1st Flight 1941
The Vultee A-31 Vengeance was an American dive bomber of World War II.
Variants
RAF & Commonwealth Variants
Vengeance I
Vultee V-72 license built by Northrop and ordered directly for Britain, powered by 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) R-2600-A5B engine. 200 built.
Vengeance IA
Northrop built aircraft purchased under Lend-Lease, powered by 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) R-2600-19 engine, otherwise similar to Vengeance I.
USAAF designation A-31-NO. 200 built.
Vengeance II
Vultee built aircraft directly purchased by Britain.
Small differences from Vengeance I. 501 built.
Vengeance III
Vultee built Lend-Lease aircraft.
Similar to IA, USAAF designation A-31-VN, 200 built.
Vengeance IV
A-35B supplied under Lend-Lease to RAF and RAAF.
458 supplied to RAF and 121 to RAAF.
US Variants
XA-31A
Redesignated prototype Vengeance accepted by USAAF in June 1942.
Vultee designation V-88.
XA-31B
XA-31A modified as testbed for 3,000 hp (2,240 kW) Pratt & Whitney XR-4360-1 Wasp Major.
XA-31C
Vengeance III modified as testbed for 2,200 hp (1,640 kW) Wright R-3350-18 Duplex Cyclone engine, One converted.
YA-31C
Vengeance IIIs modified as testbeds for R-3350-17 engines for B-29 Superfortress, Five built.
A-35A
Redesigned version for USAAF and Lend-Lease. 4° wing incidence.
Powered by 1,700 hp (1269 kW) R-2600-13 or -8 engine.
Four forward-firing .50 in (12.7 mm) calibre M2 Browning machine guns and one in rear cockpit.
Vultee designation V-88, 99 aircraft built.
A-35B
Modified aircraft with six forward-firing 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns and additional bomb racks.
831 built.
TBV-1 Georgia
A-35Bs meant to be in service with the U.S. Navy, order cancelled.
Specifications
Crew: 2 (pilot, navigator/gunner)
Length: 39 ft 9 in (12.12 m)
Wingspan: 48 ft 0 in (14.63 m)
Height: 15 ft 4 in (4.67 m)
Wing area: 332 sq ft (30.84 m2)
Empty weight: 9,725 lb (4,411 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 14,300 lb (6,486 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Wright R-2600-A5B-5 Twin Cyclone 14 cylinder radial air-cooled engine, 1,600 hp (1,193 kW)
Performance
Maximum speed: 275 mph (443 km/h, 239 kn) at 11,000 ft (3,350 m)
Cruise speed: 235 mph (378 km/h, 204 kn)
Range: 1,400 mi (2,253 km, 1,220 nmi)
Service ceiling: 22,500 ft (6,860 m)
Wing loading: 43.1 lb/sq ft (210 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.11 hp/lb (0.18 kW/kg)
Armament
Guns:
4 × fixed forward-firing .30 in (7.6 mm) Browning machine guns in the wing
2 × flexible mount .30 in (7.6 mm) or .303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns in rear cockpit
Bombs:
2 × internal 500 lb (230 kg) bombs
2 × 250 lb (110 kg) bomb on wing racks.
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