North American NA-40

Attack Aircraft / Light Bomber Prototype [ 1939 ]

Just a single example of the proposed North American NA-40 attack platform was built and tested against a USAAC requirement.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 05/01/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

VIEW SPECIFICATIONS [+]

Even before the classic North American B-25 "Mitchell" twin-engine medium bomber of World War 2 fame could be realized, the North American Aviation concern had to progress through a series of twin-engine designs, all intended to satisfy existing United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) requirements for a twin-engine attacker. The "attack" aircraft was born from the need to provide ground elements with on-spot firepower where a fighter simply could not and a traditional bomber was overkill. As all ground and at-sea warfare eventually evolved to require such a dedicated type, global military powers around the world scoured for capable over-battlefield designs. The United States during the World War 2 period held a considerable interest in twin-engine attack/bomber types - as embodied by the likes of the B-25, Douglas A-26 "Invader", and Martin B-26 "Marauder" - and design work ramped up as the war got underway.

The new requirement was born in the pre-World War 2 years during 1937 and evolved some by 1938 leading North American Aviation to champion their new "NA-40" prototype (following on its work on the sole, abandoned XB-21 "Dragon" prototype of 1936). The aircraft showcased a deep fuselage with a well-glazed-over nose section, stepped flight deck, and short/upwards-tapering empennage. The tail section held two rudder fins outboard, joined to the fuselage horizontal planes. The wing mainplane members were straight in their general design form and each were given underslung engine nacelles used to drive three-bladed propeller units in tractor fashion. A wheeled, retractable undercarriage was utilized for ground running - though the legs were somewhat short and, together with its shortened tail section, gave the aircraft something of a rather portly appearance when on the ground.

In its initial prototype form, NA-40 was powered by twin Pratt & Whitney R-1830-56C3G air-cooled radial piston engines of 1,100 horsepower each. Dimensions included a length of 48.2 feet with a wingspan of 66 feet. Internally, the aircraft operated through a crew of five and carried a war load of up to 2,100 pounds. Defensive gun positions were planned at the nose and at dorsal / ventral positions. First-flown on January 29th, 1939, this version did not impress (a maximum speed of just 265mph was reached during testing) and was therefore redrawn to become the NA-40B (also known as "NA-40-2").

NA-40B switched to a pair of Wright R-2600-A71-3 "Twin Cyclone" 14-cylinder, air-cooled radials of 1,275 horsepower (each) instead and also incorporated slight revisions throughout to address both instability and power/performance lacking in the first attempt. Maximum speed was increased to 309 miles-per-hour while all other traits of the aircraft remained largely faithful to the original.

However, the sole prototype of the program was eventually lost to a crash on April 11th, 1939 before the project gained enough steam. It was not recovered and the NA-40 was subsequently ended. Nevertheless, North American's commitment to the NA-40 prototype lead to its excellent B-25 "Mitchell" of the World War 2 period (detailed elsewhere on this site).©MilitaryFactory.com

Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications

Service Year

1939

Origin

United States

Status

CANCELLED
Development Ended.

Crew

5

Production

1
UNITS

North American Aviation - USA

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

United States (cancelled)

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

GROUND ATTACK
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.

CLOSE-AIR SUPPORT
Developed to operate in close proximity to active ground elements by way of a broad array of air-to-ground ordnance and munitions options.

X-PLANE
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.

Length

48.2 ft
(14.70 m)

Width/Span

66.0 ft
(20.12 m)

MTOW

20,999 lb
(9,525 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the base North American NA-40 production variant)

Installed: 2 x Wright R-2600-A71-3 "Twin Cyclone" 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines developing 1,275 horsepower driving three-bladed propeller units.

Max Speed

311 mph
(500 kph | 270 kts)

Ceiling

25,000 ft
(7,620 m | 5 mi)

Range

1,199 mi
(1,930 km | 1,042 nm)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base North American NA-40 production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

PROPOSED:
1 x 0.30 caliber machine gun in trainable mounting at nose position.
1 x 0.30 caliber machine gun in trainable mounting at dorsal position.
1 x 0.30 caliber machine gun in trainable mounting at ventral / waist position.

Up to 2,100lb of conventional drop bombs / drop ordnance.

Supported Types

Graphical image of an aircraft medium machine gun

Graphical image of an aircraft conventional drop bomb munition

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

0
Hardpoints

NA-40 - Base Project Designation; single prototype completed; model of January 1939 flown with 2 x PRatt & Whitney R-1830-56C3G radials.

NA-40B (NA-40-2) - Revised design of March 1939 carrying 2 x Wright R-2600-A71-3 radials.

Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force

Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway

Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift

Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War

Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War

Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight

Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War

Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars

Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War

Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War

Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War

Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor

Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War

Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War

Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War

Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War

Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War

Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era

Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War

Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft

Images Gallery

1 / 1

Image from the Public Domain.

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.

©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)