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[baronbutcher]

One for the Allies.

Lockheed Ventura/Harpoon

The Lockheed Ventura was a bomber and patrol aircraft of World War II, used by United States and British Commonwealth forces in several guises. It was developed from the Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar transport, as a replacement for the Lockheed Hudson bombers then in service with the Royal Air Force. The RAF ordered 675 Venturas in February 1940. They were delivered from mid-1942 onwards.
Development
Lockheed Ventura/B-34 Lexington
The Ventura was very similar to its predecessor, the Lockheed Hudson. The primary difference was not in layout; rather, the Ventura was larger and heavier than the Hudson. Venturas were initially used for daylight raids on occupied Europe. They proved unsuited to this task, because (like many other bombers used by the RAF), they were too vulnerable without long-range fighter escorts. They were replaced in this role by the de Havilland Mosquito. The Venturas were gradually transferred to patrol duties with Coastal Command.
The RAF placed a further order for 487 Ventura Mark IIs, but many of these were diverted to United States Army Air Forces service. The U.S. Army Air Forces placed its own order for 200 Ventura Mark IIA, which were put into service as the B-34 Lexington. Later redesignated RB-34.
Lockheed B-37
In 1941 August, large orders for Venturas were placed with Lend-Lease Act money. Among the orders were for 550 armed reconnaissance versions of the Ventura. This plane was originally planned to be built under the designation O-56. The main differences between the Ventura and the O-56 were in the engines: rather than the 2,000 hp (1,491 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radials of the Ventura, the O-56 used 1,700 hp (1,270 kW) Wright R-2600-13 radials.
Before completion of the first O-56, the U.S. Army Air Forces dropped the O- category used to designate 'observation' (reconnaissance) planes. The O-56 was redesignated the RB-34B (RB- for 'reconnaissance bomber'). Before the first of these flew, the design was redesignated again as the B-37, because it used different engines.
RB was not used for Reconnaissance until after 1947. F was used for photo rec. R was used for Rotorcraft, which was changed to H for Helicopter after 1947. The RB designation WAS eventually given to these aircraft to represent a Redesignation - in this case to a training role.
While 550 were ordered by the Army Air Forces, acquisition by the USAAF stopped after only 18 were accepted, when the Army Air Forces agreed to turn over exclusive use of the Ventura to the United States Navy.
PV-1 Ventura
The PV-1 Ventura, built by the Vega Aircraft Company division of Lockheed (hence the 'V' Navy manufacturer's letter that later replaced the 'O' for Lockheed), was a version of the Ventura built for the U.S. Navy (see Venturas in U.S. Navy service below). The main differences between the PV-1 and the B-34 were the inclusion of special equipment in the PV-1, adapting it to its patrol-bombing role. The maximum fuel capacity of the PV-1 was increased from 1,345 gal (5,081 l) to 1,607 gal (6,082 l), to increase its range; the forward defensive armament was also reduced for this reason. The most important addition was of an ASD-1 search radar.
Early production PV-1s still carried a bombardier's station behind the nose radome, with four side windows and a flat bomb-aiming panel underneath the nose. Late production PV-1s dispensed with this bombardier position and replaced it with a pack with three 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns underneath the nose. These aircraft could also carry eight 5 in (127 mm) HVAR rockets on launchers underneath the wings.
The PV-1 began to be delivered in 1942 December, and entered service in 1943 February. The first squadron in combat was VP-135, deployed in the Aleutian Islands in 1943 April. They were operated by three other squadrons in this theatre. From the Aleutians, they flew strikes against bases in Paramushiro and Shimushu, Japanese islands in the Kurile chain. Often, PV-1s would lead B-24 bomber formations, since they were equipped with radar. In late 1943, some PV-1s were deployed to the Solomon Islands as night-fighters.
PV-2 Harpoon
The PV-2 Harpoon was a major redesign of the Ventura with the wing area increased from 551 ft² (51.2 m²) to 686 ft² (63.7 m²) giving an increased load-carrying capability. The motivation for redesign was weaknesses in the PV-1, since it had shown to have poor-quality takeoffs when carrying a full load of fuel. On the PV-2, the armament became standardised at five forward-firing machine guns. Many early PV-1s had a bombardier's position, which was deleted in the PV-2. Some other significant developments included the increase of the bombload by 30% to 4,000 lb (1,800 kg), and the ability to carry eight 5-inch (127 mm) HVAR rockets under the wings.
While the PV-2 was expected to have increased range and better takeoff, the anticipated speed statistics were projected lower than those of the PV-1, due to the use of the same engines but an increase in weight. The Navy ordered 500 examples, designating them with the popular name Harpoon.
Early tests indicated a tendency for the wings to wrinkle dangerously. As this problem could not be solved by a 6 ft (1.8 m) reduction in wingspan (making the wing uniformly flexible), a complete redesign of the wing was necessitated. This hurdle delayed entry of the PV-2 into service. The PV-2s already delivered were used for training purposes under the designation PV-2C. By the end of 1944, only 69 PV-2s had been delivered. They finally resumed when the redesign was complete. The first aircraft shipped were the PV-2D, which had eight forward-firing machine guns and was used in ground attacks. When World War II ended, all of the order was cancelled.
With the wing problems fixed, the PV-2 proved reliable, and eventually popular. It was first used in the Aleutians by VP-139, one of the squadrons that originally used the PV-1. It was used by a number of countries after the war’s end, but the United States ceased ordering new PV-2s, and they were all soon retired from service.
Civil conversions
Ex-military PV-1 Venturas from Canada and South Africa were converted by Howard Aero in San Antonio, Texas in the 1950s and 60s as high-speed executive transports. The earliest conversions, called Super Venturas, incorporated a 48 in (122 cm) fuselage stretch, extra fuel tankage, large picture windows, luxury interiors, and weapons bays transformed into baggage compartments. The landing gear was swapped for the heavier-duty units from the PV-2. Later versions, built in the 1960s, were called Howard 350s. At least fifteen PV-2s were further modified, including cabin pressurisation under the designation Howard 500. A final PV-1 modification by Howard was the Eldorado 700, with longer wings, a pointed nose, and streamlined engine cowlings.
Operational history
Royal Air Force
387 PV-1s were used by the RAF as the Ventura G.R.V. They were used in the Mediterranean and by Coastal Command. Some RAF aircraft were modified into Ventura C.V transport aircraft. The Ventura Mark I was first delivered to the Royal Air Force in September 1941, and flew its first combat mission on 3 November 1942 against a factory in Hengelo, the Netherlands. On 6 December 1942, 47 Venturas engaged in a daylight, low-altitude attack against Eindhoven, also in the Netherlands. This was the primary event that demonstrated the Ventura's weakness in such raids: of the 47, nine of the bombers were downed. Following this tragedy, tactics were switched to medium-altitude raids. The Ventura fared little better in this strategy. During one attack on a power station in Amsterdam on 3 May 1943, New Zealand's 487 Squadron was told the target was of such importance that the attack was to be continued regardless of opposition. All ten Venturas to cross the coast were lost to German fighters. Squadron Leader Leonard Trent, (later the last of the Great Escapers), won the Victoria Cross for his leadership in this raid.
It was never a very popular aircraft among RAF crews, and despite the fact that it was 50 mph (80 km/h) faster and carried more than twice as many bombs as its predecessor, the Hudson, it proved ill-suited to its task as a bomber. By the summer of 1943, the Ventura had been phased out of service in favour of the de Havilland Mosquito. Its last mission was flown by No. 21 Squadron RAF on 9 September 1943. After leaving bombardment service, a number were modified to be used by Coastal Command; they served as the Ventura G.R.I.
A small number of Venturas were also used in other countries, including Canada the Royal New Zealand Air Force and South Africa.

Royal Australian Air Force
A total of 55 PV-1s were used by the RAAF in the South West Pacific Area, serving primarily in New Guinea. Initially, air crews and ground staff disliked the Ventura, preferring the B-25 Mitchell. But in many cases, the PV-1 had developed a grudging respect from its operators.
Royal Canadian Air Force
Venturas were in use by the RCAF from 16 June 1942 to 18 April 1947 in the home defence coastal patrol role in both Eastern and Western Air Command. They were flown by 8, 113, 115, 145, and 149 Squadrons, as well as by 1 Central Flying School, Trenton, Ontario, and at RCAF Station Pennfield Ridge, New Brunswick (RAF No. 34 Operational Training Unit). They were also flown at RCAF Station Yarmouth in World War II.
A total of 21 Mk. Is, 108 Mk. IIs, and 157 G.R. Mk. Vs were in service during this period for a total of 286 aircraft.
South African Air Force
The South African Air Force also received some 135 PV-1s, which were used to protect shipping around the Cape of Good Hope, and to bomb Italian shipping in the Mediterranean. They were used by the South African Air Force up to 1960.
Royal New Zealand Air Force
From August 1942, No. 487 Squadron RNZAF, (operating in Europe as part of the Royal Air Force), was equipped with the type, although losses (including on 3 May 1943 the loss of all 11 aircraft attacking Amsterdam), lead to their replacement with the de Havilland Mosquito in June.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force in the Pacific received 139 Venturas and some Harpoons from June 1943 to replace Lockheed Hudsons in the maritime patrol bomber and medium bomber roles. Initially Venturas were unpopular with the RNZAF, due to rumoured poor performance on one engine, the fate of Leonard Trent V.C.'s 487 Squadron (above) as well as the failure of the U.S. to provide New Zealand with promised B-24 Liberators. Despite that the RNZAF Venturas came to be amongst the most widely used of any nations, seeing substantial action until VJ day over South West Pacific islands.
The first 19 RB-34s that arrived by sea from the U.S. in June had much equipment either missing or damaged. Six airworthy machines were hurriedly produced by cannibalisation and sent into action with No. 3 Squadron RNZAF in Fiji. On 26 June, the first PV-1s were flown to Whenuapai and No. 1 Squadron RNZAF was able to convert to 18 of these by 1 August, then replacing the mixed 3 Squadron in action at Henderson Field, Guadacanal in late October.
By this time No. 2 Squadron RNZAF at Ohakea and No. 9 Squadron RNZAF were also using the type. The following year No. 4 Squadron RNZAF and No. 8 Squadron RNZAF also received Venturas. Some squadrons were retained on garrison duty while others followed the allied advance to Emirau and Green Island and to New Britain. RNZAF Venturas were tasked with routine patrols, anti-shipping strikes, minelaying, bombing and strafing missions, air-sea rescue patrols, photographic reconnaissance and, in an apparently bizarre case of taking Lockheed marketing's slogan of The Fighter-Bomber too literally, even (briefly) fighter sweeps.
RNZAF machines did often clash with Japanese fighters, notably during an air-sea rescue patrol on Christmas Eve of 1943. NZ4509 was attacked by nine Japanese single-engined fighters over St. George's Channel. It shot down three, later confirmed, and claimed two others as probables, although being heavily damaged in the action. The pilot, Flying Officer D. Ayson and navigator Warrant Officer W. Williams, were awarded the DFC, the dorsal turret gunner Flight Sergeant G. Hannah was awarded the DFM.
By late 1944, the Ventura began to be phased out of frontline action, as the RNZAF backed away from the Patrol bomber concept, orders for PV 2 Harpoons being cancelled after a handful or aircraft had been delivered. At V.J. Day, only 30 PV-1 s remained on the front line with 3 Squadron at Jacquinot Bay.
Planned re-equipment with Mosquitoes did not take place until after the cessation of hostilities. The last Ventura unit was 2 Squadron, which continued to operate PV-1s and -2s on meteorological duty until 1948. A restored RNZAF RB-34 (NZ4600) is owned by the Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland.
United States Army Air Forces
Some 264 Ventura Mark IIs ordered by the RAF were seized by the U.S. Army Air Force. Though some were used as anti-submarine patrol bombers under the designation B-34 Lexington, most were used for training with various stateside units. 27 of these were used by the United States Navy for anti-submarine patrols as well; these were designated PV-1 Ventura and PV-2 Harpoon.

