Bob Kowalski

Curtiss Xbtc-2 Eggbeater (Naval Fighters) Bob Kowalski

Curtiss Model 98 XBTC-2 was designed for a request for a single seat dive/torpedo bomber in 1942. A Wright R 3350 with a four bladed prop should power the -1, a P&W R-4360 with 3-bladed contra props the -2. Work on both variants was slow, to other commitments and stability problems were encountered during wind tunnel testing. The -2 was first flown on January 20th 1945, all work on the -1 was terminated since 1943. The crash of the first prototype in February 1947 and of the second in August 1947 ended the development.

March 1945, the Navy ordered 10 relatively minor derivatives of the XBTC-2. They had 2,500-horsepower Wright R-3350-4 engines turning single-rotation propellers. Progress was faster on this model, and the first flight was made in January 1946. Gross weight was 19,072 pounds, and max speed was 297 mph at sea level and 330 mph at 17,000 feet. Armament was two 20mm cannon, eight five-inch rockets and one 2,000-pound bomb or a torpedo.