Stearman XA-21
| XA-21 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Stearman XA-21 (Streamlined Cockpit) | |
| Role | Ground attack |
| Manufacturer | Stearman |
| First flight | 1938 |
| Status | Prototype |
| Primary user | U.S. Army Air Corps |
| Number built | 1 |
The Stearman Model X-100 was a competitor in an United States Army Air Corps competition for a twin-engined attack aircraft which (after redesigns) led to the Douglas A-20 Havoc, Martin A-22 Maryland and North American B-25 Mitchell.
Contents
Design and development
The X-100, designated XA-21 following purchase by the Army Air Corps, was a twin-engined high-winged monoplane of all-metal construction.[1] It featured an unusual cockpit arrangement, much like those on most German World War II bombers designed during the war years, with a streamlined greenhouse canopy enclosing both the pilot and bombardier stations.[2]
Operational history
The XA-21 was first tested with the streamlined cockpit but this configuration was found to restrict the pilot's forward vision, and the aircraft was rebuilt with a conventional (stepped) nose and cockpit structure.[3] Although this change in the cockpit did not significantly affect performance, the XA-21 was not ordered into production.'[4]
The sole XA-21 had serial number 40-191.
Operators
Specifications (XA-21)
Data from Museum of the United States Air Force[4]
General characteristics
- Crew: 3
- Length: 53 ft 1 in (16.18 m)
- Wingspan: 65 ft 0 in (19.81 m)
- Height: 14 ft 2 in (4.32 m)
- Wing area: 607 ft² (56.39 m²)
- Empty weight: 12,760 lb (5,789 kg)
- Loaded weight: 18,230 lb (8,269 kg)
- Useful load: 5,560 lb (2,520 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-2180-7 Twin Hornet radial engines, 1,400 hp (1,030 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 223 knots (257 mph, 414 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 174 knots (200 mph, 322 km/h)
- Wing loading: 30.0 lb/ft² (147 kg/m²)
- Power/mass: 0.15 hp/b (250 W/kg)
Armament
- Guns:
- 4× wing-mounted 0.30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine guns
- 1× nose-mounted 0.30 in machine gun
- 4× aft-firing 0.30 in machine guns
- Bombs: 2,700 lb (1,200 kg)
See also
- Related lists
References
- Notes
- ↑ "Stearman XA-21 (Stepped Cockpit)." Museum of the United States Air Force. Retrieved: 16 February 2011.
- ↑ Bowers 1989, p. 273.
- ↑ "Swift Attack Bombers Race For Jobs In Army Air Corps." Popular Mechanics, June 1939.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Stearman XA-21 (Streamlined Cockpit)." Museum of the United States Air Force. Retrieved: 16 February 2011.
- Bibliography
- Bowers, Peter M. Boeing Aircraft since 1916. London: Putnam, Second edition, 1989. ISBN 0-85177-804-6.
- Wagner, Ray. American Combat Planes of the 20th Century, Third Enlarged Edition. New York: Doubleday, 1982. ISBN 978-0-930083-17-5.
External links
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