United States Navy
During the early months of 1942, the primary responsibility for anti-submarine warfare in the United States was shouldered by the Army Air Force. This irked the Navy, as it considered this region of battle its burden. To carry out such a task, the Navy was pursuing a long-range, land-based patrol and reconnaissance aircraft with a substantial bombload. This goal was always resisted by the Army Air Force, which carefully protected its monopoly on land-based bombing. This forced the navy to use long-range floatplanes for these roles. The Navy was unable to upgrade to more capable aircraft until the Army Air Force needed the Navy plant in Renton, Washington to manufacture its B-29 Superfortress. In exchange for use of the Renton plant, the Army Air Force would discontinue its objections to Naval land-based bombers, and provide planes to the Navy. One of the clauses of this agreement stated that production of the B-34 and B-37 by Lockheed would cease, and instead these resources would be directed at building a navalised version, the PV-1 Ventura.
The PV-1 began to be delivered in December 1942, and entered service in February 1943. The first squadron in combat was VP-135, deployed in the Aleutian Islands in April 1943. They were operated by three other squadrons in this theatre. From the Aleutians, they flew strikes against Paramushiro, a Japanese island. Often, PV-1s would lead B-24 bomber formations, since they were equipped with radar. In late 1943, some PV-1s were deployed to the Solomon Islands.
After the war the US Navy deemed many PV-1s as obsolete and the aircraft were sent to Naval Air Station Clinton, Oklahoma to be demilitarized and reduced to scrap.
Other operators
•   Brazil (15 Venturas, 5 Harpoons)
•   Italy (22 Harpoons)
•   Japan (17 Harpoons)
•   Netherlands
•   Peru (6 Harpoons)
•   Portugal (42 Harpoons)
Variants
B-34
US designation for the Model 137 (with 2000hp R-1820-31 engines) bought for the Royal Air Force, 200 built and designated the Ventura IIA by the British.
B-34A
Former Royal Air Force Venturas returned to USAAF under a reverse lend-lease.
B-34B
B-34As converted as navigation trainers.
B-37
Lockheed Model 437 for the USAAF (with 2000hp R-2600-13 engines), only 18 out of an order of 550 built for armed observation. Originally designated the O-56, it was later designated the RB-37.
PV-1
United States Navy version of the B-34; 1,600 built. A total of 388 were delivered to the Royal Air Force as the Ventura GR.V, others to the RAAF, RNZAF and SAAF.
PV-1P
Designation for PV-1s fitted with a camera installation.
PV-2 Harpoon
Updated model with larger fin and wing area; 470 built.
PV-2C
Modified version of the PV-2 used for training; 30 built.
PV-2D
Same as PV-2 but with eight 0.5in nose guns; 35 built.
PV-2T
Designation for PV-2s used for crew training.
PV-3
Twenty-seven former RAF Ventura IIs requisitioned by the USN.
Ventura I
R-2800-S1A4-G powered variant for the Royal Air Force; 188 built, 30 to the RCAF and some to the SAAF, later re-designated the Ventura GR.I.
Ventura II
R-2800-31 powered variant for the RAF, 487 built, some transferred to the USAAC and USN.
Ventura IIA
British designation for the B-34.
Ventura V
British designation for the PV-1, later designated Ventura GR.V.
 
Specifications
General characteristics: Ventura IIA
•   Crew: 6
•   Length: 51 ft 5 in (15.7 m)
•   Wingspan: 65 ft 6 in (20 m)
•   Height: 11 ft 10 in (3.6 m)
•   Wing area: 551 ft² (51.2 m²)
•   Empty weight: 20,197 lb (9,160 kg)
•   Loaded weight: 31,000 lb (14,000 kg)
•   Max takeoff weight: 34,000 lb (15,000 kg)
•   Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney R-2800 geared radial engines, 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) each
Performance
•   Maximum speed: 322 mph (518 km/h)
•   Cruise speed: 230 mph (370 km/h)
•   Range: 1,660 mi (2,670 km)
•   Ferry range: 2,600 mi (4,200 km)
•   Service ceiling: 26,300 ft (8,020 m)
•   Rate of climb: 2,035 ft/min (15.4 m/s)
•   Wing loading: 56.4 lb/ft² (275 kg/m²)
•   Power/mass: 0.13 hp/lb (0.21 kW/kg)
Armament
•   Guns:
o   4 × .50 in (12.7 mm) Browning M2 machine guns
o   2 × .30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine guns
•   Bombs:
o   3,000 lb (1,400 kg) general ordnance or
o   6 × 325 lb (147 kg) depth charges or
o   1 × torpedo
Thanks for looking at.

[baronbutcher]

Unusual: Made in small numbers, not a typical well known attractive aircraft but nonetheless an important aircraft for Hungary's Airforce early in WW2. Of interest.

