Curtiss - Wright CW - 21 The Curtiss - Wright Model 21 ( also known as the Curtiss - Wright Model 21 Demonstrator , the Curtiss - Wright CW - 21 Interceptor , the Curtiss - Wright CW - 21 Demon ) was a United States - built fighter interceptor , developed by the St . Louis Airplane Division of Curtiss - Wright Corporation during the 1930s . Design and development . In 1938 , George A . Page , head of the Saint Louis Airplane Division of Curtiss - Wright , decided to develop a fighter aircraft based on Carl W . Scott ' s two seater Model 19 . Page ' s concept was a lightweight fighter interceptor with as high a rate of climb as possible in order to allow bomber formations to be attacked with minimal warning . If faced with fighter opposition , it was intended not to dogfight , but to use its superior climb rate to escape . While this was a direct contradiction to the United States Army Air Corps ′ requirements for fighters ( which stressed low - level performance ) , this did not concern Page , since the new fighter was intended for export . Detailed design of the new fighter , the Model 21 , or CW - 21 , was carried out by a team lead by chief engineer Willis Wells . It was a single - seat , all - metal cantilever low - wing monoplane with retractable tailwheel landing gear , where the mainwheels retracted rearwards into fairings under the wing . The fuselage was a semi - monocoque structure that tapered sharply behind the pilot ' s cockpit . It was powered by a Wright R - 1820 - G5 nine - cylinder air - cooled radial engine . It was designed to carry various combinations of two or machine gun s , mounted in the nose and synchronized to fire through the propeller , while no armor or fuel tank protection was fitted in order to save weight and hence improve performance . The prototype first flew on 22 September 1938 , carrying the civil experimental registration " NX19431 " . Although the CW - 21 was not commissioned by the U . S . military , it was test flown at Wright Field in Dayton , Ohio . The Army Air Corps immediately rejected the aircraft , with one officer commenting that it took a genius to land it . Operational history . The prototype CW - 21 was delivered to China for evaluation by the Chinese Air Force . The Chinese were impressed by the CW - 21 ' s performance , and negotiation started on a Chinese purchase . While these negotiations were ongoing , the CW - 21 prototype was flown in combat against Japanese bombers attacking Chungking , with Curtiss test pilot Bob Fausel claiming a Fiat BR . 20 bomber shot down on 4 April 1939 . In May 1939 , a contract was signed , with China receiving the prototype and three complete examples built by Curtiss , as well as kits for 27 more aircraft . Assembly would be undertaken by the Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company ( CAMCO ) at Loiwing , near the China - Burma border . These were to be armed with two and two machine guns . The three Curtiss - built aircraft were shipped to China in May 1940 and were eventually handed over to the 1st American Volunteer Group ( Flying Tigers ) , who intended to use them to tackle high - flying Japanese reconnaissance aircraft . These crashed and were destroyed , due to poor visibility , on a flight from Rangoon to Kunming on 23 December 1941 . Of the 27 to be assembled by CAMCO , none were completed before CAMCO was forced by advancing Japanese forces to evacuate its Loiwing factory to India in 1942 . Curtiss had meanwhile developed an improved version of the CW - 21 , the CW - 21B . The main difference was a new undercarriage with inward - retracting mainwheels and a semi - retractable tail wheel which had been developed for the Curtiss - Wright CW - 23 armed trainer , with other changes including hydraulically operated flaps . Although heavier , the CW - 21B was faster than the original CW - 21 , albeit with a reduced rate of climb . In April 1940 , the Dutch Army Aviation Brigade " Luchtvaartbrigade " , desperate for modern combat aircraft , placed an order for 24 CW - 21Bs from Curtiss - Wright . After the Battle of the Netherlands , which resulted in the Dutch Army surrendering to the invading Germans on 15 May 1940 , the order for the CW - 21Bs ( together with a number of Curtiss Model 75 fighters and Curtiss - Wright CW - 22 trainers ) , was transferred to the government of the Dutch East Indies ( now Indonesia ) , for the " Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands - Indisch Leger " ( " Military Aviation of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army " ; ML - KNIL ) . The 24 CW - 21Bs were assembled at Andir airfield , Bandung , Java in February 1941 , equipping " Vliegtuiggroep IV , Afdeling 2 " ( " Air Group IV , No . 2 Squadron " ; " 2 - VLG IV " ) . The lightweight construction of the Curtiss - Wrights gave rise to structural problems , and several aircraft were grounded by cracks in the undercarriage , and were still awaiting repair when war with Japan began on 8 December 1941 . With its light construction , radial engine , low wing loading , limited pilot protection and lack of self - sealing fuel tank s , the CW - 21B was the Allied fighter most similar to the opposing Japanese fighters . It had a rate of climb superior to the Nakajima Ki - 43 - I ( " Oscar " ) and Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero . The CW - 21B had similar firepower to the " Oscar " , but worse than the cannon - armed Zero . " 2 - VLG IV " claimed four aerial victories during the Netherlands East Indies campaign , but the " ML - KNIL " was overwhelmed by the sheer number of Japanese aircraft ; almost all of its fighters were soon lost in combat or destroyed on the ground . Survivors . After the Dutch East Indies fell , the Japanese acquired at least one CW - 21B , which was used as a liaison aircraft in the SE Asia area . Japanese photos were found showing it at the Tachikawa test center branch in Singapore . Photos show one CW - 21B that was captured in excellent condition , along with a captured Boeing B - 17 Flying Fortress , and other Allied aircraft . Curtiss - Wright company records list a single CW - 21A in the company ' s inventory until 1945 . No additional information has been located , and its fate is unknown .