In this video, we take a look at the Lockheed XP-49, an American-made twin engine fighter from World War II that was intended to serve as a much more powerful derivative and potential replacement of the P-38 Lightning. We first talk about what can make a plane overpowered or underpowered, and how such a classification is also era dependent. We then talk about Circular Proposal 39-775, which led to the XP-49 and also the Grumman XP-50, a derivative of the XF5F Skyrocket. We talk about the other two smaller competitors in the competition, before then focusing on the winner in the XP-49.
We look at how much, or how little, the XP-49 differed from the P-38 Lightning, being similar in size and appearance. We then talk about the incredible power of the early design, and how that was actually a detriment that forced early design changes. We talk about how these changes, and other factors, led to significant delays that ended up effectively dooming the project. We end by talking about Lockheed's later attempt to make a more powerful P-38 in the XP-58 Chain Lightning.