Caproni Ca.135

The Caproni Ca.135 was an Italian medium bomber designed in Bergamo in Italy by Cesare Pallavicino. It flew for the first time in 1935, and entered service with the Peruvian Air Force in 1937, and with the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) in January 1938. Also used by Hungarian Air Force.
Origins
General Valle (Chief of Staff of the Regia Aeronautica) initiated the "R-plan" - a program designed to modernize Italy's air force, and to give it a strength of 3,000 aircraft by 1940. In late 1934 a competition was held for a bomber with the following specifications:
•   Speed: 330 km/h (210 mph) at 4,500 m (14,800 ft) and 385 km/h (239 mph) at 5,000 m (16,000 ft).
•   Rate of climb: 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in 12½ minutes.
•   Range: 1,000 km (620 mi) with a 1,200 kg (2,600 lb) bombload.
•   Ceiling: 8,000 m (26,000 ft).
The ceiling and range specifications were not met, but the speed was exceeded by almost all the machines entered. At the end of the competition, the "winners" were the Ca.135 (with 204 aircraft ordered), the Fiat BR.20 (204), the Piaggio P.32 (144), the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 (96), the CANT Z.1007 (49), and the Piaggio P.32 (12).
This array of aircraft was proof of the anarchy, clientelarism, and inefficiency that afflicted the Italian aviation industry. Worse was the continuous waste of resources by the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force). Orders were given for aircraft that were already obsolete. The winners of the competition were not always the best - the BR.20 was overlooked in favour of the SM.79, an aircraft which was not even entered in the competition.
Design
The Ca.135 was to be built at Caproni's main Taliedo factory in Milan, which is why the type had a designation in the main Caproni sequence, rather than in the Caproni-Bergamaschi Ca.300 series. However, the project was retained at Ponte San Pietro and the prototype, completed during 1934-35, (a long construction time for the period), was first flown on 1 April. The project chief was Cesare Pallavicino of CAB (Caproni Aereonautica Bergamasca).
Although the new bomber was in the "century series" of Caproni aircraft, it resembled the Caproni Ca.310, with its rounded nose, two engines, low-slung fuselage and wings with a very long chord. Several versions were fitted with different engines and some had noticeable performance differences.
The prototype was powered by two 623 kW (835 hp) (at 4,000 m/13,123 ft) Isotta Fraschini Asso XI RC radial engines initially fitted with two bladed wooden propellers. It had a length of 14.5 m (48 ft), a wingspan of 18.96 m (62.2 ft), and a wing surface of 61.5 m2 (662 sq ft). It weighed 5,606 kg (12,360 lb) empty and had a 2,875 kg (6,340 lb) useful load. Structurally, it was built of mixed materials, with a stressed-skin forward fuselage and a wood and fabric-covered steel-tube rear section; the wings being of metal and wood, using fabric and wood as a covering. The wings were more than ? of the total length, and had two spars of wooden construction, covered with plywood and metal. The strength coefficient was 7.5. The tail surfaces were built of wood covered with metal and plywood. The fuel system, with two tanks in the inner wings, held a total of 2,200 L (581 US gal).
The Ca.135's fuselage shape was quite different from, for example, that of the Fiat BR.20. If the latter resembled the American B-25 Mitchell, the Ca.135, with its low fuselage more resembled the American B-26 Marauder. Its long nose accommodated the bomb-aimer (bombarider) and a front turret (similar to the Piaggio P.108 and later British bombers). The front part of the nose was detachable to allow a quick exit from the aircraft. It also had two doors in the cockpit roof, giving the pilots the chance to escape in an emergency. The right-hand seat could fold up to assist entry to the nose.
A single 12.7 mm (0.5 in) in a turret in mid-fuselage, was manned by the co-pilot. A seat for the flight engineer was later fitted. The wireless operator's station, in the aft fuselage, was fitted with the AR350/AR5 (the standard for Italian bombers), a radiogoniometer (P63N), an OMI AGR.90 photographic-planimetric machine or the similar AGR 61. The aircraft was also equipped with an APR 3 camera which although not fixed, was normally operated through a small window. The wireless operator also had a 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine gun in the ventral position. All this equipment made him very busy; as a result, an extra man was often carried. The aircraft had very wide glazed surfaces in the nose, cockpit, and the central and aft fuselage; much more than in other Italian aircraft.
The aircraft was fitted with three machine guns, of 12.7 mm (0.5 in) calibre in the turrets, and a 7.7 mm (0.303 in) calibre gun in the nose. All had 500 rounds, except the 7.7 mm (0.303 in) which had 350.
Bombload, like most Italian bombers, was less than impressive in terms of total weight, but was relatively flexible, depending on the role - from anti-ship to close air support:
•   2 × 800 kg (1,760 lb) bombs (the heaviest in the Regia Aeronautica), plus 2 × 50 kg (110 lb), and 2 × 31 kg (68 lb), for a total of 1,862 kg (4,105 lb)
•   2 × 500 kg (1,100 lb) + 4 × 100 kg (220 lb) + 2 × 31 kg (68 lb), total nominal 1,462 kg (3,223 lb)
•   4 × 250 kg (550 lb)
•   8 × 100 kg (220 lb) + 8 × 50 kg (110 lb) + 4 × 31 kg (68 lb), total 1,324 kg (2,919 lb)
•   16 × 50 kg (110 lb) + 8 × 31 kg (68 lb), total 1,048 kg (2,310 lb)
•   24 × 31 kg (68 lb), 20 kg (40 lb), 15 kg (33 lb), or 12 kg (26 lb).
•   120 × 1 kg (2 lb) or 2 kg (4 lb) bomblets
•   2 × torpedoes (never used, but hardpoints were fitted)
The aircraft had a better bomb capacity than most of its contemparies (the SM.79 could carry: 2 × 500 kg/1,100 , 5 × 250 kg/550 lb, 12 × 100 kg/220 lb or 50 kg/110 lb bombs, or 700 × 1–2 kg/2-4 lb bomblets).
Performance
The aircraft was underpowered, with a maximum speed of 363 km/h (226 mph) at 4,500 m (14,800 ft) and a high minimum speed of 130 km/h (81 mph), (there were no slats, and maybe not even flaps). Ceiling was only 6,000 m (20,000 ft) and the endurance, at 70% of throttle, was 1,600 km (990 mi). All-up weight was too high, with total of 8,725 kg (19,240 lb), not 7,375 kg (16,260 lb) as expected.
The total payload of 2,800 kg (6,200 lb) was shared between the crew (320+ kg/705+ lb), weapons (200 kg/441 lb), radios and other equipment (100 kg/220 lb), fuel (2,200 L/581 US gal), oil (1,500 kg/3,307 lb), oxygen and bombs. There was almost no chance of carrying a full load of fuel with the maximum bombload, (other Italian bombers were generally capable of a 3,300-3,600 kg/7,275-7,937 lb payload). The lack of power made take-offs when over-loaded, impossible. Indeed, even with a normal load, take-offs were problematic .
Take-off and landing distances were 418 m (1,371 ft) and 430 m (1,410 ft). The range was good enough to assure 2,200 km (1,400 mi) with 550 kg (1,210 lb) and 1,200 km (750 mi) with 1,200 kg (2,650 lb).
The production version was fitted with two inline liquid-cooled Asso XI RC 40 engines, each giving 671 kW (900 hp) at 4,000 m (13,120 ft). Aerodynamic drag was reduced, with three-bladed metal propellers that were theoretically more efficient. These new engines gave the aircraft a maximum speed of 400 km/h (250 mph) at 4,000 m (13,120 ft). It could climb to 2,000 m (6,560 ft) in 5.5 minutes, 4,000 m (13,120 ft) in 12.1 minutes and 5,000 m (16,400 ft) in 16.9 minutes.
Despite this, the aircraft was still underpowered, so the 1939 Ca.135Mod, fitted with 746 kW (1,000 hp) Piaggio P.XI engines, was developed.

Operational service
The aircraft arrived late in respect to the others (like the BR.20), and with totally unsatisfactory technology. Despite this there was an order for 32 aircraft from the Regia Aeronautica on 19 June 1937. They started to enter service in January 1938, over a year after the BR and SM bombers.
Spanish Civil War
In 1938 seven aircraft were earmarked for the Aviazione Legionaria to serve in the Spanish Civil War. These Tipo Spagna ("Spanish Type") aircraft were refitted with Fiat A.80 RC.41 engines, rated at 746 kW (1,000 hp).
Crews from 11 Wing were sent to Taliedo (just outside Milan), to take the first seven aircraft - designated Ca.135S - to Spain. One was damaged on take-off, the other six flew to Ciampino near Rome, where two suffered damage on landing. After repairs and some modifications, the seven aircraft were not ready to leave for Spain until late 1938. During the flight two were forced by icing to return to Italy and three crashed into the sea. Only two arrived at Palma de Mallorca, where they remained unused for six months.
Italy
Production of the aircraft was initially 32 aircraft, of which eight were Ca.135Ss, some were converted into the Ca.135Mod. The first Ca.135Bis were built in 1938. They were fitted with 746 kW (1,000 hp) Piaggio P.XI RC.40 engines, with Piaggio P.1001 three-blade metal propellers. Length was 17.7 m (58.1 ft), wingspan 18.8 m (61.7 ft), and wing surface 60 m² (646 ft²). Armament was still only two 12.7 mm (0.5 in) guns and one 7.7 mm (0.303 in), but the nose was redesigned to be more aerodynamic. Another 32 aircraft were ordered and built between 1939 and June 1940.
They were not successful aircraft, being heavily criticized by the Italian pilots. Unable to be used operationally, they were sent to flying schools, and then exported to Hungary. The first batch of Ca.135s flown by 11 Wing were phased out by late 1938. 25 were still available at Jesi airfield, but only four were airworthy. The others were probably in maintenance for engine replacement. There were at least 15 Ca.135Ss and Ca.135Mods at the Malpensa flying school in 1940, the poor condition of these aircraft meant that they were scrapped in November 1941. With the scrapping of the first batch and the selling of the second, all 64 Ca.135s left the service of the Regia Aeronautica without performing a single operational mission.
Hungary
In the 1938 Imperial Japanese Army Air Force evaluation, the Ca.135 P.XI had lost to the Fiat BR.20, but the Hungarian Air Force nonetheless ordered it. It is likely that these Hungarian Ca.135s had Manfred Weiss WM K-14 engines in place of the Piaggio P.XIs, since Hungary used these engines in its versions of the Reggiane Re.2000 and the Heinkel He 70. Both the Piaggio P.XI and the Manfred Weiss WM K-14 were licensed versions of the French Gnome-Rhône 14K Mistral Major.
The Hungarians operated up to 100 Ca.135s with some success against the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front in 1941 and 1942, once Hungary had committed its forces in that sector during World War II.
These aircraft constituted almost the entire Hungarian heavy bomber force and were ordered in exchange for the Ca.310, which were rejected and returned to Caproni in exchange for these new, more powerful, aircraft. The second Ca.135 series, rejected by the Italians, was delivered between 1940 and 1941, after an order originally submitted in 1937. It was only confirmed in 1939, after a trial was carried out by Hungarian pilots at Guidonia that surprisingly found it satisfactory. Hungary was almost entirely equipped with Italian aircraft at the beginning of the war. The 4° Bombardment Group operated these aircraft until late 1942, when the survivors, worn out, were used as training aircraft. The Hungarians did not love the Ca.135Bis, but it was all they had, and so they had to make best out of it. One of the squadrons, the I/4, (originally equipped with eight aircraft), soon lost one on landing. It was replaced by another four aircraft. This squadron, up to October 1941, carried out 265 attacks, flew 1,040 sorties, and dropped around 1,450 tonnes (1,600 tons) of bombs, evidently helped by the short range (200–300 km/120-190 mi) that allowed them to use the aircraft's maximum bomb load. Two aircraft were shot down, another two were lost in accidents and 11 crewmen were killed. The daily average, over these four months, was over 8 missions flown and 13 tonnes (14 tons) of bombs dropped.
Variants
•   Ca.135 Tipo Spagna : Seven aircraft fitted with Fiat A.80 RC.41 engines for service in Spain.
•   Ca.135 P.XI : Medium bomber version, powered by two 746 kW (1,000 hp) Piaggio P.XI RC 40 radial piston engines.
•   Ca.135 Tipo Peru : Export version for Peru, six aircraft fitted with two 671 kW (900 hp) Isotta-Fraschini Asso XI R.C.40 Spinto engines.
•   Ca.135 bis/Alfa : Single aircraft fitted with two 1,044 kW (1,400 hp) Alfa Romeo 135 RC 32 Tornado radial piston engines.
•   Ca.135 Raid : Special long range version, fitted with extra fuel tanks. One built.
Operators
  Hungary
•   Hungarian Air Force
  Italy
•   Regia Aeronautica
  Peru
•   Peruvian Aviation Corps
Specifications
Ca.135 P.XI
General characteristics
•   Crew: 4 (sometimes 5)
•   Length: 14.4 m (47 ft 3 in)
•   Wingspan: 18.8 m (61 ft 8 in)
•   Height: 3.4 m (11 ft 8 in)
•   Wing area: 60.0 m² (645.86 ft²)
•   Empty weight: 6,050 kg (13,340 lb)
•   Max takeoff weight: 9,550 kg (21,050 lb)
•   Powerplant: 2× Piaggio P.XI-RC40 14-cylinder radial engines, 746 kW (1,000 hp) each
Performance
•   Maximum speed: 440 km/h (273 mph) at 4,800 m (15,750 ft)
•   Cruise speed: 350 km/h (217 mph)
•   Range: 2,600 km (1,244 mi)
•   Service ceiling: 6,500 m (21,325 ft)
Armament
•   3 × 12.7 mm (0.5 in) dorsal Breda-SAFAT machine guns in nose, dorsal, and ventral turrets.
•   1,600 kg (3,527 lb) internal bomb load.
Thanks for looking. 

