A-31 Vengeance

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A-31 Vengeance
An Australian Vengeance in 1943 (AWM 0G0537)
Type	dive bomber
Manufacturer	Vultee
Maiden flight	1939
Number built	1,528

The Vultee A-31 Vengeance was an American dive bomber of World War II, built by Vultee Aircraft. The Vengeance was not used in combat by US units. However, it served with the British Royal Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Indian Air Force in Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific.

Contents 1 Design and development 1.1 Evaluation 2 Operational service 3 Operators 4 Specifications (A-31A) 5 See also 6 References 6.1 Notes 6.2 Bibliography 7 External links

[edit] Design and development

The Vultee A-31 Vengeance was a dive-bomber built originally in the late 1930s as the Vultee Model 72 (V-72) by the Vultee Corporation. Additional aircraft were built by the Northrop Corporation. The V-72 was built with private money and was intended for sale to foreign markets. The V-72 was a low-wing, single engine powered, monoplane with a closed cockpit and a crew of two. An air-cooled radial Wright Double Row Cyclone GR-2600-A5B-5 engine rated at 1,600 hp powered the V-72. It was armed with both fixed forward firing .303 caliber machine guns and flexible mounted .303 caliber machine guns in the rear cockpit. The aircraft also carried up to 1,500 lb of bombs in an interior bomb bay and on external wing racks.

A unique feature of the Vengeance was that it was designed to dive vertically rather than at an angle. To this end the Mark I aircraft had a 0 angle of incidence on the wing to prevent the aircraft from "tracking" forward during its dive. This resulted in the aircraft cruising in a nose up attitude. The USAAF evaluation found this undesirable, however, so it was "corrected" in the Mark II and A-31A versions, giving a better attitude in cruise but losing its accuracy as a dive bomber (see Vengeance! The Vultee Vengeance Dive Bomber, Peter C. Smith, Airlife Publishing, 1986 for details).

The unusual wing planform resulted from an error in calculating its centre of gravity. Moving the wing back by "sweeping" the centre section was a simpler fix than re-designing the wing root. This gives impression of a cranked wing, like the Ju-87, when seen from an angle when in fact the wing has a constant dihedral from root to tip.

France originally ordered the V-72, but with the fall of France in 1940, the order was taken over by the United Kingdom, which ordered additional aircraft. Under Lend-Lease, the US Army Air Corps ordered additional aircraft for Britain under the designation A-31. Additional V-72 aircraft were sold to Brazil, China, Turkey, and the USSR during the late 1930s.

When the Army Air Corps became interested in dive bombing, a number of V-72 and A-31 aircraft were either ordered or re-possessed for their own use. An improved version of the Vengeance, designated the A-35, was ordered which was equipped with a Wright Cyclone R-2600-19 engine.

When production of the Vengeance was completed in 1944, a total of 1,528 aircraft had been produced. The majority were produced at the Vultee plant in Nashville, TN.

Indecision about what aircraft should replace it in production at the Vultee plant led to several "make-work" contracts for Vengeance aircraft to prevent dispersion of the skilled workforce. This resulted in overproduction of what was considered an obsolete aircraft.

[edit] Evaluation

Operational experience with other dive bomber aircraft of the period such as the Blackburn Skua, Junkers Ju 87, Aichi D3A, Douglas Dauntless, Breda Ba.65 and Curtiss SB2C Helldiver, indicated that the Vengeance would be vulnerable to enemy fighters. Thus to be effective all these aircraft required an environment of local air superiority. Escort of Vengeance aircraft and lack of opposition oppourtunities in the theatres in which is served, combined with its vertical dive capability in the Mark I aircraft (meaning Anti-Aircraft Guns had almost no chance of hitting the aircraft when targeted) meant that it suffered no combat losses, believed to be unique for a combat aircraft used to such a degree.

Early experience with the aircraft showed there were problems with engine cooling. In service the British managed to solve these problems, but Free French aircraft taken over from the original French orders that didn't have these problems remedied were declared uneconomical and unreliable to operate and were grounded.

The aircraft was described as being stable in flight and in a dive, with heavy elevator and rudder control, but with light aileron control. Forward visibility was poor due to the large radial engine. There were a number of fatal accidents with the Vengeance due to improper dive procedures and a center of gravity problem when the aircraft was flown without a rear gunner and with the rear cockpit open.

In combat the type was considered rugged, reliable, stable, and generally well behaved. Commonwealth forces operated the type from May 1942 to July 1944. Burma tended to be a low priority for allied planners and forces in that theater got what was left over. Aircraft such as the Vickers Wellington and Hawker Hurricane spent their last days in Burma. The Vengeance saw considerable action attacking Japanese supply, communications and troop concentrations in Burma. Its service in that theater has been described as sterling. At best the Vengeance was a qualified success in Burma doing much to hold the line against Japanese advances.

[edit] Operational service

As the Vultee Vengeance it was used both by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). The Vengeance was used by the RAF mostly in Burma. In the European theater the Vengeance was considered too vulnerable to enemy fighters for front line use and was soon withdrawn for use in secondary roles such as training of attack squadron pilots and towing targets for gunnery training. In these roles all armament was removed from the aircraft. The FAA received their aircraft near the end of the war in late 1944 and 1945 and did not see front line action before the war ended.

The Vultee Vengeance saw service in India and Burma during the Burma Campaign with Nos. 45, 82, 84 and 110 Squadrons, Royal Indian Air Force. In addition, the Vengeance saw service with Nos. 7 and 8 Squadrons of the Royal Indian Air Force.

