In this paper we present the results of a 20 ks high resolution Chandra X-ray observation of the peculiar galaxy pair NGC 3395/3396 , a system at a very early stage of merging , and less evolved than the famous Antennae and Mice merging systems .
Previously unpublished ROSAT HRI data are also presented .
The point source population and the hot diffuse gas in this system are investigated , and compared with other merging galaxy pairs .

16 X-ray point sources are detected in Arp 270 , 7 of which are classified as ULXs ( L _ { \mathrm { X } } \geq 10 ^ { 39 } erg s ^ { -1 } ) .
From spectral fits and the age of the system it seems likely that these are predominantly high mass X-ray binaries .
The diffuse gas emits at a global temperature of \sim 0.5 keV , consistent with temperatures observed in other interacting systems , and we see no evidence of the starburst-driven hot gaseous outflows seen in more evolved systems such as The Mice and The Antennae .
It is likely that these features are absent from Arp 270 as the gas has had insufficient time to break out of the galaxy disks .
32 % of the luminosity of Arp 270 arises from the diffuse gas in the system , this is low when compared to later stage merging systems and gives further credence that this is an early stage merger .

Comparing the ULX population of Arp 270 to other merging systems , we derive a relationship between the star formation rate of the system , indicated by L _ { \mathrm { FIR } } , and the number ( N ( \mathrm { ULX } ) ) and luminosity ( L _ { \mathrm { ULX } } ) of its ULX population .
We find N ( \mathrm { ULX } ) \propto L _ { \mathrm { FIR } } ^ { 0.18 } and L _ { \mathrm { ULX } } \propto L _ { \mathrm { FIR } } ^ { 0.54 } .
These relationships , coupled with the relation of the point source X-ray luminosity ( L _ { \mathrm { XP } } ) to L _ { \mathrm { K } } and L _ { \mathrm { FIR + UV } } ( ) , indicate that the ULX sources in an interacting system have contributions from both the old and young stellar populations .