[baronbutcher]

Mitsubishi Ki-51

Another Japanese aircraft missing made in substantial numbers.
The Mitsubishi Ki-51 (Army designation "Type 99 Assault Plane". Allied codename "Sonia") was a light bomber/dive bomber in service with the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. It first flew in mid-1939. Initially deployed against Chinese forces, it proved to be too slow to hold up against the fighter aircraft of the other Allied powers. However, it performed a useful ground-attack role in the China-Burma-India theatre, notably from airfields too rough for many other aircraft. As the war drew to a close, they began to be used in kamikaze attacks. Total production was around 2,385 units. Charles Lindbergh, flying a P-38 Lightning shot down a Ki-51 after a vigorous dogfight in which the much slower Ki-51 utilized its low speed maneuverability and made a fight of it.

Mitsubishi Ki 51 Sonia
To meet an Imperial Japanese Army specification of December 1937 for a ground-attack aircraft, which it was suggested could be a development of the Ki-30 light bomber. Great emphasis was placed on manoeuvrability, protection for the crew and the capability of operating from emergency airfields located near the combat area. Specifications called for a maximum speed of no less than 260 mph (420 km/h) at 6,578 ft (2000 m), take-off weight was to be 5,960 lbs (2700 kg) and it was to have a bombload of at least 440 lbs (200 kg) and defensive armament consisting of three machine guns, one which was on a moveable mounting. Mitsubishi produced two prototypes under the designation Mitsubishi Ki-51 in the summer of 1939. Of similar external appearance to the Ki-30, the new design was generally of smaller dimensions, had a revised and simplified cockpit that put the two-man crew more closely together and, because the bomb bay was not required, the monoplane wing was moved from a mid to low-wing configuration. Powerplant chosen was the Mitsubishi 940 hp (701 kW) Ha-26-II radial engine.
Tested during the summer of 1939, the two prototypes were followed by 11 service trials aircraft, these being completed before the end of the year. They differed from the prototypes by incorporating a number of modifications, but most important were the introduction of fixed leading-edge slots to improve slow-speed handling and armour plate beneath the engine and crew positions. Ordered into production in this form as the Army Type 99 Assault Plane, the Ki-51 began a production run that totalled 2,385 aircraft, built by Mitsubishi (1,472) and by the First Army Air Arsenal at Tachikawa (913), before production ended in July 1945. In addition to the standard production aircraft, there were attempts to develop dedicated reconnaissance versions, initially by the conversion of one Ki-51 service trials aircraft which had the rear cockpit redesigned to accommodate reconnaissance cameras. Test and evaluation of this aircraft, redesignated Ki-51a, brought a realisation that the standard Ki-51 could be modified to have provisions for the installation of reconnaissance cameras, and this change was made on the production line. Subsequently, three Ki-71 tactical reconnaissance prototypes were developed from the Ki-51, introducing the 1,500 hp (1119 kW) Mitsubishi Ha-112-II engine, retractable landing gear, two wing mounted 20 mm cannon and other refinements, but no production examples were built.
Allocated the Allied codename 'Sonia', the Ki-51 was used initially in operations against China, and was deployed against the Allies until the end of the Pacific war. In more intensely contested areas the fairly slow Ki-51s were easy prey for Allied fighters, but in secondary theatres, where an ability to operate from rough and short fields was valuable, these aircraft gave essential close support in countless operations. In the closing stages of the war they were used in Kamikaze attacks.

Versions
•   Prototypes: 2 built
•   Service trials: 11 built
•   Ki-51: 2,3721 built (Manufacturers: Mitsubishi (1,462), Tachikawa Army Air Arsenal (913))
•   Ki-71 Prototypes: 3 built (Manufacturer: Tachikawa Army Air Arsenal) Version with retractable undercarriage
Specifications (Ki-51)
General characteristics
•   Crew: Two
•   Length: 9.21 m (30 ft 2? in)
•   Wingspan: 12.1 m (39 ft 8? in)
•   Height: 2.73 m (8 ft 11½ in)
•   Wing area: 24.0 m² (259 ft²)
•   Empty weight: 1,873 kg (4,129 lb)
•   Loaded weight: 2,798 kg (6,169 lb)
•   Max takeoff weight: 2,920 kg (6,415 lb)
•   Powerplant: 1× Mitsubishi Ha-26-II 14 cylinder air cooled radial engine, 709 kW (950 hp)
Performance
•   Maximum speed: 424 km/h (229 kn, 263 mph)
•   Range: 1,060 km (574 nmi, 660 mi)
•   Service ceiling: 8,270 m (27,130 ft)
•   Wing loading: 117 kg/m² (23.8 lb/ft²)
•   Power/mass: 0.24 kW/kg (0.15 hp/lb)
•   Climb to 5,000 m (16,400 ft): 9 min 55 sec
Armament
•   Guns:
o   2× fixed, forward-firing 7.7 mm (.303 in) Type 97 machine guns (replaced with 2× 12.7 mm (.5 in) Ho-103 machine guns in later models)
o   1× 7.7 mm (.303 in) Type 89 machine gun rearward-firing machine gun.
•   Bombs: 200 kg (441 lb) bombs (normal operations); 250 kg (551 lb) for suicide operations.
Thanks for looking!

[SAS~Skipper]

I do not like machine-gun nests on the hood ...
I'll try on other engines ..
Everything else is ready ..

[SAS~Poltava]

Skipper, you wizard you!

Here you can see: your creation is even better as a Mitsubishi Ki-30 Ann:









More info on the Ki-30 here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_Ki-30

I would say that you could use the FM of the B5N, but the load-out of the D3A1.

Go man, this will be a great addition to all early war Pacific theatre missions!

[SAS~Poltava]

And... there she flies!!! 



Amazing! Skipper - this must be the worlds fastest mod aircraft creation. You even got the single wing MG right. Just now someone put a JAAF skin on her, then shes ready to go!

I have a couple of extra suggestion. You can take them or leave them 

1. Could the antenna be moved to the front of the canopy?
2. The smaller engine looked even better!
3. Could there be bombs ONLY on the wings (four of them)? I don't think the Ki-30 had a centre rack. EDIT: Ooops, my bad! She didn't have a centre rack, but an internal bomb bay. But never mind that one! It's quite ok with just the wing bombs. But no centre rack - if possible.
4. The load-out could be simply this: 4 x 75kg bombs or 4 x 100kg bombs. That's the historical load-out, I think.

[baronbutcher]

Note from: War planes of the Second World War: Volume 7. William Green. Quote: 'It has been said that the specifications issued in the late 'twenties and early 'thirties by France's Service Technique de L'Aeronautique  for so-called Mutiplaces de Combat enabled French aircraft designers to perpetrate more crimes against aesthetics than could be laid at the doorsteps of the designers of every other aircraft-manufacturing nation combined. This is, of course, an exaggeration, but there was undoubtedly a period in which any connection between aerodynamic cleanliness and the larger French warplanes seemed purely co-incidental. One such aircraft was the Amiot 143.'
Note: The French besides producing grotesque aircraft particularly bombers made some attractive designs like the Breguet 693 and Leo 451. I will show both but first up is this rather interesting aircraft!

Amiot 143

The Amiot 143M was a late 1930s French medium bomber designed to meet 1928 specifications for a bomber capable of day/night bombing, long-range reconnaissance and bomber escort.[1]

