REPUBLIC XR-12 RAINBOW - World's Fastest Four-Engine Piston-Powered Aircraft 

That really would have been something. With the appropriate redesign of the wings it would easily have reached 600mph, maybe even transonic. 20,000hp; a third the power of the Tu-95 but also smaller, more aerodynamic and a quarter the weight. Imagine what a low fly by at high speed would have sounded like

Great point, thanks! (With apologies for this late reply.)

Post war budgets also played their part, as well as the jet engine. Remember that the XB-47 first flew not long afterwards...

Yeah but... why make this thing again, the german salamander can reach the same speeds

@@alantoon5708 Good point, and yes the B-47 first flew in December 1947 representing the future of aviation. Thanks for watching!

I bet you'd get a kick out of it if you were the one who got to shoot them down.

@@richardm3023 It wasn't a target drone, it was on the ground when blown up.

Of all the billions of DC aircraft and other mass-produced warplanes, they chose the most unique, sole surviving example of one of the fastest 4-engine propeller aircraft ever built. Whoever made that decision should’ve been discharged...

@@imperialsecuritybureau6037 At least strung up by the balls !!!!!!! ♿ 🇺🇸

Beautiful, indeed.

Amazing story, thanks!

Dont feel bad..it just goes to show ya how sneaky the govt can be.

@@telsport Hard to call them sneaky when he has pictures of it surrounded by crowds at an airshow, not to mention the press at the "second first" flight. It was all pretty open at the time.

Great point, thanks!

Even more dramatic and as early was the XB70 Valkyrie.

Appreciate the comment Richard, and I totally agree about that part of Long Island's proud aviation heritage and what's left of it today. Thanks for watching!

I made parts for the Warthog in the 70's. I'm still proud of that. It was and is a righteous aircraft.

I wonder if we ever met?

@@bungeechord1 Probably not. I worked for company called Arwood in Tilton, New Hampshire. We made parts for everything that flew, even some that flew to the moon.

Oh, ok. My dad and I worked on the shuttle rear stabilizing wing. I got a job with TUV in Nashua and moved to NH. Now retired in MA. Like you, I'm proud to have contributed to the A10 build.

Agreed!

Thanks Alan, and I consider that a most ironic photo!

Thanks Martin - appreciate the comment!

@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 Martin is right to point out that you focused on information rather than infotainment. The one thing you left out in the military's preference for jet aircraft was the maintenance issue. The high-performance radial engines required too much care & feeding when compared to jets, due to having a more complete design & more moving parts...

@@davidhollenshead4892 Great point, thanks!

@@davidhollenshead4892 The same reasoning applies to off-shore racing boats, and diesel railway locomotives.

Thanks Jose - appreciate the comment!

Nor was I, great video 👍

Theres some nice flying RC models of this available ... bigger the better in some ways...most run electric motors.

Yes, the XP-72 was one of the fastest planes developed during WWII. It was estimated to have a top speed of 504 mph although the second prototype only ever flew a top speed of 490 mph because the test pilot didn't want to push the experimental engine to it's maximum for fear it would catch fire. As it turned out, on another separate flight at 25,000 feet, the second XP-72's engine did catch on fire and the test pilot put the plane into a dive, which extinguished the fire. Flying the plane dead stick with monster contra rotating propellers spinning up front, he made a spectacular belly landing at a Army Air Force base in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The second XP-72 was never repaired and it was later donated to the Boy Scouts of America as a static trainer for the Air Scouts. The first prototype was scrapped shortly afterwards. On the P-72 Superbolt production models, General Electric was developing a new two stage centrifugal blower supercharger unit that measured nearly 5 feet in diameter for the P-72 Superbolt. This unit was to be fitted in the tail section behind the cockpit with a long driveshaft that ran underneath the cockpit, connected by two fluid couplings, thus hooking up the engine to the blower supercharger unit together. With this configuration, the P-72 was estimated to have a top speed of 540 mph making it the fastest piston powered fighter plane of WWII, but as it turned out, Lockheed's P-80 Shooting Star overshadowed its performance and the P-72 was cancelled.

Appreciate the comment, thanks!

DONALD STANFIELD There was one,but the bastards blew it up !!!!! ♿ 🇺🇸

Great comment, thanks!

Well, the EE Canberra was under development, much faster much higher flying and still doing photo reconnaissance at the end of the 20th century.

@@roberthardy3090 and still doing almost the same job today

Many thanks!

Many thanks!

Many thanks, and great to have you aboard!

Chance Vought was still building Corsairs, which were used in Korea and Vietnam, as were P-61's, F-82's, B-29's, A-1's and a whole host of other recip powered aircraft. So much for obsolescence.....

@@caribman10 Obsolete in technology but they were stilled used. Like anything manufactured it becomes obsolete but can be used for decades. Obsolete equipent os still used today, but they do not manufacture a lot of it.

An interesting sidenote- several Douglas Invaders were converted to business transports and called the On-Mark Marksman. It was a similar concept to today's business jets.

Agree 100%!

It would've made a perfect turbo prop

Great comment, thanks, and we were in the service at the same time (me in USAF). Glad to have you aboard as a subscriber!

I too had aspirations of becoming a pilot. When I enlisted in the Marines I was told that the only way I would be coming onboard an aircraft was as a passenger due to my vision.

Great comment, thanks!

The Republic Seabee could take a beating too!

You need to have that attitude. Farmingdale is real near New York City. Only the tough survive.

Thanks, and appreciate the comment!

You left the door open for me to dare to mention the TU-95... :-) Sleek and fast, but rather noisy I've been told. But of course, not a 'piston' prop. ;-)

@@bodan1196 And AN22!!

Thanks, and appreciate the comment!

