a progression of the P-47 Thunderbolt design. The XP-72 was designed around the Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major 28-cylinder air-cooled radial engine with a supercharger mounted behind the pilot and driven by an extension shaft from the engine. The armament consisted of six 0.5 in wing-mounted machine guns and underwing racks for two 1,000 lb bombs….
 
Source:
Wikipedia, Republic XP-72: http://gstv.us/1SyOeZ3
 
Suggested for further reading:
Republic XP-72 Super Thunderbolt Prototype High-Altitude Fighter / Interceptor: http://gstv.us/1SyOqrg
 
If you enjoy the “This Day in Aviation History” collection, you may enjoy some of these other collections from Gazing Skyward TV: http://gstv.us/GSTVcollections
 
Photo from: http://gstv.us/1SyORBN
 
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