Design and development
Félix Amiot's 1925 design was selected in 1928 for production over rivals Bleriot 137, Breguet 410 and SPCA 30. The prototype designated Amiot 140 flew in 1931, but actual production of the aging design did not begin until 1935 and continued for lack of a replacement until March 1937.
Despite being of an ungainly two-tiered structure, slow and lacking maneuverability, and of obsolescent architecture, the Amiot 143M was a sturdy plane which was popular with its pilots. Notable were the very thick wings, with engines accessible in flight.
The Amiot 143M production model mounted a turret in the nose and dorsal turrets, both of which housed one or two 7.5 mm (.295 in) MAC 1934 machine guns. In addition, a single 7.5 mm (.295 in) MAC 1934 was mounted in fore and aft positions in the ventral bombing gondola.
Operational history
The Amiot 143M entered service in July 1935. The design was already ten years old and was quite out of date. Nevertheless, 87 Amiot 143M were in the front line. 50 equipped four metropolitan groupes: GBs I/34 and II/34 in the north, GBs I/38 and II/38 in the East, and 17 equipped one African groupe as of 10 May 1940.
During the Phoney War, Amiot 143M groupes carried out reconnaissance and leaflet raids over Germany. Upon the start of the Battle of France, the Amiot 143M was used in night attacks on German lines of communications. The most significant action involving the Amiot 143M was a daring daylight raid on German bridgeheads near Sedan took place on 14 May 1940. A force of 13 planes from GBs I/34, II/34, and II/38 led by Commandant de Laubier encountered German Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters en route. 15 bombers were destroyed.
By the time of the Armistice, the Amiot 143M had dropped a total of 474 tonnes (523 tons) of bombs. 53 Amiot 143Ms were in the Unoccupied Zone and 25 were in French North Africa. They were reorganized into GBs I/38 and II/38 and were used until July 1941 when they were replaced by LeO 451 bombers.
Some planes of the II/38 served as a transports for the French in Syria. This groupe later went over to the Allied side after their landings in Africa. The last Amiot 143M was retired from service in February 1944.
A few Amiot 143M are reported to have been commandeered by the Germans and used as transports. Only 11 planes were left in the Unoccupied Zone when it was occupied by the Germans in 1943, and only three were flightworthy.
Had the war gone on a little longer for France, it is likely that all of the Amiot 143M would have ended up in a training role, having been replaced by more modern bombers such as the Breguet 693. The obsolete plane was never intended to have such an important role come war time, but slow French production made its use necessary - often being pulled from training squadrons to shore up bomber groupes.
Variants
•   Amiot 140 - prototype with Hispano-Suiza 12Nbr inline engines (2 built[2], followed by orders for 40 more produced as Amiot 143 instead)
•   Amiot 141 - revised design (unbuilt)
•   Amiot 142 - prototype with Hispano-Suiza 12Ybrs inlines (1 built[2])
•   Amiot 143 - production version with Gnome-Rhône 14Kirs/Kjrs radial engines (138 built, including 40 ordered as Amiot 140 and 25 ordered as Amiot 144)
•   Amiot 144 - version with reduced wing area, added flaps and retractable undercarriage and no front turret (1 built,[2] orders for 25 produced as Amiot 143 instead)
•   Amiot 145 - Amiot 144 with Hispano-Suiza 14A4 inlines (not built)
•   Amiot 146 - Amiot 144 with Gnome-Rhône 18Lars radials (not built)
•   Amiot 147 - Amiot 144 with Hispano-Suiza 12Ydrs/frs inlines (not built)
•   Amiot 150 - Reconnaissance, torpedo bomber prototype, for use with the Aeronavale. Amiot 143 with 10% larger wing, interchangeable wheel or float landing gear, powered by two Gnome-Rhone radials (1 prototype built[2])
Operators
  Croatia
•   Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia operated one.
  France
•   Armee de l'Air operated 138 aircraft.
  Germany
•   Luftwaffe operated few captured aircraft.
  Poland
•   Polish Air Forces on exile in France
o   Groupe de Bombardement Marche Polonais
Specifications (Amiot 143)
General characteristics
•   Crew: Five (pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier, gunner)
•   Length: 18.3 m (59 ft 11 in)
•   Wingspan: 24.5 m (80 ft 5¾ in)
•   Height: 5.7 m (18 ft 7¾ in)
•   Wing area: 100 m² (1,080 ft²)
•   Empty weight: 6,100 kg (13,450 lb)
•   Loaded weight: 9,700 kg (21,400 lb)
•   Powerplant: 2× Gnome et Rhône 14Kirs/jrs 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 650 kW (870 hp) each
Performance
•   Maximum speed: 310 km/h (193 mph)
•   Range: 1,200 km (720 mi)
•   Service ceiling: 7,900 m (25,920 ft)
•   Rate of climb: 279 m/s (915 ft/s)
•   Ferry Range: 2,000 km (1,240 mi)
Armament
•   Guns: 4-6 × 7.5 mm (.295 in) MAC 1934 machine guns in nose and dorsal positions as well as in front and rear of gondola
•   Bombs: 880-1,600 kg (1,936-3,520 lb)
Thanks for looking.

[baronbutcher]

A long shot but a interesting if somewhat unusual looking bomber that completes (or just about) the Russian bomber fleet of WW2.

Yermolayev Yer-2

The Yermolayev Yer-2 was a long-range Soviet medium bomber used during World War II. It was developed from the Bartini Stal-7 prototype airliner before the war. It was used to bomb Berlin from airbases in Estonia after Operation Barbarossa in 1941. Production was terminated in August 1941 to allow the factory to concentrate on building higher-priority Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft, but was restarted at the end of 1943 with new, fuel-efficient, Charomskiy ACh-30B aircraft diesel engines.
Although designed as a long-range medium bomber it was flown on tactical ground-attack missions during the Battle of Moscow with heavy losses. The survivors were flown, in ever dwindling numbers, until August 1943 when the last examples were transferred to schools. However, the resumption of production in 1943 allowed the aircraft to resume combat operations in April 1945. The Yer-2 remained in service with Long-Range Aviation until replaced by four-engined bombers at the end of the 1940s.

Development
Roberto Bartini had designed and built the Stal-7 airliner whilst he was the chief designer at the ZOK NII GVF (Russian: Zavod Opytno Konstrooktorskoye Naoochno-Issledovatel'skiy Institoot Grazdahnskovo Vozdooshnovo Flota—"Factory for Special Construction at the Scientific Test Institute for the Civil Air Fleet"). The performance of the Stal-7 was extremely good, particularly in respect to its payload; at gross overload weight over 56% of the total weight was payload. During flight trials with maximum all-up weight the prototype crashed on take-off in early 1938, resulting in the arrest of Bartini and his imprisonment in a Siberian Gulag in February 1938. The Stal-7 lay unrepaired until Vladimir Yermolaev was appointed as chief designer at OKB-240 after Bartini's arrest, with the task of transforming the Stal-7 design into a long-range bomber, a task made easier since Bartini had reserved space for a bomb bay in the fuselage. After repair the Stal-7 carried on with the flight-test programme, including a record-breaking non-stop flight on 28 August 1939 when it flew Moscow—Sverdlovsk—Sevastopol—Moscow; a distance of 5,086 km (3,149 miles) at an average speed of 405 km/h (252 mph).
Preliminary design of the DB-240 (Russian: dahl'niy bombardirovschik—"long-range bomber"), as the bomber version was designated, was complete by the beginning of 1939 and the construction of two prototypes began the following July. The DB-240 retained little apart from the general layout of the Stal-7 as the structure was almost completely redesigned. The pilot's cockpit was offset to port to improve his downward view and the navigator/bomb aimer sat in the extensively glazed nose with a 7.62-millimeter (0.300 in) ShKAS machine gun, the radio operator sat below and to starboard of the pilot and the dorsal gunner in a partially retractable turret with one 12.7-millimeter (0.50 in) Berezin UBT machine gun. Another ShKAS was fitted in a ventral hatch. Up to 2,000 kg (4,409 lb) of bombs could be carried in the bomb bay and two 500-kilogram (1,102 lb) bombs could be carried externally. Up to 4,600 kg (10,141 lb) of fuel could be carried. The DB-240 had been designed to use the experimental Klimov M-106 V12 engines, but the less-powerful Klimov M-105 engine had to be substituted because the M-106 was not available.
The DB-240 prototype flew for the first time on 14 May 1940 and began its State acceptance tests on 27 September 1940. The weaker engines prevented the DB-240 from reaching its designed performance. It could only attain 445 km/h (277 mph) at 4,250 m (13,944 ft) instead of the expected 500 km/h (311 mph) at 6,000 meters (19,685 ft). Its defensive armament was deemed inadequate and other problems included an excessively long take-off run and engine defects. However, these did not offset its virtues of a heavy bomb load and long-range (4,100 kilometers (2,548 mi) carrying 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) of bombs). It was ordered into production at Factory No. 18, in Voronezh, as the Yermolayev Yer-2.
 Manufacture began in March 1941, with approximately 50 aircraft delivered by 22 June 1941. These aircraft were about 5–8 km/h (3.1–5.0 mph) slower than the prototype and their normal weight increased 1,220 kg (2,690 lb) to 12,520 kg (27,602 lb). Production was terminated in August after 128 had been completed to allow the factory to concentrate on the higher-priority Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft.
 A Yer-2 was modified with experimental Mikulin AM-37 engines, a reinforced undercarriage, armored seats for the navigator and gunner, and 12.7 mm UBT machine guns in place of its original ShKAS weapons. It first flew in July 1941 and was able to reach 505 km/h (314 mph) at 6,000 m (19,685 ft), but the range was reduced to (3,500 km (2,175 mi) carrying 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) of bombs. One significant problem with this version was the excessive take-off roll which hindered operations from grass airstrips. The engine was unreliable, however, and had cooling problems that the Mikulin OKB did not have the resources to resolve so it was cancelled in October when the factory was forced to evacuate from Moscow by the German advance.
The Charomskiy M-40F diesel engine was also evaluated in a Yer-2 in 1941. This engine, like all diesels, offered a greatly reduced fuel consumption compared to a standard gasoline-powered engine, but at a great penalty in weight. These engines increased the gross take-off weight to 13,500 kg (29,762 lb) which required the undercarriage to be reinforced and the wing area increased to keep the same wing loading. The M-40F-powered aircraft reached a maximum speed of 430 km/h (267 mph) at 6,050 m (19,849 ft). However, the M-40 was not yet ready for service use and the project was cancelled.
The aircraft/engine combination did have enough potential that development work continued using the closely related, but more mature, Charomskiy ACh-30B diesel engine. The cockpit was modified to accommodate two pilots side-by-side and the wing and tailplane areas were increased. The 12.7 mm UBT machine gun in the dorsal turret was replaced by a 20-millimeter (0.79 in) ShVAK cannon and the nose and ventral ShKAS machine guns were exchanged for 12.7 mm UBT machine guns. Up to 5,460 kg (12,037 lb) of fuel could be carried. The Yer-2/ACh-30B was placed into production at Factory No. 39 in Irkutsk at the end of 1943 and the first production aircraft was submitted to its State acceptance trials the following month. Some excess aircraft were converted as Yer-2ON VIP transports.

