Curtiss A-14
| Curtiss A-14 Shrike | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Curtiss XA-14
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| Type: | Ground attack aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
September 1935 |
| Number of pieces: |
1 XA-14 |
The Curtiss A-14 Shrike (factory designation Model 76) was a twin-engine ground attack aircraft made by the US American manufacturer Curtiss Airplane and Motor Company in the 1930s, of which only a prototype XA-14 was built. With improved engines, 13 copies of the model were used by the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) as Curtiss A-18 (Model 76A).
history
In 1934, Curtiss developed the A-14 as the USAAC's first twin-engined ground attack aircraft in parallel with the Model 75 fighter . As a company-owned machine, the prototype initially had the civil registration (N) X-15314 and flew for the first time in September 1935. Curtiss used the new and as yet untested Wright R- 1670-5 engine . The Army tested the machine at Wright Field and then returned it to Curtiss. After some improvements, including a change to the previously circular cross-section of the engine cowling and the installation of constant-speed propellers , the machine was accepted by the Army in December 1935 as the XA-14 ( USAAC serial number 36-146). The XA-14 only had a short service life; after a mere 158 hours of flight, it was scrapped in August 1938. On July 23, 1936, the Army ordered 13 copies (USAAC serial numbers 37-52 to 64) as Y1A-18s (Model 76A) for service testing. The machines were delivered from July to October 1937. The main difference to the XA-14 was the use of Wright-R- 1820-47 engines, which were equipped with three-bladed propellers.
The Y1A-18 was initially used at the 8th Attack Sqn. That for on the Barksdale Field in Louisiana stationed 3rd Attack Group belonged. Then the 3rd Bombardment Group took over the machines and began using them in 1940 under the designation A-18 for training purposes. The last aircraft was taken out of service in 1943.
construction
The A-14 was an all-metal construction in half-shell construction , only the control surfaces and the wing behind the front spar were fabric-covered. All the wheels of the tail wheel chassis retracted forwards, with one half of the wheel remaining in the wind. Four .30 cal machine guns were concentrated in the very short nose of the fuselage, while a single, movable machine gun of this caliber could be operated from the rear cockpit. The XA-14 was able to carry a light bomb load in a fuselage shaft; The Y1A-18, on the other hand, had two bomb bays in the wings for a 90 kg payload each. Chemical tanks for fogging the battlefield and additional bombs could be carried under the wings.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data XA-14 | Data Y1A-18 |
|---|---|---|
| crew | 2 | |
| length | 12.34 m | 12.49 m |
| span | 18.13 m | |
| Wing area | 49.23 m 2 | |
| height | 3.35 m | 3.50 m |
| Empty mass | 4026 kg | 4345 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 5287 kg | 5828 kg |
| drive | 2 × Wright R-1670-5 with each 775 PS (570 kW) | 2 × Wright R-1820-47 with 850 PS (625 kW) each |
| Top speed | 391 km / h | 398 km / h |
| Range | 1048 km | |
| Service ceiling | 8530 m | 7620 m |
| Armament | 5 × 7.62 mm caliber machine guns 20 bombs of 13.6 kg (30 lb) each |
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literature
- Peter M. Bowers : Curtiss Aircraft 1907-1947 , Putnam, 1979, ISBN 0-370-10029-8 , pp. 365-368.
- ER Johnson: American Attack Aircraft since 1926 , McFarland and Co., 2008, ISBN 978-0-7864-7162-1 , pp. 25-27.
- Rolf Berger: 500 aircraft high-tech and mobility from the beginning until today , p. 138, Verlag Planet Medien AG, Zug, ISBN 978-3-86146-382-5 .
