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Beechcraft XA-38 Grizzly / Destroyer

1944 WORLD WAR 2 X-PLANE

History of the Beechcraft XA-38 Grizzly / Destroyer

The XA-38 is a twin-engine heavy-duty development aircraft built by Beech Aircraft. In any case, it was a stable and fast plane that rivaled even the single-engine small planes of the day.

Although their design was promising, their potential was never realized, as the engine envisaged for this type was reserved for the four-engine Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bomber, which had priority. As a result, only two XA-38 prototypes were built, and the project was eventually shelved at the end of the war.

If it flew in large numbers, it could give Imperial Japan a formidable adversary capable of attacking tanks, vehicles, ships and submarines with equal - and deadly - zeal.

The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF - predecessor to the United States Air Force) entered into a contract agreement with Beech Aircraft in December 1942 after considering Beechcraft's Type 28 system. The contract called for the construction of two XA-38 prototypes to meet requirements including the replacement of the Douglas A-20 Havocs in service at the time.

The new aircraft must outperform the A-20 in every area it excels, making it a truly formidable ground-attack component critical to eliminating entrenched Japanese enemies across the Pacific Rim. The A-20 itself originated from a 1939 design and entered service in 1941.

Her armament and light bombardment capabilities brought Havoc to fame early in the war and was eventually used by the armed forces of the United States, France, Britain and the Soviet Union. Production of this type finally ended on September 20, 1944, and inevitably a replacement was required. The XA-38 first flew on May 7, 1944, at Beech Aircraft Airfield in Wichita, Kansas, piloted by Beech test pilot Vern Carstens. It was then airlifted to Elgin Field in Florida for testing with the U.S.

Army.

The design of the XA-38 focuses on a large nose-mounted 75mm artillery armament. The gun is positioned so that the barrel protrudes from the nose cone assembly of the clean all-metal body.

The hull has a traditional design, with a forward cockpit area and aft gunner station, and is assembled into four main sections for easy maintenance and repair. Wings are mid-mounted monoplane components (based on NACA 2300 series wings) that connect the fuselage to each side of the cockpit and are designed with heated leading edges and surfaces to prevent icing at high altitudes . Mounted on the wings are two Wright R-3350-53 series air-cooled radial piston engines, each capable of delivering a staggering 2,700 horsepower while driving standard three-blade Hamilton constant velocity propellers. Cooling is provided by specially designed circular panels and controlled by automatic flaps. The engine nacelles were attached to the leading edge of the wing and protruded slightly, extending almost to the extended length of the nose of the fuselage.

The tail is conventional, with a horizontal tail and two vertical tails. The landing gear is a typical "tail tractor", with two front single-wheel landing gear and a single-wheel tail system - all fully retractable by means of a hydraulic system with a pneumatic emergency system.

The crew quarters consisted of the pilot and a gunner, housed in separate glass canopies. The gunner lay supine on the tail unit.

While the XA-38's primary weapon is its nose-mounted 75mm gun (the entire front nose section is hinged upwards for easier access to the gun), this has been increased by a factor of no less than 6. 50 caliber Browning air-cooled heavy machine gun. Two are mounted in the front lower front fixed position, the remaining four are mounted in the dorsal and ventral GE brand remote control turrets (two machine guns per turret). The gunner tracks these turrets with a periscope sight in his rear compartment. Additional external storage will include conventional bombs, torpedoes, smoke bombs, depth charges, chemical tanks and sub-tanks.

With its easy-to-use folding nose, the XA-38 is designed to easily accommodate other adaptable weapon systems.

In terms of performance, the XA-38 shines according to reports from test pilots and military personnel who have had the pleasure of flying it. She exhibits stable flight characteristics, but most notably her top speed. Their speed was on par with -- or in some cases better -- the top single-engine fighters of the day. In one such attempt, a pursuit plane sent to monitor the XA-38 was found behind the twin-engine beauty. Other impressive performances proved that the XA-38 was able to take off and land at lower speeds over shorter distances, even better than its contemporary single-engine counterparts.

Her engine and airframe undoubtedly proved reliable in later ratings.

Top speed of 376 mph, service ceiling in excess of 27,800 feet, with two 2,700-horsepower Wright engines and two crew members. By comparison, the A-20 Havoc has a top speed of 339 mph and a service ceiling of 23,700 feet, with two 1,700-horsepower Wright engines and a crew of three.

The XA-38 would be a true American "could have" story because of its straight-line top speed coupled with the lethal weapons package built for the successful WWII aircraft. Believe that if the XA-38 goes into production and is available in certain quantities, it will not disappoint.

As fate would have it, when the B-29 took over its engines, the system was phased out, the need for dedicated attack vehicles diminished, and the war inevitably ended a year later.

In any case, XA-38 is still an interesting study. The XA-38's name was "Destroyer", but it is widely believed to be "Grizzly". It is understood that one of the XA-38 prototypes ended up in the scrap yard, while the whereabouts of the other prototype is unknown.