Consolidated's XP3Y-1 was an evolution of the XPY-1 design that had originally competed unsuccessfully for the P3M contract two years earlier and of the XP2Y design that the Navy had authorized for a limited production run.
Consolidated's XP3Y-1 var en videreudvikling af XPY-1 designt, der allerede uden success havde budt ind på P3M-kontrakten to år tidligere, og af XP2Y som Flåden allerede havde godkent til begrænset produktion.