One of the world's most derpy airplanes

"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake)
04/17/2014 at 11:40 • Filed to: Planelopnik

I feel like the designers did the fuselage and tail and then thought 'OH SHIT WE FORGOT THE WING'

It's a Grumman XF5F Skyrocket. For as derpy as it looks, it actually was a really good flying airplane.

LCDR Crommelin, in charge of the test, stated in a 1985 letter to George Skurla, Grumman president, "for instance, I remember testing the XF5F against the XF4U on climb to the 10,000 foot level. I pulled away from the Corsair so fast I thought he was having engine trouble. The F5F was a carrier pilot's dream, as opposite rotating propellers eliminated all torque and you had no large engine up front to look around to see the LSO (landing signal officer) ... The analysis of all the data definitely favored the F5F, and the Spitfire came in a distant second. ... ADM Towers told me that securing spare parts ... and other particulars which compounded the difficulty of building the twin-engine fighter, had ruled out the Skyrocket and that the Bureau had settled on the Wildcat for mass production."

They actually made a less derpy one, the XP-50, which lost the contract to the P-38