Operational history
The Yer-2 was not in squadron service when Germany invaded on 22 June 1941, but the 420th and 421st Long-Range Bomber Regiments (Russian: Dahl'niy Bombardirovchnyy Aviapolk—DBAP) were formed shortly afterwards. However neither regiment flew any operational missions until later in the summer. On the evening of 10 August Yer-2s of the 420th DBAP, accompanied by Petlyakov Pe-8s of the 432nd DBAP, attempted to bomb Berlin from Pushkino Airfield near Leningrad. The airfield was too short to accommodate a fully loaded Yer-2, but three bombers did manage to take-off regardless. Two managed to bomb Berlin, or its outskirts, but only one successfully returned; the other was shot down by 'friendly' Polikarpov I-16s when it reentered Soviet airspace and the third aircraft went missing. Three crews from the 420th DBAP bombed Königsberg during the nights of 28–29 August and 30 August–1 September from Ramenskoye Airport, southeast of Moscow.
 On 1 October 1941 sixty-three Yer-2s were in service, but only thirty-four were operational.[10] The 420th DBAP had flown 154 sorties by the beginning of November (6 in August, 81 in September, 67 in October) and had lost thirty of its forty aircraft. Over half of these (nineteen) were due to non-combat losses. Losses were extremely high over the autumn and winter as they were inappropriately committed against German tactical front-line targets during the Battle of Moscow at low altitudes and only twelve were in service on 18 March 1942. On 4 August 1942 the 747th DBAP had only ten Yer-2s on hand and it was briefly committed during the Battle of Stalingrad.  The survivors were flown, in ever dwindling numbers, until August 1943 when the last few aircraft were transferred to schools by the 2nd Guards DBAP and the 747th DBAP.
The Yer-2 was placed back into production at the end of 1943, but none of the new bombers had been issued to combat units by 1 June 1944. However forty-two were in service on 1 January 1945 and one hundred and one on 10 May 1945 after the war ended. The first combat mission undertaken by Yer-2s after they returned to production was a raid on Königsberg on 7 April 1945 by the 327th and 329th Bomber Aviation Regiments (Russian: Bombardirovchnyy Aviatsionyy Polk). It remained in service with Long-Range Aviation units until replaced by four-engined bombers like the Tupolev Tu-4 in the late 1940s.
Variants
DB-240
Two prototypes of the Yer-2 series with two 1,050 hp M-105 engines.
Yer-2
Production version with two M-105 engines, 128 built.
Yer-2/AM-37
One aircraft re-engined with two prototype 1,380 hp Mikulin AM-37 engines, the fastest of all Yer-2s.
Yer-2/M-40F
The first diesel-powered Yer-2, with modified wings. One converted with two 1,500 hp Charomskiy M-40F diesel engines.
Yer-2/ACh-30B
Production model of the diesel-engined version. Performance was excellent despite the poor reliability and rough running of the Charomskiy ACh-30B diesel engines. Range increased 1,500 km (930 mi) from the version with M-105 engines.
Yer-2ON
(Russian: Osobogo Naznachyeniya–Special Assignment) Two aircraft from the Yer-2/ACh-30B production line were modified with a 12-seat VIP cabin, military equipment removed and long-range fuel tanks in the bomb-bay. A third aircraft was converted from a Yer-2 (1941 production) and used for shuttle flights between Irkutsk and Moscow.
Yer-2N
(Russian: Nositel—Carrier) One aircraft was modified as an engine test-bed for captured Argus As 014 pulse jet engines.
Yer-2/MB-100
One production aircraft used as a test-bed for the 2,200 horsepower (1,600 kW) Dobrotvorskii MB-100 engine in 1945.
Yer-4
The final iteration of the Yer-2 series was a 1941 production aircraft re-engined with ACh-30BF engines and redesignated as the Yer-4. It had a slightly larger wingspan, increased take-off weight and improved armament. The prototype was tested in December 1943, but did not enter production.
Operators
  Soviet Union
•   VVS (Russian: Voyenno-Vozdooshnyye Seely—Soviet Air Forces)
o   ADD (Russian: Aviahtsiya Dahl'nevo Deystviya—Long Range Aviation)
?   420th Long-Range Bomber Aviation Regiment, later the 748th Long-Range Bomber Aviation Regiment
?   421st Long-Range Bomber Aviation Regiment, later the 747th Long-Range Bomber Aviation Regiment
?   747th Long-Range Bomber Aviation Regiment
?   748th Long-Range Bomber Aviation Regiment, later the 2nd Guards Long-Range Aviation Regiment
?   327th Long-Range Bomber Aviation Regiment
?   329th Long-Range Bomber Aviation Regiment
Specifications (Yer-2/ACh-30B)
General characteristics
•   Crew: 4
•   Length: 16.42 m (53 ft 10½ in)
•   Wingspan: 23 m (75 ft 5½ in)
•   Height: 4.82 m (15 ft 10 in)
•   Wing area: 79 m² (850 ft²)
•   Empty weight: 10,455 kg (23,049 lb)
•   Gross weight: 18,580 kg (40,961 lb)
•   Powerplant: 2 × Charomskiy ACh-30B V12 diesel engines, 1,118 kW (1,500 hp) each each
Performance
•   Maximum speed: 420 km/h (261 mph)
•   Range: 5,500 km (3,418 miles)
•   Service ceiling: 7,200 m (23,620 ft)
Armament
•   1 x 12.7 mm UBT machine-gun in nose flexible mount.
•   1 x 12.7 mm UBT machine-gun in ventral flexible mount.
•   1 x 20 mm ShVAK cannon in a TUM-5 dorsal turret.
•   Up to 5,000  kg (11,023 lb) of bombs in the internal bomb-bay.
Number Built: about 360-370
Thanks for looking. That's me done for a while!

[Narvik]

There is a VERY LONG WIP at Aviaskins:
http://forum.aviaskins.com/showpost.php?p=30208&postcount=7
http://forum.aviaskins.com/showpost.php?p=30805&postcount=8
http://forum.aviaskins.com/showpost.php?p=33025&postcount=36
AFAIK the model hasn't been imported in IL2 yet. Looking forward to it too.

[baronbutcher]

I like to see this in IL-2 someday!

Bloch MB.150 - series

The Bloch MB.150 was a French low-wing, all-metal monoplane fighter aircraft with retractable landing gear and enclosed cockpit developed by Société des Avions Marcel Bloch as a contender in the 1934 French air ministry competition for a new fighter design.

Development
Although the competition was won by the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 prototype, development proceeded culminating in the first attempted flight of the MB.150.01 prototype in 1936. Unfortunately, the aircraft proved unable to leave the ground. With modifications consisting of a strengthened wing of greater area, revised landing gear, and installation of a 701 kW (940 hp) Gnome-Rhone 14N-0 radial engine with a three-blade constant speed propeller, the MB.150 finally flew in October 1937.
Handed over to the Centre d'Essais du Materiel Aerien (CEMA) for service trials, its performance proved sufficiently interesting to warrant further development. This brought, at the very beginning of 1938, a small increase in wing span and installation of a 14N-7 engine. When trials were completed in late spring 1938, SNCASO was awarded an order for a pre-production batch of 25 of these aircraft.
No such production of the MB-150.01 ever occurred, the aircraft being totally unsuitable to mass production. Redesign would lead to the MB.151.01 and MB.152.01 prototypes, developed and produced in parallel. By the outbreak of World War II, some 120 had reached the Armée de l'Air, but few of them were flyable, most missing their gunsights and propellers.
The MB.153 and MB.154 were intended as testbeds for American engines, but only the former flew, and when it crashed a few days later, damaged beyond repair, pursuit of these alternatives also ceased. Instead, attention shifted to extending the range of the MB.152. This was achieved by moving the cockpit aft in order to make room for a new fuel tank. Other modifications included a slightly broader wing and revised aerodynamics around the cowling. The result, designated MB.155 performed favourably in flight tests and was ordered into production in 1940, however only 10 aircraft had been completed by the Fall of France. Under the terms of the armistice, the remaining 25 on the production line were completed and delivered into Vichy service. From there, some eventually made their way into the Luftwaffe after 1942.
The final member of the family, the MB.157 utilised a far more powerful engine and eventually became a very different aircraft as the design evolved from the MB.152 to accommodate the larger and heavier powerplant. Unfinished at the time of the armistice, it was ordered to be completed and flown under German supervision. Demonstrating superb performance, it was taken to Orly where the powerplant was removed for testing within a wind tunnel. The excellence in the design was confirmed. It was later destroyed in an Allied air raid.

Operational history
MB.151s and MB.152s equipped six fighter Groupes during the Battle of France, but were largely outmatched by the faster and more nimble Messerschmitt Bf 109E. They continued to fly in the Vichy French Air Force until this was disbanded.
Nine MB.151s were exported to Greece. They flew against the Italians and Germans, scoring several air-to-air victories. During World War II, the Bloch MB.152 had destroyed at least 188 enemy aircraft, and lost about 86 of their own. They proved tough to the battle damage (a trait desirable in a fighter, but not the way to win), but with many problems: poor agility, poor weapon reliability, poor range (600 km, but the Bf 109E was only slightly better, around 660 km), and were notably underpowered.
In 1944, several surviving 152s were liberated at an airfield in mid-southern France. After being flight-tested and evaluated, and painting out the balkan crosses and swastika, they were fitted with more powerful American Engines and went up against the last remnants of the Nazi menace with the Free French.
Variants
MB.150
Single MB.150.01 prototype
MB.151
•   MB.151.01 - single prototype
•   MB.151C1 - initial production version (144 built)
MB.152
•   MB.152.01 - single prototype
•   MB.152.C1 - uprated version produced in parallel with 151.C1 (482 built)
MB.153
Single MB.153.01 prototype with Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engine
MB.154
Proposed version with Wright R-1820 Cyclone engine. Not built.
MB.155
•   MB.155.01 - single prototype converted from a MB.152
•   MB.155C1 - production version (35 built)
MB.157
Single prototype of advanced version, converted from MB.152 and equipped with the Gnome-Rhône 14R engine.
Operators
  France
•   Armée de l'Air
  Germany
•   Luftwaffe
  Greece
•   Hellenic Air Force
  Poland
•   Polish Air Forces in exile in France
 Vichy France
•   Armée de l'Air de Vichy
Specifications (MB.152C.1)
General characteristics
•   Crew: one, pilot
•   Length: 9.10 m (29 ft 10 in)
•   Wingspan: 10.54 m (34 ft 7 in)
•   Height: 3.20 m (9 ft 11 in)
•   Wing area: 17.32 m² (186 ft²)
•   Empty weight: 2,158 kg (4,758 lb)
•   Max takeoff weight: 2,800 kg (6,173 lb)
•   Powerplant: 1× Gnome-Rhône 14N-25 radial engine, 757 kW (1,030 hp)
Performance
•   Maximum speed: 515 km/h (274 kn, 315 mph)
•   Range: 600 km (324 nmi, 373 mi)
•   Service ceiling: 10,000 m (32,810 ft)
•   Rate of climb: 590 m/min (1,935 ft/min)
Armament
•   2 × 20 mm Hispano 404 cannons (60-round drum) and 2 × 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine guns (675 rpg) or
•   4 × MAC 1934s
So many requests!

