Northrop N-3PB
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| N-3PB | |
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| Type | Patrol bomber/torpedo bomber floatplane |
| Manufacturer | Northrop Aircraft Inc. |
| Introduction | 1940 |
| Primary user | Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service |
| Number built | 24 |
The Northrop N-3PB is a sleek single engine low wing float plane with a crew of three. The Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service was the only customer of the type. Norway was in need of a replacement for the Naval Air Service's MF-11 biplane patrol aircraft and ordered 24 aircraft on 12 March 1940.
Before the aircraft could be delivered, Norway was invaded by the Germans. All of the aircraft were delivered to the exiled Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service (RNNAS), operating as No. 330 (Norwegian) Squadron RAF in Reykjavík, Iceland. The RNNAS operated the N-3PBs on anti-submarine and convoy escort duties.
After the war the two surviving aircraft were flown to Norway, but both were scrapped sometime in the 1950s.
In the seventies, a N-3PB wreck was located at Iceland. The aircraft was rescued, and later restored by Northrop in California. This only surviving aircraft is currently on exhibition as part of Forsvarets Flysamling (The Norwegian Military's Airplane Collection) at Gardermoen, Norway.
Contents |
[edit] Military Operators
[edit] Specifications (N-3PB)
General characteristics
- Crew: Three (pilot, navigator & wireless operator)
- Length: 38 ft (11.58 m)
- Wingspan: 48 ft 11 in (14.91 m)
- Height: 12 ft (3.66 m)
- Wing area: 376.8 ft² (34.93 m²)
- Empty weight: 6,190 lb (2,808 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 10,600 lb (4,808 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× Wright Cyclone air-cooled radial engine, 1,200 hp (895 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 223 knots (257 mph, 414 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 186 knots (215 mph, 348 km/h)
- Range: 869 nm (1,000 mi, 1,609 km)
- Service ceiling 28,400 ft (7,392 m)
Armament
- 4 × .50 in machine guns
- 2 × .30 in machine guns
- 1 × 2,000 lb torpedo or equivalent weight of bombs
