The Vultee A-31 Vengeance was an American

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact through ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 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 Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

, and the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

and the Southwest Pacific. The A-31 remained in service with U.S. units until 1945, primarily in a

target-tug A target tug is an aircraft which tows an unmanned drone, a fabric drogue or other kind of target, for the purposes of gun or missile target practice. Target tugs are often conversions of transport and utility aircraft, as well as obsolescent com ...

role.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 69.

Design and development

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 A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

with a closed

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls that e ...

and a crew of two. An air-cooled radial Wright Twin Cyclone GR-2600-A5B-5 engine rated at powered the V-72. It was armed with both fixed forward-firing and flexible-mounted machine guns in the rear cockpit. The aircraft also carried up to of bombs in an interior bomb bay and on external wing racks.Wegg 1990, p. 163. The Vengeance was uniquely designed to dive vertically without lift from the wing pulling the aircraft off target. To this end, it had a 0° angle of incidence on the wing to better align the nose of the aircraft with the target during the dive. This resulted in the aircraft cruising in a nose-up attitude, giving a poor forward view for the pilot, particularly during landing. It had an unusual, "W"-shaped wing planform. This 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 the impression of an inverted gull wing when seen from an angle, when in fact the wing has a more conventional dihedral on the outer wing panels. France placed an order for 300 V-72s, with deliveries intended to start in October 1940. The

fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...

in June 1940 stopped these plans, but at the same time the

British Purchasing Commission The British Purchasing Commission was a United Kingdom organisation of the Second World War. Also known at some time as the "Anglo-French Purchasing Board", it was based in New York City, where it arranged the production and purchase of armaments fr ...

, impressed by the performance of the German

Junkers Ju 87 The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from ''Sturzkampfflugzeug'', "dive bomber") was a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's ...

, was shopping for a dive bomber for the

, and as it was the only aircraft available, placed an order for 200 V-72s (named Vengeance by Vultee) on 3 July 1940, with orders for a further 100 being placed in December.Wegg 1990, pp. 162–163. As Vultee's factory at Downey was already busy building BT-13 Valiant trainers, the aircraft were to be built at the Stinson factory at Nashville, and under license by Northrop at

Hawthorne, California Hawthorne is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. It is part of a seventeen-city region commonly called the South Bay. As of the 2020 US census, Hawthorne had a population of 88, ...

. The first prototype V-72 flew from Vultee's factory at

Downey, California Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program. It is also the home ...

, on 30 March 1941. Additional aircraft were ordered for Britain in June 1941 under the

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

scheme, with those being given the

US 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 ...

designation A-31. After the U.S. entered the war following the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

, a number of V-72 and A-31 aircraft were repossessed for use by the

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

.Donald 1995, p. 250. As the USAAF became interested in dive bombing, it decided to order production of an improved version of the Vengeance, designated the A-35, for both its own use and for supply to its allies under Lend-Lease. It was fitted with a more powerful Wright Twin Cyclone R-2600-19 engine and improved armament. As US Army test pilots disliked the poor pilot view resulting from the zero-incidence wing, that was "corrected" in the A-35, giving the plane a better attitude in cruise but lessening its accuracy as a dive bomber.Shores and Smith 1977, p. 31. When production of the Vengeance was completed in 1944, a total of 1,931 aircraft had been made.Wegg 1990, p. 152. The majority were produced at the Vultee plant in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

. Indecision about which aircraft type 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. That resulted in the overproduction of what was considered an obsolete aircraft.

Evaluation

Operational experience with other dive bomber aircraft of the period, such as the

Blackburn Skua The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a carrier-based low-wing, two-seater, single- radial engine aircraft by the British aviation company Blackburn Aircraft. It was the first Royal Navy carrier-borne all-metal cantilever monoplane aircraft, as well as t ...

, Junkers Ju 87 Stuka, Aichi D3A "Val", Douglas Dauntless,

Breda Ba.65 The Breda Ba.65 was an Italian all-metal single-engine, low-wing monoplane used by '' Aviazione Legionaria'' during the Spanish Civil War and ''Regia Aeronautica'' in the first half of World War II. It was the only Italian ground-attack aircra ...

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 Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

aircraft that did not have these problems remedied were grounded, being declared uneconomical and unreliable to operate. 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 considered poor due to the large radial engine. There were a number of fatal accidents with the Vengeance due to improper dive procedures, as well as a center of gravity problem when the aircraft was flown with the rear cockpit canopy open, but without a rear gunner. 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 Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

tended to be a low priority for Allied air planners, and forces in that theater got what was left over. Aircraft such as the

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its ...

and

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

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 "...very effective." Peter Smith, author of ''Jungle Dive Bombers at War'', wrote that, "Their pilots had difficulty in getting them off the ground with a full load. At Newton Field they were using the full length of the runway before becoming airborne. Kittyhawk aircraft could carry the same bomb load and in addition carry out ground-strafing". In contrast, many crew spoke well of the Vengeance. "I certainly didn't have that experience of the Vultee. I can recall no incidents of pilots having difficulty in taking off with full bomb loads, and the Kittyhawk could not carry the same bomb load even after their undercarriage had been strengthened. I remember the Vultee as a lovely aircraft to fly, an aircraft that was hard to stall and was fully aerobatic. You could do anything in them, rolls, loops, stall turns, and there was enough room in the cockpit to hold a ball. I used to like flying them, although a lot of blokes thought that they were too cumbersome."

Operational history

UK and India

By the time that Britain had received large numbers of Vengeances, its opinion on the usefulness of specialised dive bombers had changed. As the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

and operations over

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

had shown the dive bomber to be vulnerable to fighter attack, the Vengeance was rejected for use over Western Europe or the Mediterranean. It was decided to use the Vengeance in the Burma Theatre to carry out dive-bombing operations in close support of British and Indian troops in the jungles.Shores and Smith 1977, p. 32. The first RAF squadrons ( No. 82 and No. 110) received Vengeances in October 1942. The first dive bombing missions against Japanese forces were flown on 19 March 1943. A further two RAF squadrons in Burma received Vengeances, ( No. 84 and No. 45), together with two squadrons of the

(IAF) ( No. 7 and No. 8).In cases of heavy monsoon clouds, which obstructed the view during the dive, RIAF pilots practiced the unconventional method of shallow bombing, releasing bombs at 800 feet only. Enough hits were landed using this technique, that they were persuaded by commanders to use this technique when conditions were similar. Vengeances were heavily deployed in support of the second Arakan campaign of 1943/44, and defending against the Japanese attacks on

Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (also known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the f ...

and Kohima of April–July 1944.Shores and Smith 1977, pp. 34–36. Following the successful defeat of the Japanese attack, the RAF and IAF started to phase out the Vengeance in favour of more versatile fighter bombers and twin-engine light bombers, with the last Vengeance operations over Burma being carried out on 16 July 1944.Shores and Smith 1977, pp. 36–37. After Burma service, a detachment from 110 Squadron RAF was sent to

Takoradi Sekondi-Takoradi is a city in Ghana comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi – Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly and the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is the region's largest city and an indu ...

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali ...

via the Middle East, a number of aircraft breaking down en route. Between September and December 1944, 11 Vultees took part in air-spraying trials against malarial mosquitoes, using under wing spray dispensers. Although phased out of front line service with the RAF, Britain continued to receive large numbers of Vengeances, with bulk deliveries of Lend Lease aircraft (as opposed to those purchased directly by Britain) having only just started. Many of these surplus aircraft, including most Vengeance Mk IVs, were delivered to the UK and modified as target tugs, being used in that role both by the RAF and the Royal Navy's

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wi ...

(FAA).Shores and Smith 1977, p. 37. In those roles, all armament was removed from the aircraft.

Australia

Australia placed an order for 400 Vengeances as an emergency measure following the outbreak of war in the Pacific, which was met by a mixture of Lend Lease and diversions from the original British orders. While the first Vengeance was delivered to the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF) in May 1942, the aircraft did not arrive in substantial numbers until April 1943. The RAAF's first Vengeance squadron, No. 12 Squadron flew its first operational mission against Selaru Island in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, whic ...

. Squadrons equipped with the Vengeance included Nos. 12, 21, 23, 24 and 25 Squadrons. Of these, all but 25 Squadron served briefly in the

New Guinea campaign The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian-administered Mandated Territory of New Guinea (23 Jan ...

.Shores and Smith 1977. pp. 37–38. Australian Vengeances flew their last operational sorties on 8 March 1944, as they were considered less efficient than fighter bombers, having a short range and requiring a long runway, and were withdrawn to allow more effective fighter bombers to move into the forward area.Shores and Smith 1977, pp. 38–39. The Vengeance squadrons were re-equipped with

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

heavy bombers. The view of the Vengeance's limitations is disputed by Peter Smith in ''Jungle Dive Bombers at War'', "The precision and skill of the dive-bombing method...and its clear superiority over most other means of air attack when it came to destroying small and well-hidden targets in difficult country, was proven over and over again in the Asian jungle campaigns. Yet the men who achieved these excellent results, for such economy of effort and comparatively small loss, were but a handful of pilots who have been forgotten in the overwhelming mass of the heavy-and medium bomber fleets that were pounding both Europe and Asia by 1945. This capacity was exemplified in the raid by RAAF Nos. 21 and 23 Squadrons on Hansay Bay. Smith wrote, "...the jungle-clad hills and islands of forgotten or unknown lands would become the major stage for the ultimate expression of the dive-bombers' skill." 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.

Brazil

Thirty-three V-72s and A-35s were supplied to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

from 1943, carrying out a few anti-submarine patrols. They were withdrawn by April 1948.Wegg 1990, p. 164.

Free French

The

Free French Air Force The Free French Air Forces (french: Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL) were the air arm of the Free French Forces in the Second World War, created by Charles de Gaulle in 1940. The designation ceased to exist in 1943 when the Free Fre ...

received 67 A-35As and -Bs in 1943, being used to equip three bomb groups in North Africa. The French, however, keen to get the aircraft operational as soon as possible did not incorporate improvements found necessary by Britain and Australia, so their aircraft proved to be unreliable and had extremely high oil consumption. As such, they were restricted to training operations, being finally withdrawn in September 1944.Pelletier 2007, pp. 75–79.

United States

While the U.S. received 243 V-72s and A31s diverted from the RAF orders together with large numbers of A-35s specifically built for it, these saw no combat, being used as initial equipment for light bomber squadrons that re-equipped with twin-engine aircraft before deploying overseas, and as trainers or target tugs.Shores and Smith 1977, p. 40. According to other sources the A-31 saw extensive front-line combat with the 10th Air Force located in China throughout the spring of 1944. As many as 60 A-31's could be fielded for a single mission. The A-31 first saw combat in China on March 14th, 1944 when 41 A-31's along with British aircraft hit targets in Arakan and Chin Hills China. It was last used on May 25, 1944 when 20 A-31's scored bombing hits on the Manipar R bridge at Tonzang. From April 1944, a number of Vengeance Mk IV series Is were made available to the 8th Air Force and assigned to target-towing flights and Combat Crew Replacement Center stations. All armament was removed and a light cable winch fitted in the rear fuselage for sleeve towing. Some of these aircraft continued to be flown with British

national markings Military aircraft insignia are insignia applied to military aircraft to identify the nation or branch of military service to which the aircraft belong. Many insignia are in the form of a circular roundel or modified roundel; other shapes such as ...

and serial numbers. By late June 1944, there were seven A-35Bs at

RAF Cluntoe Royal Air Force Cluntoe or more simply RAF Cluntoe is a former Royal Air Force satellite airfield located west of Ardboe, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland and east of Cookstown, County Tyrone. History Construction of Cluntoe was started dur ...

, seven at Greencastle, ten at RAF Sutton Bridge and six at RAF East Wretham. When the CCRCs were dissolved in the autumn, the Vengeances were transferred to combat groups, with most fighter and several bomber groups having one on hand at some time during 1945. A-35Bs did not show a high state of serviceability by this time and were generally considered troublesome to maintain. They were also designated RA-35B (R for Restricted) by this time.Freeman 1984, p. 208.

Variants

RAF Variants

;Vengeance I :Vultee V-72 license built by Northrop and ordered directly for Britain, powered by R-2600-A5B engine. 200 built. ;Vengeance IA :Northrop built aircraft purchased under Lend-Lease, powered by R-2600-19 engine, otherwise similar to Vengeance I. USAAF designation A-31-NO. 200 built. ;Vengeance II :Vultee built aircraft directly purchased by Britain. Small differences from Vengeance I. 501 built. ;Vengeance III :Vultee built Lend-Lease aircraft. Similar to IA. USAAF designation A-31-VN. 200 built. ;Vengeance IV :A-35B supplied under Lend-Lease to RAF and RAAF. 458 supplied to RAF and 121 to RAAF.

USAAF Variants

;XA-31A :Redesignated prototype Vengeance accepted by USAAF in June 1942. Vultee designation V-88. ;XA-31B :XA-31A modified as testbed for 3,000 hp (2,240 kW) Pratt & Whitney XR-4360-1 Wasp Major. ;XA-31C :Vengeance III modified as testbed for 2,200 hp (1,640 kW)

Wright R-3350 The Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone is an American twin-row, supercharged, air-cooled, radial aircraft engine with 18 cylinders displacing nearly . Power ranged from 2,200 to over 3,700 hp (1,640 to 2,760 kW), depending on the model. ...