Australia placed an order for 400 Vengeances as an emergency measure following the outbreak of war in the Pacific. While the first Vengeance was delivered to the Royal Australian Air Force in May 1942, the aircraft did not arrive in substantial numbers until April 1943. By this time the crisis for which the aircraft had been ordered to meet had passed and the Australian Vengeances saw limited combat. Squadrons equipped with the Vengeance included Nos. 12, 21, 23, 24 and 25 Squadrons. Of these, Nos. 12, 21 and 24 Squadrons served briefly in New Guinea.

Following a short front-line career the RAAF's Vengeances were withdrawn from service in March 1944 and the Vengeance-equipped combat squadrons were re-equipped with B-24 Liberator heavy bombers. While the RAAF still had 58 Vengeances on order in March 1944 this order was cancelled and the aircraft were never delivered. Small numbers of Vengeances remained in service with support and trials units until 1946.

One near complete Vengeance that did not see squadron service is displayed at the Camden Air Museum, New South Wales, Australia.

[edit] Operators

 Australia

• Royal Australian Air Force^[1]
  • No. 12 Squadron RAAF
  • No. 21 Squadron RAAF
  • No. 23 Squadron RAAF
  • No. 24 Squadron RAAF
  • No. 25 Squadron RAAF
  • No. 3 Communication Unit RAAF
  • No. 4 Communication Unit RAAF
  • No. 5 Communication Unit RAAF
  • No. 6 Communication Unit RAAF
  • No. 7 Communication Unit RAAF
  • No. 9 Communication Unit RAAF

 Brazil

• Brazilian Air Force

British India

• Royal Indian Air Force
  • No. 7 Squadron IAF
  • No. 8 Squadron IAF
  • No.1 Service Flying Training School
  • No.22 Anti Aircraft Cooperation Unit
  • No.1 Target Towing Flight

 United Kingdom

• Royal Air Force
  • No. 34 Squadron RAF
  • No. 45 Squadron RAF
  • No. 82 Squadron RAF
  • No. 84 Squadron RAF
  • No. 110 Squadron RAF
  • No. 288 Squadron RAF
  • No. 289 Squadron RAF
  • No. 291 Squadron RAF
  • No. 567 Squadron RAF
  • No. 577 Squadron RAF
  • No. 587 Squadron RAF
  • No. 595 Squadron RAF
  • No. 631 Squadron RAF
  • No. 667 Squadron RAF
  • No. 679 Squadron RAF
  • No. 691 Squadron RAF
  • No. 695 Squadron RAF

[edit] Specifications (A-31A)

General characteristics

• Crew: Two: pilot, navigator/gunner
• Length: 12.12 m (39 ft 9 in)
• Wingspan: 14.63 m (48 ft)
• Height: 4.67 m (15 ft 4 in)
• Wing area: 30.84 m² (332 ft²)
• Empty weight: 4,672 kg (10,300 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 7,439 kg (16,400 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Wright R-2600-A5B-5 Cyclone twin row 14 cylinder radial air-cooled engine, 1,193 kW (1,600 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 279 mph
• Cruise speed: 220 mph
• Range: 3,701 km (2,300 miles)
• Service ceiling 6,800 m (22,300 ft)
• Rate of climb: m/s (ft/min)
• Wing loading: 241 kg/m² (49.4 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 0.31 kW/kg (0.10 hp/lb)

Armament

• four fixed forward firing .303 inch machine guns in the wing
• two flexible mount .303 inch machine guns in rear cockpit
• two internal 500 lb bombs
• two 250 lb bomb on wing racks

[edit] See also

Comparable aircraft

• Aichi D3A
• Blackburn Skua
• Breda Ba.65
• Curtiss SB2C Helldiver
• Douglas Dauntless
• Junkers Ju 87
  

Related lists

• List of aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm
• List of aircraft of the Royal Air Force
  

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] External links

• USAF museum A-31
• USAF museum A-35A
• USAF museum A-35B
• www.bharat-rakshak.com: Vultee Vengeance Tales
• AirToAirCombat.Com: Vultee A-35 Vengeance

v • d • e USAAS/USAAC/USAAF/USAF attack aircraft designations 1924-1962 (A-1 not assigned)  • XA-2  • A-3  • A-4  • A-5  • A-6  • XA-7  • A-8  • XA-9  • YA-10  • XA-11  • A-12  • YA-13  • YA-14  • XA-15  • XA-16  • A-17  • A-18  • A-19  • A-20  • XA-21  • A-22  • A-23  • A-24  • A-25  • A-26  • A-27  • A-28  • A-29  • A-30  • A-31  • A-32  • A-33  • A-34  • A-35  • A-36  • XA-37  • XA-38  • XA-39  • A-40  • XA-41  • XA-42  • XA-43  • XA-44  • XA-45

v • d • e Aircraft produced by Vultee Manufacturer designations V-1 · V-11 · V-12 · V-20 · V-32 · V-33 · V-35 · V-37 · V-38 · V-39 · V-40 · V-41 · V-42 · V-43 · V-44 · V-45 · V-46 · V-47 · V-48 · V-49 · V-50 · V-51 · V-52 · V-54 · V-55 · V-56 · V-57 · V-58 · V-61 · V-69 · V-70 · V-72 · V-74 · V-75 · V-76 · V-77 · V-78 · V-80 · V-83 · V-84 · V-85 · V-86 · V-88 · V-90 Model numbering continued by Convair By role Fighters: XP-54 · P-66 Attack aircraft: A-19 · A-31 · A-35 · XA-41 Trainers: BT-13 · BT-15

v • d • e Lists relating to aviation General Timeline of aviation · Aircraft (manufacturers) · Aircraft engines (manufacturers) · Airports · Airlines Military Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft Accidents/incidents General · Military · Commercial (airliners) · Deaths Records Airspeed · Distance · Altitude · Endurance · Most-produced aircraft