[baronbutcher]

Kawasaki Ki-32 - 'Mary'

Probably among the last of the main Japanese aircraft of WW2 vintage requested. More pre war China Theatre of operations than WW2.  
The Kawasaki Ki-32 was a Japanese light bomber aircraft of World War II. It was a single-engine, two-seat, mid-wing, cantilever monoplane with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage. An internal bomb bay accommodated a 300 kg offensive load, supplemented by 150 kg of bombs on external racks. During the war, it was known by the Allies by the code-name Mary.

The Ki-32 light bomber was an all-metal mid-wing monoplane powered by a single 708kW Ha-9-IIb liquid-cooled engine. Its wide-track fixed cantilever undercarriage featured open-sided wheel fairings. Wing and tail surfaces were finely tapered. The two-man crew were accommodated beneath a long raised canopy. Eight 1937 prototypes were followed by 846 series aircraft built up to May 1940 and designated Army Type 98 Light Bomber. They saw extensive war service in China, flying with seven Sentais during 1938-9 and participated in the fierce fighting over the Khalkin Gol and at Nomonhan against Soviet forces during 1939. Among the Type 98's final operational sorties were successful bombing raids on Hong Kong prior to its surrender in December 1941. The type was coded Mary by the Allies.

Design and development
The Ki-32 was developed in response to a May 1936 Imperial Japanese Army specification to replace the Kawasaki Ki-3 light bomber with a completely indigenously designed and built aircraft. Mitsubishi and Kawasaki were requested to build two prototypes each by December 1936. The specification called for a top speed of 400 km/h (250 mph) at 3,000 meters; normal operating altitude from 2,000 to 4,000 meters, the ability to climb to 3,000 meters within 8 minutes and an engine to be selected from the 825 hp (620 kW) Mitsubishi Ha-6 radial, 850 hp (630 kW) Nakajima Ha-5 radial, or 850 hp (630 kW) Kawasaki Ha-9-IIb liquid-cooled inline engines, a normal bomb load of 661 lb (299.8 kg) and a maximum of 992 lb (450.0 kg), one forward-firing machine gun and one flexible rearward-firing machine gun, the ability to perform 60-degree dives for dive bombing, and a loaded weight less than 7,275 lb (3,299.9 kg).
The first Kawasaki prototype flew in March 1937; seven more prototypes were produced. Being very similar in layout and performance, main difference between the Kawasaki Ki-32 and its Mitsubishi Ki-30 rival was in the choice of an engine. The Mitsubishi design used the Nakajima Ha-5 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, whereas Kawasaki opted for their own Kawasaki Ha-9-11 inline V12 engine.
Problems were encountered with the Kawasaki design, particularly with engine cooling, and the Mitsubishi Ki-30 received the production order. In spite of this, the pressing need for more aircraft in the Second Sino-Japanese War, which had started at full scale in July 1937, resulted in the Ki-32's entry into production as well, 12 months behind its rival. Ironically, the number of Ki-32s built was much higher than that of the successful Ki-30.
The Ki-32 entered production in 1938, designated Army Type 98 Single-engine Light Bomber, Kawasaki manufactured 854 Ki-32s before production ceased in May 1940.
Operational history
The Ki-32 saw extensive war service in the Second Sino-Japanese War, equipping the 3rd, 6th, 10th, 35th, 45th, 65th and 75th Sentai. It also saw combat during the Battle of Nomonhan against the Soviet Union in 1938-1939. Its last combat action was bombing Commonwealth forces during the Japanese Invasion of Hong Kong. Ki-32s were during World War II also supplied to the Manchukuo Air Force to replace their obsolescent Kawasaki Type 88/KDA-2 light bombers; they were the main bomber of that service through the conflict.
After their withdrawal from front-line service in 1942 the Ki-32s were used in a training role.
Operators
  Japan
•   Imperial Japanese Army Air Force[2]
o   No. 3 Hik? Sentai IJAAF
o   No. 6 Hik? Sentai IJAAF
o   No. 10 Hik? Sentai IJAAF
o   No. 35 Hik? Sentai IJAAF
o   No. 45 Hik? Sentai IJAAF
o   No. 65 Hik? Sentai IJAAF
o   No. 75 Hik? Sentai IJAAF
  Manchukuo
•   Manchukuo Air Force
•   
•     Indonesia
•   In 1945, Indonesian People's Security Force (IPSF) (Indonesian pro-independence guerrillas) captured a small number of aircraft at numerous Japanese air bases, including Bugis Air Base in Malang (repatriated 18 September 1945). Most aircraft were destroyed in military conflicts between the Netherlands and the newly proclaimed-Republic of Indonesia during the Indonesian National Revolution of 1945-1949.
Specifications
General characteristics
•   Crew: 2
•   Length: 11.65 m (38 ft 2.5 in)
•   Wingspan: 15.0 m (49 ft 2½ in)
•   Height: 2.90m (9 ft 6 in)
•   Wing area: 34.00 m² (365.98 ft²)
•   Empty weight: 5,181 kg (2,350 lb)
•   Max takeoff weight: 3,760 kg (8,290 lb)
•   Powerplant: 1× Kawasaki Ha-9-IIb liquid-cooled inline V12 engine, 634 kW (850 hp)
Performance
•   Maximum speed: 423 km/h (228 knots, 263 mph) at (3,940 m) 12,900 ft
•   Cruise speed: 300 km/h (162 knots, 186 mph)
•   Range: 1,965 km (1,060 nm, 1,220 mi)
•   Service ceiling: 8,920 m (29,265 ft)
•   Rate of climb: 7.6 m/s (1500 ft/min)
•   Wing loading: 104.1 kg/m² (21.3 lb/ft²)
Armament
•   Guns: 2× 7.7 mm (0.303 in) machine guns
•   Bombs: 450 kg (990 lb)
So many requests!
Thanks for looking!

[baronbutcher]

Interesting to see in IL-2. Not as well known as other Allied aircraft but one for the Burma/India and Pacific Theatre of operations.

Vultee A-31 Vengeance

The Vultee A-31 Vengeance was an American dive bomber of World War II, built by Vultee Aircraft. The Vengeance was not used in combat by US units, however it served with the British Royal Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, and Indian Air Force in Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific.
The Vultee bomber remained in service, mainly in the target-tug role, until 1945.

Design and development
In 1940, Vultee Aircraft started the design of a single engined dive-bomber, the Vultee Model 72 (V-72) to meet the requirements of the French Armée de l'Air. The V-72 was built with private funds and was intended for sale to foreign markets. The V-72 was a low-wing, single engine powered, monoplane with a closed cockpit and a crew of two. An air-cooled radial Wright Double Row Cyclone GR-2600-A5B-5 engine rated at 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) powered the V-72. It was armed with both fixed forward firing and flexible mounted .30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns in the rear cockpit. The aircraft also carried up to 1,500 lb (680 kg) of bombs in an interior bomb bay and on external wing racks.
The Vengeance was uniquely designed to dive vertically rather than at an angle. To this end the it had a 0-degree angle of incidence on the wing to prevent the aircraft from "tracking" forward during its dive. This resulted in the aircraft cruising in a nose-up attitude giving a poor forward view for the pilot, particularly during landing. It had an unusual, "W" shaped wing planform. This resulted from an error in calculating its centre of gravity. Moving the wing back by "sweeping" the centre section was a simpler fix than re-designing the wing root. This gives impression of an inverted gull wing, like the F4U Corsair, when seen from an angle, when in fact the wing has a more conventional dihedral on the outer wing panels.
France placed an order for 300 V-72s, with deliveries intended to start in October 1940. The fall of France in June 1940 stopped these plans, but at the same time the British Purchasing Commission, impressed by the performance of the German Junkers Ju-87, were shopping for a dive bomber for the Royal Air Force, and as it was the only aircraft available, placed an order for 200 V-72s (named Vengeance by Vultee) on 3 July 1940, with orders for a further 100 being placed in December. As Vultee's factory at Downey was already busy building BT-13 trainers, the aircraft were to be built at the Stinson factory at Nashville, and under license by Northrop at Hawthorne, California.
The first prototype V-72 flew from Vultee's factory at Downey, California on 30 March 1941. Additional aircraft were ordered for Britain in June 1941 under the Lend-Lease scheme, with these being given the US Army Air Corps designation A-31.
Following the United States entry into the war following the Attack on Pearl Harbor, a number of V-72 and A-31 aircraft were re-possessed for use by the Army Air Corps.[4] As the Army Air Corps became interested in dive bombing, it decided to order production of an improved version of the Vengeance, designated the A-35, for both its own use and for supply to its allies under Lend-Lease. It was fitted with a more powerful Wright Cyclone R-2600-19 engine and improved armament. As US Army test pilots disliked the poor pilot view which resulted from the zero-incidence wing, this was "corrected" in the A-35, giving a better attitude in cruise but losing its accuracy as a dive bomber.
When production of the Vengeance was completed in 1944, a total of 1,528 aircraft had been produced. The majority were produced at the Vultee plant in Nashville, Tennessee.
Indecision about what aircraft should replace it in production at the Vultee plant led to several "make-work" contracts for Vengeance aircraft to prevent dispersion of the skilled workforce. This resulted in overproduction of what was considered an obsolete aircraft.

