Warbird Information Exchange

This rare 1945 color film of the Republic XP-47H powered by the Chrysler XI-2220 engine was shot by Carl Breer, Head of Research Engineering for Chrysler at the time. The XI-2220 engine was a turbo supercharged, liquid cooled, inverted V-16 power plant that produced 2,500 horsepower from 2,220 cubic inches (36.4 L) of displacement. The engine was fitted to a highly modified Republic P-47 Thunderbolt for ground running and flight testing starting in early 1945. Due to the novel engine, extensive airframe modifications, and complex turbo supercharging system, the XP-47H did not fly until late July 1945. By the end of WWII three weeks later, it was already clear the future was the turbojet engine, not pistons.
Three XI-2220 engines survive: Serial number D-000001 at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, CT; D-000006 and XP-47H firewall-forward in the collection of the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, Chantilly, VA, and D-000005 is held by the Chrysler Foundation.

This film was digitized and narrated by Carl Breer’s son, William, and shared with me by Paul Wise who worked on the XI-2220 engine and flight test program. The film is presented here with the kind permission of Carl Breer II, grandson of the photographer, Carl Breer.
The definitive work on the XI-2220 engine and XP-47H is Chrysler Aircraft Engines by Kimble D. McCutcheon (2012) and an excellent chapter on the XI-2220 can be found in Willem L. Weertman’s Chrysler Engines, 1922-1998 (2007).