Naval Aircraft Factory Model A

Single-Seat, Single-Engine Naval Fighter Proposal

United States | 1941

"The NAF Model A was proposed alongside the twin-boom Model B against a pre-World War 2 U.S. Navy fighter requirement."

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 04/30/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

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Prior to the events that drove the United States into World War 2 (1939-1945), the United States Navy (USN) service branch was already looking to modernize its stable of aging fighter types. A myriad of options became available both well-known and lesser-known suppliers. It seemed that any and all design forms were considered by the service to bring it on par - or even surpass - the naval air arm capabilities of its period rivals - namely the Empire of Japan. Before the official start of the war for America, the fighters taken into service were the Brewster "Buffalo" and Grumman F4F "Wildcat" - both detailed elsewhere on this site.

Beyond these two notable entries were many proposed fighter forms. Even the USN's own "Naval Aircraft Factory" (NAF), arranged in 1918 during the American involvement in World War 1 (1914-1918), proposed two very different forms to fulfill the USN fighter requirement - these being the generically named "Model A" (the showcase of this article) and "Model B".

The Model A was of conventional arrangement, housing its single engine in the nose with the cockpit seated over midships and a single rudder making up the tail. The engine drove a four-bladed propeller unit with a large spinner at its center. The wing mainplanes were of an inverted "gull-wing" form, not unlike the Vought F4U "Corsair" Navy fighter still to come, and were mounted low along the sides of the fuselage. The tail unit also used traditional horizontal planes set low and neared the trailing edge of the single fin.

Proposed armament was to become 6 x Machine guns, most likely of 0.50 caliber and air-cooled (the Browning M2 being the prime candidate). The weapons were be installed as a trio in each wing giving the fighter formidable firepower against any threat of the day.

For ground-running, a rather forward-thinking tricycle arrangement (wholly-retractable) was planned for. Between this arrangement, and the relatively unobstructed canopy enclosure, the Model A would offer its pilot relatively good vision out-of-the-cockpit for a Navy plane.

The Model A, however, was not pursued despite its promising qualities. Similarly, the Model B - which differed considerably through its twin-engine "push-pull" arrangement and twin-boom layout - was not followed up on.

As drawn up, the Model A was given a running length of 38.7 feet with a wingspan reaching 46 feet. Gross weight was rated at 10,685lb. Power would have come from a single Wright R-3350 "Duplex Cyclone" supercharged twin-row, air-cooled radial piston engine producing 2,200 horsepower giving the fighter an estimated maximum speed of 420 miles-per-hour (at 28,000 feet altitude), a service ceiling up to 37,200 feet, and a range out to 1,080 miles.

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Naval Aircraft Factory Model A Single-Seat, Single-Engine Naval Fighter Proposal.

1 x Wright R-3350 "Duplex-Cyclone" air-cooled radial piston engine developing 2,200 horsepower driving a four-bladed propeller unit at the nose.
Propulsion

419 mph
675 kph | 364 kts
Max Speed

37,205 ft
11,340 m | 7 miles
Service Ceiling

1,081 miles
1,740 km | 940 nm
Operational Range

City-to-City Ranges
Operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).

NYC

LON

PAR

BER

MOS

TOK

SYD

LAX

NYC

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Naval Aircraft Factory Model A Single-Seat, Single-Engine Naval Fighter Proposal.

1
(MANNED)
Crew

38.7 ft
11.80 m
O/A Length

46.1 ft
(14.05 m)
O/A Width

10,692 lb
(4,850 kg)
MTOW

Design Balance
The three qualities reflected below are altitude, speed, and range. The more full the box, the more balanced the design.

RANGE

ALT

SPEED

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Naval Aircraft Factory Model A Single-Seat, Single-Engine Naval Fighter Proposal .

PROPOSED:
6 x 0.50 caliber (12.7mm) Browning M2 air-cooled Heavy Machine Guns (HMGs) in wings (three guns to a wing).

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Naval Aircraft Factory Model A family line.

Model A - Base Project Designation.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Naval Aircraft Factory Model A. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 0 Units
Contractor(s): Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) - USA

[ United States (cancelled) ]

Relative Max Speed

Hi: 500mph

Lo: 250mph

Aircraft Max Listed Speed (419mph).

Graph Average of 375 MPH.

Era Crossover

Showcasing Aircraft Era Crossover (if any)

Max Alt Visualization

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

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Aviation Timeline

EarlyYrs

WWI

Interwar

WWII

ColdWar

Postwar

Modern

Future

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Image of the Naval Aircraft Factory Model A

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Mission Roles
Some designs are single-minded in their approach while others offer a more versatile solution to airborne requirements.

AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT

MARITIME / NAVY

X-PLANE

Recognition
Some designs stand the test of time while others are doomed to never advance beyond the drawing board; let history be their judge.

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Going Further...
The Naval Aircraft Factory Model A Single-Seat, Single-Engine Naval Fighter Proposal appears in the following collections:

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