Consolidated / Convair
Vultee A-31 Vengeance
Consolidated / Convair
Vultee A-31 Vengeance
Role Dive bomber
National origin United States
Manufacturer Vultee Aircraft
First flight 30 March 1941
Retired April 1948
Primary users United States Army Air Force
Royal Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
Indian Air Force
Number built 1,931
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History Consolidated / Convair
Vultee A-31 Vengeance
The Vultee A-31 Vengeance is an American dive bomber of World War II, built by Vultee Aircraft. A modified version was designated A-35. The Vengeance was not used operationally by the United States, but was operated as a front-line aircraft by the British Royal Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, and the Indian Air Force in Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific. The A-31 remained in service with U.S. units until 1945, primarily in a target-tug role
In 1940, Vultee Aircraft started the design of a single engined dive-bomber, the Vultee Model 72 (V-72) to meet the requirements of the French Armée de l'Air. The V-72 was built with private funds and was intended for sale to foreign markets. The V-72 was a low-wing, single-engine monoplane with a closed cockpit and a crew of two. An air-cooled radial Wright Twin Cyclone engine rated at 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) powered the V-72. It was armed with fixed forward-firing and flexible-mounted .30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns in the rear cockpit. The aircraft carried up to 1,500 lb (680 kg) of bombs in an interior bomb bay and on external wing racks
Variants
A-35B in flight. This is a target tug conversion with all armament removed.
Operational experience with other dive bomber aircraft of the period, such as the Blackburn Skua, Junkers Ju 87 Stuka, Aichi D3A "Val", Douglas Dauntless, Breda Ba.65 and Curtiss SB2C Helldiver, indicated that the Vengeance would be vulnerable to enemy fighters. To be effective, all those aircraft required an environment of local air superiority and fighter escort. Fighter escort and lack of fighter opposition in the theatres in which it served, combined with its vertical dive capability, meant that the Vengeance suffered only light combat losses.Early experience with the aircraft showed that there were problems with engine cooling. In service, the RAF managed to solve those problems, but Free French aircraft that did not have these problems remedied were grounded, being declared uneconomical and unreliable to operate.
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Consolidated / Convair / Vultee
Vultee A-31 Vengeance
Consolidated Convair Vultee
Vultee A-31 Vengeance
General characteristics
- 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)
Powerplant
- 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)
Specifications
- 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 (7.62 mm) Browning machine guns in the wing
- 2 × flexible mount .30 in (7.62 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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Links to Youtube & Others
The "Camel" may be regarded as the prototype of the Consolidated response to the USAAS's 1924 requirement for a new primary trainer. In the early summer of 1924.
Vultee A-31 Vengeance
In 1922, the Army ordered three TA-3 (Trainer, Air-cooled, Type 3) machines for evaluation with the Le Rhone engine and dual controls.
Youtube Link
The Consolidated PT-1 Trusty (company designation Model 1) was a biplane primary trainer used by the United States Army Air Service (USAAS)
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