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The Curtiss-Wright XP-55 Ascender (pejoritavely nicknamed the Ass-Ender) was so laden with quick fixes to its aerodynamic quirks that it looked terribly offensive to me:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss-Wright_XP-55_Ascender

It was a precursor to engine-in-fuselage jet aircraft design, but it sure was not a ''clean'' aircraft. The Vultee XP-54 and Northrop XP-56 prototypes of the same era (referenced in the Wikipedia article) are equally bizarre-looking.

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I'd bet money that this was used as an inspiration for the planes from Crimson Skies. Some of the most iconic ones from that game were all WW2/art-deco-styled canard designs with pusher props.

Honestly, it's kind of a look.

I think you are right about the influence. It seems the Ascender showed up in Combat Flight Simulator 3:

https://combat-flight-simulator-3.fandom.com/wiki/Curtiss_P-...

I thought the same thing! (love de pc game, the "BattleStations, BattleStations, all crews to BattleStations" never leaves my mind)

That plane design looks pretty awesome to me. Remove the propeller and it wouldn't look out of place zipping through space, shooting down TIE fighters.

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