"Thinking outside the box" is a catchphrase that is heard perhaps too often today, but in 1939 it had not yet come into wide usage. Nevertheless, the concept did exist―exemplified by U.S. Army Air Corps Major Edward M. Powers' proposal on November 27, 1939, for an advanced new fighter that would be superior to any existing plane in speed, rate of climb, maneuverability, armament and pilot visibility. The cost was to be low, as was maintenance, and the proposal specifically stated that unconventional designs would be considered. Curtiss-Wright responded with one of the strangest looking aircraft ever to cross its drawing boards. Under the guidance of the respected designer Donovan Berlin, the company's engineers designed the CW-24, a sweptwing pusher with its elevator in the nose, and fins and rudders near its wingtips. The plane was also ahead of its day in having tricycle landing gear. Its power plant would be equally radical―the as yet un-perfected Pratt & Whitney X-1800. This H-shaped engine, which had 28 cylinders in four rows (2,599 cubic inches of displacement) producing 2,000 hp, was supposed to propel the aircraft at more than 500 mph.
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