Northrop A-17 (Nomad)

History of the Northrop A-17 (Nomad)

The Northrop A-17A Nomad was the military development of the commercially successful Northrop Gamma. First delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force as a two-seat light attack bomber in 1935, the Northrop A-17A was largely obsolete by the outbreak of World War II.

Nevertheless, in June 1940 the RAF purchased 93 remaining A-17As for various training missions. The Royal Canadian Air Force then acquired a small number of these nomads, as they were well known in British service, for training purposes only under the Commonwealth Aviation Training Program.

They have never actually been used abroad.

Originally, the aircraft was used at Camp Bodden, Ontario (now Canadian Forces Bodden Base) to screen qualified civilian pilots for service in the Air Force. In 1941, the aircraft was converted to a target tow configuration for air-to-air firing training at various schools in Quebec and Ontario.

In addition to the Royal Canadian Air Force's operations in Canada, the Royal Norwegian Air Force has trained a number of exiled flight crews using the A-17A at airports in Toronto and Muskoka, Ontario. RAF Nomads retire as hostilities end.

Nomads are not particularly good aircraft, but they do provide a solid training service, averaging about 3,000 flight hours per aircraft over four and a half years of service.

Specification

Base

Year of Service

1935

Origins

United States

Status

retirement

does not work.

Crew

2

Production

411

Manufacturer

Northrop Corporation - USA

Carrier

Argentina; Canada; Iraq; Netherlands; Norway; Peru; South Africa; Sweden; United States

Roles

Ground attack (bombing, strafing)

The ability to conduct air strikes against ground targets using (but not limited to) artillery, bombs, rockets, rockets, etc.

Disable support (CAS)

Designed to operate near active ground elements with a wide range of air-to-surface weapon and ammunition options.

Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR), reconnaissance

Monitor ground targets/target areas to assess surrounding threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.

Dimensions and Weight

Length

31.7 feet

(9.67m)

Width/span

47.7 feet

(14.55m)

Height

11.9 feet

(3.62m)

Cured weight

4,872 lbs

(2,210 kg)

MTOW

7,341 lbs

(3,330 kg)

Wgt Difference

+?2,469

(+1,120 kg)

Performance

Installed:

1 x Pratt & Whitney R-1535-11 Twin Wasp 750 hp air-cooled radial piston engine driving a three-bladed front mounted propeller unit.

Maximum speed

208 km/h

(335 km/h | 181 kn)

Maximum

19,406 feet

(5,915 m | 4 km)

Area

649 km

(1,045 km | 1,935 nautical miles)

rate of climb

1,350 ft/min

(411 m/min)

Range (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: > 19030

Weapons

Standard: 4 x 7.62mm Browning M1919 machine guns, fixed forward mount. 1 x 7.62mm Browning M1919 machine gun mounted on a trainable mount in the rear gunner's cockpit. The bomb load was distributed over the interior compartment and underwing hardpoints.