Evaluation
Operational experience with other dive bomber aircraft of the period, such as the Blackburn Skua, Junkers Ju 87, Aichi D3A, Douglas Dauntless, Breda Ba.65 and Curtiss SB2C Helldiver, indicated that the Vengeance would be vulnerable to enemy fighters. To be effective all these aircraft required an environment of local air superiority and fighter escort. Fighter escort, lack of fighter opposition in the theatres in which it served, combined with its vertical dive capability meant that the Vengeance suffered light combat losses.
Early experience with the aircraft showed there were problems with engine cooling. In service the British managed to solve these problems, but Free French aircraft that did not have these problems remedied were declared uneconomical and unreliable to operate and were grounded.
The aircraft was described as being stable in flight and in a dive, with heavy elevator and rudder control, but with light aileron control. Forward visibility was considered poor due to the large radial engine. There were a number of fatal accidents with the Vengeance due to improper dive procedures and a center of gravity problem when the aircraft was flown with the rear cockpit canopy open, but without a rear gunner.
In combat the type was considered rugged, reliable, stable, and generally well-behaved. Commonwealth forces operated the type from May 1942 to July 1944. Burma tended to be a low priority for Allied air planners, and forces in that theater got what was left over. Aircraft such as the Vickers Wellington and Hawker Hurricane spent their last days in Burma. The Vengeance saw considerable action attacking Japanese supply, communications and troop concentrations in Burma. Its service in that theater has been described as sterling.At best the Vengeance was a qualified success in Burma, doing much to hold the line against Japanese advances.
Peter Smith, author of Jungle Dive Bombers at War recorded that:
Their pilots had difficulty in getting them off the ground with a full load. At Newton Field they were using the full length of the 6,000 feet runway before becoming airborne. Kittyhawk aircraft could carry the same bomb load and in addition carry out ground-strafing.
In contrast, many crew spoke well of the Vengeance.
I certainly didn't have that experience of the Vultee. I can recall no incidents of pilots having difficulty in taking off with full bomb loads, and the Kittyhawk could not carry the same bomb load even after their undercarriage had been strengthened. I remember the Vultee as a lovely aircraft to fly, an aircraft that was hard to stall and was fully aerobatic. You could do anything in them, rolls, loops, stall turns, and there was enough room in the cockpit to hold a ball. I used to like flying them, although a lot of blokes thought that they were too cumbersome.

Operational history
By the time Britain had received large numbers of Vengeances, its opinion on the usefulness of specialised dive bombers had changed, as the Battle of Britain and operations over North Africa had shown the dive bomber to be vulnerable to fighter attack, so rejected the Vengeance for use over Western Europe or the Mediterranean. It was decided to use the Vengeance in the Burma Theatre to carry out dive-bombing operations in close support of British and Indian troops in the jungles of Burma.
 
The first RAF squadrons (No. 82 and 110) received Vengeances in October 1942. The first dive bombing missions against Japanese forces were flown on 19 March 1943. A further two RAF squadrons in Burma received Vengeances, (84 and 45), together with two squadrons of the Indian Air Force (IAF) (No. 7 and 8 ).
Vengeances were heavily deployed in support of the second Arakan campaign of 1943/44, and defending against the Japanese attacks on Imphal and Kohima of April–July 1944. Following the successful defeat of the Japanese attack, the RAF and IAF started to phase out the Vengeance in favour of more versatile fighter bombers and twin engined light bombers, with the last Vengeance operations over Burma being caried out on 16 July 1944.
After Burma service, a detachment from 110 Squadron RAF was sent from to Takoradi in West Africa via the Middle East, a number of aircraft breaking down en route. From September to December 1944, eleven Vultees took part in air-spraying trials against malarial mosquitoes, using underwing spray dispensers.
Although phased out of front line service with the RAF, it continued to receive large numbers of Vengeances, with bulk deliveries of Lend Lease aircraft (as opposed to those purchased directly by Britain) having only just started. Many of these surplus aircraft, including most Vengeance Mk IVs, were delivered to the United Kingdom and modified as Target tugs, being used in this role both by the RAF and the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA). In these roles, all armament was removed from the aircraft.
Australia placed an order for 400 Vengeances as an emergency measure following the outbreak of war in the Pacific, which was met by a mixture of Lend Lease and diversions from the original British orders. While the first Vengeance was delivered to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in May 1942, the aircraft did not arrive in substantial numbers until April 1943. The RAAF's first Vengeance squadron, No. 12 Squadron flew its first operational mission against Selaru Island in the Dutch East Indies. Squadrons equipped with the Vengeance included Nos. 12, 21, 23, 24 and 25 Squadrons. Of these, all but 25 Squadron served briefly in the New Guinea campaign. Australian Vengeances flew their last operational sorties on 8 March 1944, as they were considered less efficient than fighter bombers, having a short range and requiring a long runway, and were withdrawn to allow more effective fighter bombers to move into the forward area.
The view of the Vengeance's limitations is disputed by Peter Smith in Jungle Dive Bombers at War:
The precision and skill of the dive-bombing method ..... and it’s clear superiority over most other means of air attack when it came to destroying small and well-hidden targets in difficult country, was proven over and over again in the Asian jungle campaigns. Yet the men who achieved these excellent results, for such economy of effort and comparatively small loss, were but a handful of pilots who have been forgotten in the overwhelming mass of the heavy-and medium bomber fleets that were pounding both Europe and Asia by 1945.
This capacity was exemplified in the raid by RAAF 21 and 23 Squadrons on Hansay Bay. Smith wrote in Jungle Dive Bombers at War, "...the jungle-clad hills and islands of forgotten or unknown lands would become the major stage for the ultimate expression of the dive-bombers' skill."
The Vengeance squadrons were re-equipped with B-24 Liberator heavy bombers. While the RAAF still had 58 Vengeances on order in March 1944, this order was cancelled and the aircraft were never delivered. Small numbers of Vengeances remained in service with support and trials units until 1946.
33 V-72s and A-35s were supplied to Brazil from 1943, carrying out a few anti-submarine patrols. They were withdrawn by April 1948. The Free French Air Force received 67 A-35A and -Bs in 1943, being used to equip three bomb groups in North Africa. The French, however, keen to get their aircraft operational as soon as possible did not incorporate improvements found necessary by Britain and Australia, so their aircraft proved to be unreliable and required extremely high oil consumption. As such, they were restricted to training operations, being finally withdrawn in September 1944.
While the United States Army Air Forces received 243 V-72s and A31s diverted from the RAF orders together with large numbers of A-35s specifically built for it, these saw no combat, being used as initial equipment for light bomber squadrons that re-equipped with twin-engined aircraft before deploying overseas, and as trainers or target tugs.
From April 1944, a number of Vengeance Mk IV series Is were made available to the 8th Air Force and assigned to tow-target flights and Combat Crew Replacement Centers (CCRC) stations. All armament was removed and a light cable winch fitted in the rear fuselage for sleeve towing. Some of these aircraft continued to be flown with British national markings and serial numbers. By late June 1944, there were seven A-35Bs at Cluntoe, seven at Greencastle, ten at Sutton Bridge and six at East Wretham. When the CCRCs were dissolved in the autumn, the A-35Bs were transferred to combat groups, most fighter and several bomber groups having one charge at some time during 1945. A-35Bs did not show a high state of serviceability and were generally considered troublesome to maintain. Also designated RA-35B (R for Restricted).

Variants
RAF Variants
Vengeance I
Vultee V-72 license built by Northrop and ordered directly for Britain, powered by 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) R-2600-A5B engine. 200 built.
Vengeance IA
Northrop built aircraft purchased under Lend-Lease, powered by 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) R-2600-19 engine, otherwise similar to Vengeance I. USAAF designation A-31A-NO. 200 built.
Vengeance II
Vultee built aircraft directly purchased by Britain. Small differences from Vengeance I. 501 built.
Vengeance III
Vultee built Lend-Lease aircraft. Similar to IA. USAAF designation A-31A-VN. 200 built.
Vengeance IV
A-35B supplied under Lend-Lease to RAF and RAAF. 458 supplied to RAF and 121 to RAAF.
US Variants
XA-31A
Redesignated prototype Vengeance accepted by USAAF in June 1942. Vultee designation V-88.
XA-31B
XA-31A modified as testbed for 3,000 hp (2,240 kW) Pratt & Whitney XR-4360-1 Wasp Major.
XA-31C
Vengeance III modified as testbed for 2,200 hp (1,640 kW) Wright R-3350-18 Turbo Cyclone engine. One converted.
YA-31C
Vengeance IIIs modified as testbeds for R-3350-17 engines for B-29 Superfortress. Five built.
A-35A
Redesigned version for USAAF and Lend-Lease. Four degree wing incidence. Powered by 1,700 hp (1,70 kW) R-2600-13 or-8 engine. Four forward firing .50 in (12.7 mm) caliber M2 Browning machine guns and one in rear cockpit. Vultee designation V-88. 99 aircraft built.
A-35B
Modified aircraft with six forward firing 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns and additional bomb racks.  831 built.
TBV-1 Georgia
Aircraft in service with the U.S. Navy.
Operators
  Australia
  Brazil
  France
•   Free French Air Force
 British India
•   Indian Air Force
  United Kingdom
  United States (not used in combat)
Specifications (Vengeance I)
General characteristics
•   Crew: 2 (pilot, navigator/gunner)
•   Length: 39 ft 9 in (12.12 m)
•   Wingspan: 48 ft 0 in (14.63 m)
•   Height: 15 ft 4 in (4.67 m)
•   Wing area: 332 ft2 (30.84 m2)
•   Empty weight: 9,725 lb (4,411 kg)
•   Max takeoff weight: 14,300 lb (6,486 kg)
•   Powerplant: 1× Wright R-2600-A5B-5 Cyclone twin row 14 cylinder radial air-cooled engine, 1,600 hp (1,193 kW)
Performance
•   Maximum speed: 275 mph (239 kn, 443 km/h) at 11,000 ft (3,350 m)
•   Cruise speed: 235 mph (204 kn, 378 km/h)
•   Range: 1,400 miles (1,220 nmi, 2,253 km)
•   Service ceiling: 22,500 ft (6,860 m)
•   Wing loading: 43.1 lb/ft² (210 kg/m²)
•   Power/mass: 0.11 hp/lb (0.18 kW/kg)
Armament
•   Guns:
o   4 × fixed forward firing .30 in (7.6 mm) Browning machine guns in the wing
o   2 × flexible mount .30 in (7.6 mm) or .303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns in rear cockpit
•   Bombs:
o   2 × internal 500 lb (230 kg) bombs
o   2 × 250 lb (110 kg) bomb on wing racks
So many requests!