A-31 Vengeance
| Country | United States |
| Manufacturer | Vultee Aircraft Corporation |
| Primary Role | Dive Bomber |
| Maiden Flight | 1 January 1939 |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseA-31 Vengeance aircraft were built in the late 1930s by two American companies Vultee Corporation and Northrop Corporation. The two-seat dive bomber design was funded by private money, not as a response to a request from the United States military, because the intent for the final products was for foreign sales. France, Britain, Brazil, China, Turkey, and Russia purchased these dive bombers, though the French contract was never fulfilled due to German conquest. The British Royal Air Force used them mostly in Burma and India, some under the banner of the Royal Indian Air Force; they were soon discovered to be too weak to go up against Japanese fighters, therefore were relegated for training use. Between May 1942 and Apr 1943, 400 Vengeance aircraft were delivered to the Royal Australian Air Force, but they saw little combat. In late 1944, the British Fleet Air Arm received a shipment of Vengeance dive bombers, but did not use them on the front line. When production ceased, 1,528 units were built.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.
Last Major Revision: Mar 2007
SPECIFICATIONS
A-31
| Machinery | One Wright Double Row Cyclone GR-2600-A5B-5 radial air-cooled engine rated at 1,700hp |
| Armament | 4x7.7mm forward machine guns, 2x7.7mm rear machine guns, 2x500kg internal bombs, 2x250kg external bombs |
| Crew | 2 |
| Span | 14.63 m |
| Length | 12.12 m |
| Height | 4.67 m |
| Wing Area | 30.84 m² |
| Weight, Empty | 4,672 kg |
| Weight, Maximum | 7,439 kg |
| Speed, Maximum | 450 km/h |
| Speed, Cruising | 354 km/h |
| Service Ceiling | 6,800 m |
| Range, Normal | 3,701 km |
Photographs
 |  |  |  |
Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Share this article with your friends: Stay updated with WW2DB: |
Visitor Submitted Comments
Alan Chanter says:8 Dec 2007 08:13:53 AM
In 1940 the British Purchasing mission placed an order for 700 Vengeance dive-bombers which were built by Northrop (Vengeance Mk.I) and Vultee (Vengeance Mk.II). A further 300 were ordered in 1941 under Lend-Lease (Vengeance Mk.IA from Northrop and Vengeance Mk.III from Vultee) but 243 of these were commandeered by the USAAF when the U.S. entered the war.
With improved armament and equipment Vultee later built 99 A35A and 831 A35Bs of which 562 were supplied to the UK as the Vengeance Mk.IV
The Vengeance was considered unsuitable for use is Europe, but enjoyed considerable success when employed in support of Allied forces in Burma.
24 Sep 2011 01:19:38 AM
I played in one of these as a kid of 10 years, in Albany, West Australia, in about 1947. It was in a used car yard then. It is now preserved as a static display in that town`s whaling station museum.
31 Dec 2012 09:13:25 PM
Very interesting to turn up some data on the Vultee Vengeance WW2 Dive Bomber, the Dive Bomber being an apparent success in the Tobruk era while I've always presumed that the science of bomb aiming hadn't developed sufficiently to be useful in the Shaggy Ridge campaign..My posting to DobaDura, New Guinea with 24 Sqdn as a Wireless Maintenance Mech in Oct. 1943, after leaving Menangle Park in N.S.W. finished at Nadzab in April 1944,daily records of the Squadron not having been found in National Archives until the Sqdn returned to Australia from Nadzab.At first transferred home but changed to 75 Sqdn at Cape Glouster, then Island hopping to Morotai when Operation Oboe parted us from the USA Forces, for the controversial Tarakan campaign with almost 23 months Service without home leave..How many still remember the RAAF convoy to D Day + 1 at Aitape..I've only seen it once published in "Before we Topple over" as VETAFFAIRS and RSL probably deem it a too sensitive an issue to be published.
19 Feb 2015 03:35:06 PM
Found out recently that my mother, as a welder during WWII, built the A-31 Vengeance Dive Bomber in Nashville, Tennessee at the Vultee Aircraft Center. My mother said that she did not know the African-American woman featured in the photo who put the windshield on the plane. My mother said that she built two of these planes. Are there records/names of women who worked as factory workers, and was also known as Rosie the Riveters?
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
- » Wreck of USS Edsall Found (14 Nov 2024)
- » Autumn 2024 Fundraiser (7 Nov 2024)
- » Nobel Peace Prize for the Atomic Bomb Survivors Organization (11 Oct 2024)
- » Wreck of USS Stewart/DD-224 Found (2 Oct 2024)
- » See all news
- » 1,150 biographies
- » 337 events
- » 43,917 timeline entries
- » 1,241 ships
- » 350 aircraft models
- » 207 vehicle models
- » 374 weapon models
- » 123 historical documents
- » 260 facilities
- » 470 book reviews
- » 28,544 photos
- » 432 maps
James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy, 23 Feb 1945
Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!
Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!
1 Sep 2007 11:31:04 PM
The Free French Air Force operated the Vengeance in North Africa, and the aircaft was also supplied to Brazil. The USAAF commandeered some of the aircraft intended for British use but these did not see combat.