Grumman XP-50 Fore-runner of the F7F Tigercat

In 1939, the USAAC issued a contest for a twin-engine heavy interceptor aircraft. Two proposals were accepted for prototypes construction as the Lockheed XP-49 and the Grumman XP-50. The XP-50 was based on the Navy XF5F-1 Skyrocket carrier plane modified for a tricycle landing gear. This twin-motored land plane was of particular interest to the Army because of its air-cooled engines. No particular pressure was put on the XP-50 project, but the plane was finally ready for flight-testing in February 1941. The XP-50 was flown intermittently due to sloppy field conditions at the Grumman plant. The contractor insisted on keeping the plane until the middle of May the plane was again in flying order. During a test flight the turbo-supercharger on the right engine exploded and completely disintegrated. The test pilot was forced to jump and the plane crashed into Long Island Sound. The XP-50 operations were eventually abandoned. The disastrous end of the XP-50 was not a total loss. The test data was collected in the process of construction and flight-testing for a Grumman XP-65 Tigercat, an improved version of the XP-50.

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