Stearman A-21

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stearman A-21
Type	Attack
Manufacturer	Stearman
Maiden flight	1938
Status	Inactive
Primary user	United States Army
Number built	1
Unit cost	Unknown

The Stearman Model X-100 was a competitor in an Army Air Corps competition for a twin-engined attack aircraft which (after redesigns) lead to the A-20 Havoc, A-22 Maryland and B-25 Mitchell.

The X-100, designated XA-21 following purchase by the AAC, featured an unusual cockpit arrangement with a streamlined greenhouse canopy enclosing both the pilot and bombardier stations. This was found to restrict the pilot's forwards vision, and the aircraft was rebuilt with a conventional nose and cockpit structure. Although this did not significantly affect performance, the XA-21 was not ordered into production.

[edit] Specifications (XA-21)

Data from J. Baugher^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 3
• Length: 53 ft 1 in (16.18 m)
• Wingspan: 65 ft 0 in (19.81 m)
• Height: 14 ft 2 in (4.32 m)
• Wing area: 607 ft² (56.39 m²)
• Empty weight: 12,760 lb (5,789 kg)
• Loaded weight: 18,230 lb (8,269 kg)
• Useful load: 5,560 lb (2,522 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney R-2180-7 radial, 1400 hp (1029 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 223 knots (257 mph, 414 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 174 knots (200 mph, 322 km/h)

Armament

• 4 wing-mounted .30 caliber machine guns
• 1 nose-mounted .30 caliber machine gun
• 4 aft-firing .30 caliber machine guns
• 2700 lbs of bombs (internal).