Slideshow: American air arsenal of 1941

Republic P-43 Lancer / P-44 Rocket

Seversky Aircraft Co. reorganized into Republic Aviation Corp. in 1939, the same year they turned an improved variant of the P-35 into the YP-43 prototype. The Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, coupled with a General Electric B-2 turbo-supercharger produced 1,200 horsepower. A further-improved airframe sported a Pratt & Whitney R-2180 Twin Hornet engine, giving the Rocket 200 more horsepower. Both the P-43 and P-44 performed excellent at medium to high altitudes, but it lacked armor and self-sealing fuel tanks which by 1941 had become essential. Over 200 aircraft were produced, but most of these aircraft were shipped to China.