The XP-56 was a tailless pusher of welded magnesium construction. Power was provided by a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-29 Double Wasp 18 cylinder radial in the rear fuselage, driving contra rotating pusher propellers. Proposed armament consisted of two 20mm cannon and four 12.7mm (.50) machine guns in the nose. The aircraft was fitted with tricycle undercarriage, with the steerable nose-wheel mounted on a tall nose strut. According to the manufacturer's estimates, the XP-56 would have been capable of reaching 671 km/h at sea level and 748 km/h at 7,620 meters, and had a range of 1,062 km, while taking 7.2 minutes to reach 6,100 meters. The empty weight was 3,946 kg and design loaded weight was 5,148 kg. The XP-56 had a wingspan of about 12.98 meters, length of 8.38 meters and height of