The XFV-1 was in competition with the equally precarious Convair XFY-1 Pogo (my photo #21684) in 1954 for a high performance fighter that could be vertically launched from small platforms on ships. The sheer difficulty in flying these bizarre designs together with the rapid advance of conventional jets led to these projects being quickly abandoned. This was the second of two XFV-1s built and was not completed. Some sources say this survivor is actually the first (BuNo 138657), others that it was completed for display using parts from the first.

Experimental VTOL naval interceptor fighter. Two procured. One flew. Project cancelled.

Experimental VTOL naval fighter of the mid 1950's powered by an Allison YT-40 turbine engine driving two-sections of contraprops. Tested at Edwards, it never flew fully VTOL.

An experimental VTOL aircraft, intended to take off and land as seen here. The identity of this aircraft is uncertain. Most say that it is the first prototype 138657, mysteriously painted as 138658. But reliable sources state that only parts (engine and props) of 138657 survived testing by Hiller Aircraft in the late 1950s. The second prototype 138658, left incomplete and without an engine when the design project was cancelled, went on display at NAS Los Alamitos and later at NOLF Imperial Beach until it disappeared in the early 1990s. Then in the mid 1990s the aircraft in this photo suddenly popped up in Florida. It seems likely then that this is in fact the real 138658 (with the props from 138657) and that it was painted correctly.