Curtiss A-18 Shrike
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The Curtiss A-18 ''Model 76A Shrike II'' was a 1930s
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twin-engine ground-attack aircraft. It was the production test version of that company's
A-14 Shrike The Curtiss XA-14 was a 1930s United States airplane, the first multi-engine attack aircraft tested by the United States Army Air Corps. Carrying a crew of two, it was as fast as the standard pursuit aircraft in service at the time. Design and ...
.


Design and development

In the years leading up to
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the
United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
were interested in attack aircraft capable of carrying larger bomb loads with greater firepower. The attack aircraft design standard essentially became a light bomber with firepower only slightly less than the
medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized bombloads over medium range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombers and smaller light bombers. Mediums generally carrie ...
s being developed as the standard
machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...
generally was replaced by ones on new aircraft in development.McCullough, Anson. "Grind 'Em Out Ground Attack: The Search for the Elusive Fighter Bomber." ''Wings, Vol. 25, No. 4, August 1995''. The Curtiss YA-14 prototype that emerged in 1935 was one of the first single-mission attack aircraft. Although it looked purposeful with its slender
fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraf ...
, thin nose, and sleek streamlining, the A-14 was hampered by a lack of power, despite its two
Wright Whirlwind The Wright Whirlwind was a family of air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical (originally an independent company, later a division of Curtiss-Wright). The family began with nine-cylinder engines, and later expanded to incl ...
radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...
s. Nevertheless, the prototype was able to achieve a maximum speed of , outstripping the front line
Boeing P-26 Peashooter The Boeing P-26 "Peashooter" was the first American production all-metal fighter aircraft and the first pursuit monoplane to enter squadron service with the United States Army Air Corps. Designed and built by Boeing, the prototype first flew in ...
fighter by . Re-engined with Curtiss R-1670-5 engines, it was delivered to the Army under serial number 36-146.Swanborough and Bowers 1964, p. 231.


Operational history

A newly improved variant, the Y1A-18, had upgraded
Wright R-1820 The Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 is an American radial engine developed by Curtiss-Wright, widely used on aircraft in the 1930s through 1950s. It was produced under license in France as the Hispano-Suiza 9V or Hispano-Wright 9V, and in the Soviet Un ...
-47 radial engines with three-blade propellers replacing the original two-blade models. Thirteen aircraft were produced, serial numbers ''37-52'' through ''37-64'', at a contract cost of $1,259,235.00, with the first example produced (Y1A-18) first flight occurring on July 3,1935; and although successful in testing, no further production was ordered due to a lack of funds as well as the availability of more advanced aircraft (such as the
Douglas A-20 Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was o ...
) under design. After completion of service testing, the Y1A-18s were redesignated A-18. They were assigned to the 8th Attack Squadron, 3rd Attack Group at
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,
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in 1937. The squadron won the coveted Harmon Trophy for gunnery and bombing accuracy in their first year of service.Boyne, Col. Walter J., USAF (Ret)
"Rare Bird: The Curtiss A-18."
''The Surly Bonds of Earth: Website of Col. Walter J. Boyne, USAF (Ret),'' 26 October 2011. Retrieved: 23 October 2012.
Fitzsimons 1967/1969, p. 2324. During its service with the 8th Attack Squadron, the retractable landing gear of the A-18 had an inherent weakness, with no less than eight of the 13 A-18s suffering from a landing gear collapse on landing or roll-out. The last of the A-18s with the 8th were replaced by early-model A-20 Havocs in 1941. The A-18 was only used for a short time before being replaced by more advanced attack aircraft. After its service with the 8th AS, the aircraft were assigned to several Light Bombardment Squadrons during 1940-42, likely being used as support aircraft. The last A-18 Shrike II was retired from front line squadrons in 1942; none of the aircraft were ever used in combat.Eden and Moeng 2002, p. 517. Lastly, four of the A-18s (37-52, 37-56, 37-61, and one other un-identified) were assigned to the Caribbean Air Force in late November 1941 and were based initially at
Albrook Field Albrook Air Force Station is a former United States Air Force facility in Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern ...
. Three of the aircraft were first assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, 12th Pursuit Wing, while the fourth aircraft was assigned to HHS Bomber Command (later
VI Bomber Command The VI Bomber Command was a military formation of the United States Army Air Forces. Its last assignment was with Sixth Air Force. It was based throughout its service at Albrook Field, in the Panama Canal Zone. It was inactivated on 1 Novembe ...
) at Albrook. The aircraft remained with these units though February 1942.Hagedorn, Dan. ''Alae Supra a Canalem: Wings Over The Canal, The 6th Air Force and the Antilles Air Command.'' Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Co., 1995. . By December 1942, two or three of the aircraft were still airworthy. One was employed as a tow target tug, the other two were operated as reconnaissance aircraft by the 108th Reconnaissance Squadron (Special) from
Howard Field Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
, patrolling the approaches to the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...
. A-18 37-61 was damaged in a landing accident at Albrook field on 22 February 1943,"A-18 Shrike."
''USAF Serial Search.'' Retrieved: 23 October 2012.
and cannibalization kept at least one aircraft flying until it was grounded due to a lack of spare parts. Serial 37-56 was transferred to instructional airframe training at Howard. All were eventually scrapped in the Canal Zone by the end of 1943.


Operators

; *
United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
Maurer, Maure
"Combat Squadrons of the Air Force: World War II."
''Office of Air Force History,'' Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, 1982.
: 8th Attack Squadron, 1937-1941 : 15th Bombardment Squadron (Light), 1940 : 16th Bombardment Squadron (Light), 1940-1941 :
24th Bombardment Squadron Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
(Light), 1940-1942 : 55th Bombardment Squadron (Light), 1942 : 56th Bombardment Squadron (Light), 1941 : 57th Bombardment Squadron (Light), 1941 : 89th Bombardment Squadron (Light), 1941 : 108th Reconnaissance Squadron, 1942-1943 :
128th Observation Squadron 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, 1941-1942


Specifications (Y1A-18)


See also


References


Notes


Bibliography

*Eden, Paul and Soph Moeng, eds. ''The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft''. London: Amber Books Ltd., 2002, . * Fahey, James C. ''U.S. Army Aircraft 1908-1946.'' New York: Ships and Aircraft, 1946. *Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. "Vol. 21." ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the 20th Century Weapons and Warfare.'' London: Purnell & Sons Ltd., 1967/1969. . *Swanborough, F. G. and Peter M. Bowers. ''United States Military Aircraft Since 1909''. New York: Putnam, 1964. . * *Andrade, John M. . ''U.S Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909''. Leicester : Midland Counties Publications, First edition 1979. .


External links


Curtiss A-18
{{USAF attack aircraft A-18 Shrike A-18 Shrike Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1937 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft