The Vultee XA-41 was originally ordered as a

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 througho ...

. After combat experience led the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

to believe dive-bombers were too vulnerable to enemy fighters, the contract was amended to change the role to low-level ground attack. Although the XA-41 was a potent weapons system, the design was overtaken by more advanced technology, and never entered production.

Design and development

The Vultee engineering team decided early in the design process to build the XA-41 (company Model 90) around the 3,000 hp

Pratt & Whitney R-4360 The Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major is an American 28-cylinder four-row radial engine, radial reciprocating engine, piston aircraft engine designed and built during World War II. First run in 1944, at , it is the largest-displacement aviation ...

Wasp Major four-row, 28-cylinder

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 ca ...

. The Model 90's large tapered wing resembled that of Vultee Model 72 – a two-seat attack aircraft/dive bomber better known as the

Vultee Vengeance The Vultee A-31 Vengeance was 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 ...

(A-31/A-35) – including a straight leading edge, forward-swept trailing edge, and pronounced dihedral on the outer wing panels. Designed to carry both a large internal load and external stores, the XA-41 was large for a single-engine aircraft. The single-place

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

, set in line with the wing root, was 15 ft (4.6 m) off the ground when the airplane was parked. As operational priorities shifted during its development phase, the original order for two XA-41 prototypes was cancelled, although the USAAF pressed for the completion of one prototype as an engine testbed for the R-4360 (the same engine used by the

Boeing B-50 Superfortress The Boeing B-50 Superfortress is an American strategic bomber. A post–World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, it was fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller tail fin, and ot ...

Operational history

Flying for the first time on 11 February 1944, the sole XA-41 (S/N ''43-35124'') proved to have good performance with a maximum speed of 354 mph reached in testing and "superb maneuverability, being able to out-turn a P-51B Mustang".Thompson 1992, p. 119. However, with the reduction in military orders due to the approaching end of the war, no production contract was placed, and the aircraft was used as an engine testbed for the USAAF as well as being evaluated by the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

in comparison with other contemporary attack aircraft, especially the

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

AD-1 Skyraider and

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

AM-1 Mauler. After its Navy trials, the XA-41, bearing civil registration ''NX60373N'', was consigned to the Pratt & Whitney division of

United Aircraft The United Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer formed by the break-up of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation in 1934. In 1975, the company became United Technologies. History Pre-1930s 1930s The Air Mail scandal ...

to continue engine tests. These continued until 1950 before the XA-41 was scrapped.

Specifications (Vultee XA-41)

Notes

Bibliography

* McCullough, Anson. "Grind 'Em Out Ground Attack: The Search for the Elusive Fighter Bomber". ''Wings'' Vol. 25, No. 4, August 1995. * Thompson, Jonathan. ''Vultee Aircraft 1932–1947''. Santa Ana, California: Narkiewicz/Thompson, 1992. .

External links

Vultee XA-41
{{USAF attack aircraft Vultee A-41 XA-41 Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1944 Mid-wing aircraft Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United States