To facilitate carrier stowage, the outer panels of the wings were designed to fold upwards. The armament of the aircraft, consisting of six machine guns or cannons, was concentrated in the fixed portion of the wings, firing outside the propeller arc. The second and third prototypes of the aircraft, were finished after the war had ended. However, by this time, the demand for the XF8B-1 had diminished, and further progress on its development was quickly halted.