Cleaving its way onto the scene...

Here's a unique fighter. Despite its circular appearance, it utilizes an inline-engine for high-performance fighting!

The Cleaver is also a good all-weather fighter, at least considering it's a 1940s-era plane.

The P-72B Cleaver. I had an idea and made a testbed for it, but I thought it was pretty cool so I turned it into a full-fledged fighter.

Not really much in terms of Activation Groups, just AG-8 for the lights.

A P-72B lands after a combat mission.

Mobility Statistics:

Cruising Speed: Roughly 400 mph
Top Speed (flying straight): 496 mph
Never Exceed Speed: 530 mph
Turn Rate (360 degrees): 12-13 seconds
Max G-Forces: Roughly 18Gs for 10 seconds

Lore:

The P-72B was originally TUPL's response to the A6M Zero. The Zero was, at its time, the most maneuverable aircraft in the Pacific, outmatching everything thrown at it. Knowing the threat it posed, TUPL decided that they needed to make a counter-fighter to take on the Zero. Of course, out-turning it was a difficult task, though, so they had a different theory; what if there was something that could outrun it?

Unlike most TUPL aircraft, the P-72A was only used for prototypes and testing, as opposed to others that have a designated prototype before the A-variant. After the aircraft was finalized, the P-72B was born, and it was a menace. Not as agile, but certainly faster than the A6M. There was one issue; it never actually fought the Zero. By the time it was made, more agile fighters like the P-51 or F4U were already deployed, so the Cleaver stayed in inventory. Later on it would serve a few sorties during the early Korean War, as well as a few missions in Combined SimpleVerse "exclusive conflicts." The last known use of the P-72B in combat was the Tundra Conflict (I'll explain later, I promise).

The P-72B was a formidable fighter that could hold its own even against more modern aircraft like the F/CAS-12. Be wary though, this was hard-earned kill.

'Tis all! Happy hunting!