Used by 10 nations, the Northrop A-17 was not really a successful design
but served as an important stepping stone for later more advanced aircraft such as the Douglas SBD Dauntless
First introduced in 1935, the A-17's fate was quickly brought to an end in 1938 when the Army Air Corps determined that
all future attack aircraft procured would be multi-engine models
This was also because, pre-World War II doctrine emphasized air superiority over ground support
so an attack bomber like the A-17 was never fully tested in peacetime exercises or in combat
Built by Northrop Corporation for the U.S. Army Air Corps, the A-17 was a direct descendent of the Northrop Gamma 2F
It replaced the Curtiss A-8 and A-12 Shrike and was the last of the pre-World War II single-engine attack aircraft
ordered into production by the Army Air Corps
The first 109 A-17s had partially enclosed landing fixed gear, but the A-17As were upgraded to have more powerful engines and fully retractable landing gear
An A-17A had a length of 9.67 m, a wingspan of 14.54 m, a height of 3.62 m, an empty weight of 2.2 tons, and a Gross weight of 3.3 tons
The A-17A could lift over one ton of bombs
The bombs were carried on four external racks and in an internal bomb bay with vertical chutes
which could hold to 20 30-pound fragmentation bombs
The A-17 also had 4 x .30cal M-1919 Forward Firing Machine guns in the wings and a .30 cal defensive gun for a gunner in the rear
All but 20 A17s were sold overseas in 1940. The aircraft was exported to Great Britain, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Iraq, and many other countries
The British acquired these aircraft from France and flew under the name Northrop Nomad MK1, acquired by the British Purchasing Commission
These aircraft were refurbished by Douglas
The Dutch used the A-17 as a fighter but most of it was lost during the invasion of the Low Countries
These aircraft were lost on May 10th 1940,the first day of the German invasion
It is clear that it was not suitable for use as a fighter
The Swedish used them as a dive bombers, naming them the B-5
The Swedish B-5s were replaced by SAAB B-17s in 1944
The Norwegians ordered the upgraded version of the A-17, called the A-33, But the A-33s were sent to Canada after the Occupation of Norway
They were used as training aircraft in the Little Norway Training camp
From the 14th of December, 1941, the US Army Air Forces A-17s were stationed in Panama for coastal patrols on the Pacific side of the canal
under the control of the 59th bomb group
They were used as utility aircraft until being retired in 1944
Other countries that operated A-17s were South Africa, Peru, Iraq, Canada, and Argentina