Seversky NF-1

The Seversky NF‑1 was the United States Navy’s first monoplane fighter, developed in the late 1930s by the Seversky Aircraft Corporation, which later became Republic Aviation Corporation. Conceived as a carrier‑borne fighter‑interceptor, the NF‑1 evolved from the Seversky P‑35 landplane and first flew in 1938. It featured an all‑metal, low‑wing cantilever design, retractable landing gear, and an enclosed cockpit, powered by a Pratt & Whitney R‑1830‑13 radial engine delivering 1,050 horsepower. The aircraft was equipped with a 0.30‑inch machine gun synchronized to fire through the propeller and a second gun mounted in the right wing outside the propeller arc. Its streamlined fuselage and NACA‑canted wing gave a top speed of approximately 350 mph, a service ceiling of 30,000 ft, and a range suitable for carrier operations. Although only a handful were built before the Navy switched to the more powerful Grumman F4F Wildcat, the NF‑1 demonstrated the viability of modern monoplane fighters on aircraft carriers and paved the way for Republic’s later successes, such as the P‑47 Thunderbolt. The aircraft’s brief service highlighted the rapid technological shift from biplanes to all‑metal monoplanes in the pre‑World War II era.