-18 Duplex Cyclone engine. One converted. ;YA-31C :Vengeance IIIs modified as testbeds for R-3350-17 engines for

B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 ...

. Five built. ;A-35A :Redesigned version for USAAF and Lend-Lease. 4° wing incidence. Powered by 1,700 hp (1269 kW) R-2600-13 or -8 engine. Four forward-firing .50 in (12.7 mm) caliber

M2 Browning machine gun The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, ...

s and one in rear cockpit. Vultee designation V-88. 99 aircraft built. ;A-35B :Modified aircraft with six forward-firing 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns and additional bomb racks. 831 built. ;TBV-1 Georgia :A-35Bs meant to be in service with the U.S. Navy, order cancelled.

Operators

; *

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

A27 Vultee Vengeance
. RAAF Museum Point Cook. Retrieved 15 November 2008. ** No. 12 Squadron RAAF ** No. 21 Squadron RAAF ** No. 23 Squadron RAAF **

No. 24 Squadron RAAF No. 24 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force squadron. The squadron was formed in 1940 and saw action as a bomber squadron during World War II serving in the Pacific theatre against the Japanese, and undertaking operations during the Battle ...

** 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 ; *

Brazilian Air Force "Wings that protect the country" , colours = , colours_label = , march = Hino dos Aviadores , mascot = , anniversaries = 22 May (anniver ...

Smith 1986, p. 173. ** 1st Dive-Bombing Squadron ** 2nd Dive-Bombing Squadron ; *

** GB 1/32 Bourgogne ** GB 1/17 Picardie ** GB 2/15 Anjou ;

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

No. 7 Squadron IAF No. 7 Squadron, Indian Air Force (''Battle Axes'') operates as a Special Munitions Delivery and air superiority unit. Based at Gwalior AFB, No.7 Squadron forms a part of 40 Wing AF, Central Air Command. Crest No. 7 Squadron Sqn has as its embl ...

** No. 8 Squadron IAF ** No.1 Service Flying Training School ** No.22 Anti Aircraft Cooperation Unit ** No.1 Target Towing Flight ; *

Halley 1980, p. 355. ** No. 45 Squadron RAF **

No. 82 Squadron RAF No. 82 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron that was first formed in 1917 and last disbanded in 1963. It served at times as a bomber unit, a reconnaissance unit and lastly as an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) unit. History For ...

** No. 84 Squadron RAF ** No. 110 Squadron RAF **

No. 288 Squadron RAF No. 288 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as an anti-aircraft co-operation unit in World War II. History Formation in World War II The squadron formed at RAF Digby on 17 November 1941 and was equipped with Lysanders, Bl ...

No. 289 Squadron RAF No. 289 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron formed as an anti-aircraft cooperation unit in World War II. History Formation in World War II The squadron formed at RAF Kirknewton on 17 November 1941 and was equipped with Lysanders a ...

** No. 291 Squadron RAF **

No. 567 Squadron RAF No. 567 Squadron was an anti-aircraft co-operation squadron of the Royal Air Force, formed during World War II and active between December 1943 and June 1946 in the defence of south-east England. History No. 567 Squadron was formed on 1 Decemb ...

No. 577 Squadron RAF No. 577 Squadron was an anti-aircraft co-operation unit of the Royal Air Force formed during World War II and active from December 1943 till June 1946 in the defence of the Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a ...

No. 587 Squadron RAF No. 587 Squadron RAF was an anti-aircraft co-operation squadron of the Royal Air Force from 1943 to 1946. History The squadron was formed at RAF Weston Zoyland, England on 1 December 1943, from No. 1600 Flight RAF, 1600 Flight, No. 1601 Flight R ...

No. 595 Squadron RAF No. 595 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force from 1943 to 1949. History The squadron was formed at RAF Aberporth, Wales on 1 December 1943, from nos. 1607, 1608, 1609 and 1621 Flight for anti-aircraft co-operation duties over cent ...

Halley 1980, p. 320. ** No. 631 Squadron RAF **

No. 667 Squadron RAF 667 Squadron AAC is a squadron of the British Army's Army Air Corps (AAC). History No. 667 squadron was first formed on 1 December 1943 at RAF Gosport, Hampshire from 1662 and 1631 Flight and No. 7 Anti-Aircraft Practice Camp at RAF Shoreham, ...

No. 679 Squadron RAF No. 679 Squadron RAF was an anti-aircraft co-operation squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. History No. 679 Squadron was formed on 1 December 1943 at RAF Ipswich, Suffolk, from 1616 and 1627 (anti-aircraft co-operation) ...

