×
Home Intro People Events Equipment Places Maps Books Photos Videos Other Reference FAQ About
     

World War II Database

Vengeance file photo [3144]

A-31 Vengeance

CountryUnited States
ManufacturerVultee Aircraft Corporation
Primary RoleDive Bomber
Maiden Flight1 January 1939

Contributor:

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
MachineryOne Wright Double Row Cyclone GR-2600-A5B-5 radial air-cooled engine rated at 1,700hp
Armament4x7.7mm forward machine guns, 2x7.7mm rear machine guns, 2x500kg internal bombs, 2x250kg external bombs
Crew2
Span14.63 m
Length12.12 m
Height4.67 m
Wing Area30.84 m²
Weight, Empty4,672 kg
Weight, Maximum7,439 kg
Speed, Maximum450 km/h
Speed, Cruising354 km/h
Service Ceiling6,800 m
Range, Normal3,701 km

Photographs

A female Vultee Aircraft Corporation employee working on the horizontal stabilizer for a Vengeance dive bomber, Nashville, Tennessee, United States, Feb 1943African-American woman working on a part of an A-31 Vengeance dive bomber at Vultee-Nashville plant, Tennessee, United States, Feb 1943
See all 6 photographs of A-31 Vengeance Dive Bomber



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:

 Facebook
 Reddit
 Twitter

Stay updated with WW2DB:

 RSS Feeds




Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Commenter identity confirmed Hobilar says:
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.
2. Commenter identity confirmed 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.
3. Don says:
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.
4. Keith McGilvery. says:
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.
5. Anonymous says:
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.

Posting Your Comments on this Topic

Your Name
Your Email
 Your email will not be published
Comment Type
Your Comments
 

Notes:

1. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. Please refrain from using strong language. HTML tags are not allowed. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB.

2. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ.

Change View
Desktop View

Search WW2DB
A-31 Vengeance Dive Bomber Photo Gallery
A female Vultee Aircraft Corporation employee working on the horizontal stabilizer for a Vengeance dive bomber, Nashville, Tennessee, United States, Feb 1943African-American woman working on a part of an A-31 Vengeance dive bomber at Vultee-Nashville plant, Tennessee, United States, Feb 1943
See all 6 photographs of A-31 Vengeance Dive Bomber


Famous WW2 Quote
"Since peace is now beyond hope, we can but fight to the end."

Chiang Kaishek, 31 Jul 1937


Support Us

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!