Appreciate the comment, thanks!

Great comment, thanks!

Agreed! (With apologies for this late reply.)

Hundreds of failed prototypes have been destroyed over the decades. Nobody has the money to simply store, preserve, and display these things away so that someone 80 yrs later can look at them. It's just not practical. Even actual commissioned aircraft can't justify the expense of maintaining them for many years, let alone what were effectively experiments that were superceded by more effective aircraft.

That's the key isn't it. It was four years too late, and obsolete when it flew it's first test flight.

Many thanks!

Thanks for the comment, and there are many of us who love the classic propliners! (With apologies for this late reply.)

And the Stratocruiser was just an ugly Duckling. Interesting to see them in size comparisons and sad is the fact that I have flown in all of them except the XR-12. Too bad it didn't include the DC-3 in the size drawings. And maybe the D-H Comet as it has a lot of the same shape to it. Yeah, I'm dating myself as I've flown in those too.

Thanks Steve!

Appreciate the comment, thanks! (With apologies for this late reply.)

Appreciate the comment, thanks!

Thanks, and 'glad to have you onboard!

Back then, people assumed only the government could afford to buy airplanes. Nobody ever bothered to ask; where did the government get all their money?

Thanks Barbara - you're the best!

Thanks and appreciate the great comment!

Oh come on, I am just at 15 and I know it why they do that. They haved ined the contracts that ifed they are not created or moved into manufactering then they wrecked them for several of reasons. One is so no one cand take the old equipment piece and used it for competing withed any other companys and too so it cand not be photographed ined detail so others governments as Russians cand not reversed engineering of it. Too all so when the armys do contracting for a new plane they do owned it and for samed reason they do wrecked it ifed it is not manufactured. However too ined this case they were obsolete before ever they got to a place to be maked ined numbers be cause the JET age was just getting going and they cand get jets for that job and cheaper to keept up and run. Many times this way of doing stuff did hurted them more thened help them but they did this all over and massively to ALL types of equipment. They did bull dozed hundreds and hundreds of Jeep’s into pits with HUGED tool kits and others stuff as generators and fire trucks and even some of guns. Then would sprays corroding powders all over them and the put on 4 or 5 feet of dirt covering. Ined less thened a year they were. All useless stuff. They said they did wrecked the Jeep’s be cause did Jeep’s makers haved a no competing contract so they did haved to be wrecked so they cand sell new Jeep’s to civilians. They did that withed thousands of cars and trucks and halfed tracks and air planes. My grand father said it he watched them to taked every tools kit and any thing of metal or wood and they bull dozed a huge trench alonged a air army forces field and then pushed all they new stuff right into the ground and bury it. Every thing whiched could be used by others as tools and Jeep’s. Especially they did it any where at where the Russians would be moving ined to there.

I forgot it too, all so a lot of stuff did came backed to the USA too. My grand father buyed 4 ex-armys halfed tracks and they did used them for mining. And too after my father keept setting the tall grass and wild wheats on to fire ined our orchards as did he tryd to blow uped grounds squirrels dens be cause did they wrecked and killed many of ours almonds trees and walnuts trees by eated the roots. So he put ined to their huge ground holes gas and 1/2 sticks of dynamites and a longed fuse. When did they blow uped it did to killed all the squirrels but too steed the tall dry grasses on fire and the fire department sended them big bills so my grand father brought home a brush fires truck and a halfed track fromed his army surplus yard. He told my father you boys do start them so now on you put them out too’ And yes all ready do i know it i do writed diffrenter. I haved a very bad of fosters father at when was i at 11 and he turned to be a vile evil pedophile. When did I say I will tell cops on him , him and his firend tryd for beated me for deathed. They did to cracked my head and i geted a TBI and barked my radials orbits and ribs an stuff. I haved to haved brains opiration to lived and now do i haved Aphasias damagings ined my brains and i amed muted and i haved troubles to writed normals. Sorry ifed you cand not readed it goodly.

@@jacobsparry8525 In some cases it is required by the way the original contract was written. The Vought XF5U is a prime example.

@@johnkelinske1449 Did you read the second of line of my postings? “ They haved ined the contracts that ifed they are not created or moved into manufactering then they wrecked them for several of reasons. “. Very waste full of our government.

Yep. But...... By way of context, by spring 1949 the Brits had the Canberra Bomber / Recce aircraft flying with no traumas at 580 mph (500 kn) with service ceiling of 48,000 feet.

@@Farweasel And what became the US equivalent, the RB-57. NASA still has 3 and two will be in Hawaii when the first sub-orbital launch of a SpaceX Starship happens. The cameras will be pointing up instead of down.

Many thanks!

Thanks George!

Appreciate the comment, thanks!

Appreciate the comment, thanks! (With apologies for this late reply.)

Appreciate the comment, thanks!

Many thanks!

Thanks, and great to have you aboard!

Thanks for watching!

Appreciate the comment, thanks!

Many thanks, and appreciate the comment!

Appreciate the comment, thanks!

@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 You are welcome, you dont remember me but I was in az when you and Keith Ferris were forming the Aviation Artists of America I think? We had a show and I actually painted Claire Chenault on a Beech 18 door at that show we all were doing. I've worked for Flight Magazine, Private Pilot, Flying, and many defense contractors as an aviation artist. Now I paint and make stained glass for the Catholic Church but still do some aviation art. There is actually an Me 163 comet pilot still living in the town I live in named Carl Grosch, I have a large painting of the comet that hes going to sign, hes 96. All the best. stevevoita.com

Appreciate the nice comment, thanks! (With apologies for this late reply.)

Thanks, and appreciate the comment!

Many thanks and great to have you onboard!

Many thanks!

Appreciate the comment, thanks!