Curtiss XF15C-1 "Stingeree" — Pilot's Handbook & R-2800 Double Wasp Engine Archive
The Curtiss XF15C-1 "Stingeree" was one of the most technically ambitious naval fighters ever built for the United States Navy. Developed between 1944 and 1946, it represented a deliberate engineering attempt to bridge the gap between the proven reliability of the piston radial engine and the raw potential of the emerging turbojet — a hybrid powerplant configuration that placed it at the absolute frontier of wartime aviation technology.
This archive assembles the surviving primary-source documentation covering the XF15C-1 airframe and its complete R-2800 Double Wasp powerplant ecosystem: pilot operating procedures, engine operating instructions across multiple variant series, overhaul manuals, water injection system supplements, and ignition harness service instructions. Six original documents. One coherent technical record.
The Aircraft
The XF15C-1 carried a dual powerplant configuration engineered to solve the critical limitations of early jet engines in carrier operations — specifically their poor throttle response and extended takeoff roll. Its primary engine was a Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W Double Wasp 18-cylinder air-cooled radial delivering 2,100 hp, spinning a 4-bladed 13 ft 1 in Hamilton Standard constant-speed fully feathering propeller. Buried in the lower aft fuselage, an Allis-Chalmers J36 centrifugal-flow turbojet — a licence-built de Havilland Goblin — contributed an additional 2,700 lbf of thrust, drawing air through wing-root intakes and exhausting beneath the tail.
With both powerplants running concurrently at optimum altitude, the XF15C-1 achieved 469 mph at 25,300 feet, a rate of climb of 5,020 ft/min, and a service ceiling of 41,800 feet. Maximum dive velocity was cleared to 559 mph. Standard armament was four wing-mounted 20mm automatic cannons with 800 rounds.
Three prototypes were built. The program was formally cancelled on 10 October 1946, superseded by rapidly maturing pure-jet designs. The third prototype (BuNo 01215) survives today at the Hickory Aviation Museum, North Carolina.
Document Manifest — Six Original Primary-Source Documents
1 — Curtiss XF15C-1 Pilot's Handbook of Flight Operating Instructions (1945)
The primary airframe operating document. Issued CONFIDENTIAL by Curtiss-Wright Corporation, Columbus Plants, Columbus, Ohio. Covers all flight operating procedures for the Model XF15C-1 as delivered to the United States Navy.
2 — Handbook of Operating Instructions: R-2800-5, -27, -39, -41, -43 Aircraft Engines
Technical Order No. 02-10GA-1 — February 10, 1943. Published by authority of the Commanding General, Army Air Forces, by the Headquarters, Air Service Command, Patterson Field, Fairfield, Ohio. Replaces T.O. 02-10GA-1 dated April 25, 1942. Marked RESTRICTED.
3 — Operating Instructions: R-2800-14, -57, -73 and -77 Engines with Water Injection
PWA OI 57 — October 30, 1944. Issued by Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Division of United Aircraft Corporation, East Hartford, Connecticut. Covers single-stage, single-speed supercharger configuration for use with turbosupercharger; Bendix-Stromberg PR-58E2 carburetor; Scintilla DF-18LN dual magneto or 2 General Electric S18LG-P1 magnetos; Fuel AN-F-28-2, Grade 100/130. Marked RESTRICTED.
4 — Overhaul Manual: Double Wasp C Series Single Stage Engines (Part No. 96996, Third Revision — May 1, 1945)
Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, Division of United Aircraft Corporation, East Hartford, Connecticut. Covers R-2800-14W, -22, -22W, -28, -34, -34W, -36, -57, -73, -77, -81, -83, and -85. The definitive overhaul reference for the C Series single-stage engine family. Marked RESTRICTED.
5 — Overhaul Instructions for Chandler-Evans Water Injection Controls (Part No. 166497)
Supplement to the Double Wasp (R-2800) Overhaul Manual. Covers the complete overhaul procedure for the Chandler-Evans water injection control system as installed on R-2800 series engines.
6 — Service Instructions: Bendix-Scintilla Cast, Filled Aircraft Ignition Harness (Form L-147-2, revised March 1947)
Scintilla Magneto Division, Bendix Aviation Corporation, Sidney, New York. Covers the cast, filled ignition harness used on Pratt & Whitney R-2800 aircraft engines. The ignition system documentation completing the engine technical record.
This is an archival, static-copy edition fixed at its original publication date. Intended for historical reference, flight simulation, museum restoration, and educational use only. Not approved for active airworthiness maintenance under FAA 14 CFR § 43.13, EASA Part-M, or equivalent international regulations. Operators of active aircraft must use current, revision-controlled publications from the Type Certificate holder or an authorized distributor.
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