Republic P-43 Lancer

Republic Aviation · United States · first flew 1940 · fighter

The Republic P-43 Lancer was a single-engined, all-metal, low-wing monoplane fighter built by Republic and first delivered to the US Army Air Corps in 1940. It had very good high-altitude performance and an effective oxygen system.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	8.69 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

All-metal single-engined low-wing monoplane fighter
Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engine with a belly-mounted turbo-supercharger
Four 0.50 in machine guns and a tailwheel undercarriage

Look for a stubby low-wing radial-engined fighter with a turbo-supercharger beneath the fuselage and a tailwheel undercarriage.

Specifications

The Republic P-43 Lancer has a length of 8.69 m (29 ft).
It has a wingspan of 10.97 m (36 ft).
Its maximum speed is 573 km/h (356 mph).
Typical crew: 1.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

It was developed from the Seversky P-35 through a series of private-venture variants, of which the AP-4 was the most significant. The AP-4 had fully retractable landing gear, flush riveting and a belly-mounted turbo-supercharger.

Variants

A proposed development was the P-44 Rocket. Early testing showed a strong tendency to yaw during take-off and landing, which was fixed by redesigning the tailwheel.

Where you'll see it

Until the Lockheed P-38 Lightning arrived, the Lancer was the only American fighter able to catch the Japanese Mitsubishi Ki-46 Dinah reconnaissance aircraft. It flew many long-range, high-altitude photo-reconnaissance missions in the USAAF and RAAF, and was retired from Chinese service in 1944.

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