No. 691 Squadron RAF No. 691 Squadron RAF was an Anti-aircraft cooperation squadron of the Royal Air Force from 1943 to 1949. History The squadron was formed on 1 December 1943 at RNAS Roborough from 1623 (anti-aircraft co-operation) Flight. It was tasked with anti ...

No. 695 Squadron RAF No. 695 Squadron RAF was an anti-aircraft co-operation squadron of the Royal Air Force from 1943 to 1949. History The squadron was formed at RAF Bircham Newton, Norfolk, on 1 December 1943, from 1611, 1612 and 1626 (Anti-aircraft co-operation) ...

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

–

721 Naval Air Squadron 721 Naval Air Squadron (721 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land a ...

** 733 Naval Air Squadron ** 791 Naval Air Squadron ; * U.S. Army Air Force ** 55th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) ** 56th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) ** 57th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) ** 88th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) ** 309th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) ** 311th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) ** 312th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) ** 623rd Bombardment Squadron (Dive) ** 628th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) ** 629th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) ** 630th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) **

631st Bombardment Squadron (Dive) The 406th Air Expeditionary Group (406 AEOG) is the operational flying component of the 406th Air Expeditionary Wing. It is a provisional unit assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe. The current status of this unit is undetermined. ...

Surviving aircraft

One complete Vengeance IA that did not see squadron service, serial number A27-99 (EZ999), is displayed at the

Camden Museum of Aviation The Camden Museum of Aviation is a private museum located in Harrington Park, New South Wales. Its collection includes 18 aircraft. It was founded at Camden Airport in 1967 and moved to its current location in 1976. History The museum was the ...

at Narellan,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. Components of Vengeance IIA A24-247 are held at the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society, Australia, to form the basis of a restoration project.

Specifications (Vengeance I)

References

Notes

* Stinson was by this time owned by Vultee, and the factory was transferred to Vultee.Wegg 1990, pp. 117–118. * RAF aircraft operating over Burma replaced the .30 in (7.62 mm) Browning machine guns in the rear cockpit with British built .303 in (7.7 mm) guns owing to poor reliability of the American built guns on flexible mountings.Shores and Smith 1977, p.33.

Bibliography

* Angelucci, Enzo and Paolo Matricardi. ''World Aircraft: World War II, Volume II'' (Sampson Low Guides). Maidenhead, UK: Sampson Low, 1978. . * * Donald, David (editor). ''American Warplanes of World War II''. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1995. . * Freeman, Roger."Part 2, Armament and Equipment". ''Mighty Eighth War Manual''. London: Jane's Publishing, Fourth Impression, 1984. p. 208. . * Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians), 1980. . * Jefford, C.G. ''RAF Squadrons, A Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912''. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1998 (second edition 2001). . * * March, Daniel J. (editor). ''British Warplanes of World War II''. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1998. . * Mondey, David. ''American Aircraft of World War II''. London: Aerospace Publishing Ltd., 1982. . * Pelletier. Alain J. "Consumptive Vengeance: Vultee A-35s in French Service". ''Air Enthusiast'' Number 128. March/April 2007. Stamford, UK: Key Publishing, 2007. . pp. 75–79. * Shores. Christopher and Smith, Frank. "Diving Vengeance." ''

Air Enthusiast ''Air Enthusiast'' was a British, bi-monthly, aviation magazine, published by the Key Publishing group. Initially begun in 1974 as ''Air Enthusiast Quarterly'', the magazine was conceived as a historical adjunct to ''Air International'' maga ...

'' Number Five, November 1977 – February 1978. Bromley, Kent, UK: Pilot Press, 1977. pp. 29–43. * Smith, Peter C. ''Vengeance! The Vultee Vengeance Dive Bomber''. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1986. . * Wegg, John. ''General Dynamic Aircraft and their Predecessors''. London:Putnam, 1990. . * Winchester, Jim. ''American Military Aircraft''. Barnes & Noble Books, 2005. .

External links

USAF museum A-31

USAF museum A-35A

USAF museum A-35B

AirToAirCombat.Com: Vultee A-35 Vengeance
{{Authority control A-31 1940s United States attack aircraft World War II ground attack aircraft of the United States World War II dive bombers of the United States Aircraft first flown in 1941 Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft

Design and development

Evaluation

Operational history

UK and India

Australia

Brazil

Free French

United States

Variants

RAF Variants

USAAF Variants

Operators

Surviving aircraft

Specifications (Vengeance I)

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links