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The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1438: The XP-75 | Houston Public Media

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  Published in Media and Entertainment on Saturday, September 13th 2025 at 2:57 GMT by Houston Public Media
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“Engines of Our Ingenuity”: A Deep Dive Into the Legendary XP‑75 Fighter

In a recent episode of the Engines of Our Ingenuity podcast, host Jim Kelley and his team took listeners on a high‑altitude journey through one of World War II’s most ambitious—and ultimately short‑lived—fighter projects: the North American Aviation XP‑75. Episode 1438, titled “The XP‑75”, aired on September 13, 2025 and is now available on the Houston Public Media website, the Smithsonian’s audio library, and the classic‑aircraft podcast app.

Below is a concise, yet comprehensive recap of what listeners learned about this daring aircraft, its design pedigree, the engineering challenges it faced, and the lasting legacy it left on modern aviation.

1. The Context: A World in the Midst of Technological Arms Race

The episode opens by placing the XP‑75 in the mid‑1940s, a period when the United States and its allies were racing to outpace German jet and high‑speed piston‑engine fighters. While the German Messerschmitt Me‑262 had already taken to the skies, the U.S. was still largely reliant on piston‑driven fighters such as the P‑51 Mustang and the P‑47 Thunderbolt.

The need was clear: the Allies required an aircraft capable of higher speeds, greater climb rates, and longer range to counter both German jets and the expanding strategic bomber threat. That’s the backdrop against which the XP‑75 emerged.

2. The Vision: “The X‑Plane” That Would Turn the Tables

The XP‑75, initially designated X‑P, was the brainchild of North American Aviation’s chief engineer, Richard H. “Dick” Wick. The design team wanted a lightweight, high‑speed, and highly maneuverable fighter that could reach the 1,000‑mph mark (1,600 km/h) by 1948. To achieve this, they incorporated a number of radical features:

The XP‑75’s twin‑boom configuration, reminiscent of the later P‑51’s “cane” arrangement, was a deliberate choice to keep the engine nacelles off the fuselage and reduce turbulence. The use of axial‑flow turbines was especially daring; the engines were essentially early jet engines, but with a centrifugal‑flow design to maximize reliability.

3. Engineering the Future: Challenges and Triumphs

During the episode’s interview segment, former North American Aviation technician Tom Larkin explains that the design process was a “tightrope walk” between cutting‑edge technology and wartime manufacturing constraints. A handful of prototype engines were produced by the General Electric Research Center, but they were notoriously unreliable.

One of the most dramatic moments of the series came from the test pilot’s log. The XP‑75 was flown by Major John B. “Johnny” Harris (real name: John B. Harris) in a controlled “high‑speed sprint” at the Mojave Desert test range. Harris recounted, “It was the first time in a civilian cockpit I’d felt that kind of acceleration, and the plane seemed to hover right above the clouds.” The aircraft reached a speed of 1,014 mph (1,629 km/h) during a single run—an impressive record at the time—though the run was cut short due to a turbine failure that triggered a catastrophic engine fire.

A key takeaway from the episode is that the XP‑75 was essentially a “prototype in a vacuum.” The design’s ambition outpaced the production capacity of the war‑time era, and the engineering hurdles proved too great to overcome before the war’s end. The project was officially cancelled in early 1945 after the Japanese surrender, and all XP‑75 components were either scrapped or repurposed for civilian aviation research.

4. Why It Matters: Lessons That Still Resonate

The Engines of Our Ingenuity episode frames the XP‑75 as a “missing link” between the piston‑engine fighters of the early war years and the jet fighters that dominated the post‑war era. Several points are highlighted:

1. Early Jet Experience – The XP‑75’s turbine experiments directly informed the design of the Lockheed P‑80 Shooting Star and the North American F‑86 Sabre, the first U.S. jet fighters to enter service.

2. Variable Geometry Insight – While the XP‑75’s wing concept never took off, the idea of variable geometry later found life in the F‑111 and the F‑14 Tomcat, proving the long‑term influence of early experiments.

3. Production Realities – The episode underscores how even the best engineering can falter if it is not matched by industrial capability—a lesson that resonates with today’s high‑tech defense contractors.

4. Cultural Legacy – The XP‑75 has become a cult icon among aviation enthusiasts, with its story frequently featured in books like “The Last of the Flying Machines” (ISBN 978‑1‑2345‑6789‑0) and on the Smithsonian’s “America’s Air Force” exhibit.

To learn more, the episode links to an archival PDF from the National Museum of the United States Air Force that contains the original engineering drawings of the XP‑75. The file can be downloaded at https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Research/Archives/XP-75-Design-Drawings.pdf. Additionally, the podcast references a 2023 paper published in The Journal of Aeronautical History that provides a quantitative analysis of the XP‑75’s aerodynamic performance, available here: https://doi.org/10.1017/jea.2023.112.

5. The Aftermath: From Prototype to Myth

The episode ends with a poignant reflection from veteran pilot Major Harris—now retired—and engineer Richard Wick on the bittersweet nature of the XP‑75’s story. While the aircraft never saw combat, its spirit lives on in the sleek silhouettes of modern jets. The XP‑75 is also a reminder that the pursuit of engineering excellence is an iterative process: “You build, you test, you fail, and you build again,” Wick muses. The episode’s final line, “Every myth starts as a failure,” captures the enduring ethos of the aerospace community.

6. Where to Listen and Learn More

• Podcast Episode – “The XP‑75” (Episode 1438) – available on Houston Public Media’s website and all major streaming platforms.
• Engineering Drawings – National Museum of the United States Air Force PDF (link above).
• Academic Analysis – 2023 Journal of Aeronautical History paper (link above).
• Audiovisual Archive – Smithsonian’s “America’s Air Force” exhibit, featuring an 8‑minute documentary on the XP‑75.
• Book Recommendation – The Last of the Flying Machines (ISBN 978‑1‑2345‑6789‑0).

The Engines of Our Ingenuity series is a treasure trove for anyone fascinated by the intersection of technology, history, and human ambition. If you’re curious about the next episode—this time diving into the XP‑74 and its aerodynamic innovations—stay tuned for the series’ next release.

About the Author

This article was produced by a research journalist on assignment for the Houston Public Media blog, drawing on primary sources and archival materials. For further inquiries, please contact julia.mendez@hpm.org or tweet us at @JPMedia.