More issues than developments plagued the Bell FM-1 Airacuda
A new aircraft from Bell was being produced just before World War II broke out in the European theater, and many anticipated it would alter fighting techniques. The Bell FM-1 Airacuda, introduced in 1937, was the first aircraft to place the aircraft’s engines and cannons in different locations, as opposed to earlier variants. This made for a good firing strategy, but the plane had other issues.
For one thing, the engines were prone to overheating. Is there another issue? If a gunner had to “bail out” of the plane, the propellers in the back would very certainly kill them. And, while the guns were in a better position, they produced a lot of smoke in the gunner stations, making it difficult to see what they were fired at in the first place.
Coming up, the 1950s brought us a slew of oddities, including a nuclear-powered plane.