Engineering:North American A-27

Short description: Attack aircraft model by North American Aviation

A-27
Two A-27s of the 17th Pursuit Squadron at Nichols Field, Philippines, in 1941.
Role	Ground attack
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	North American Aviation
First flight	June 1940
Primary user	United States Army Air Corps
Number built	10
Developed from	North American T-6 Texan

The North American Aviation A-27 is an attack version of the North American T-6 Texan. Ten aircraft were ordered by Thailand as NA-69 light attack aircraft.

Instead of being delivered to Thailand, the aircraft were taken over in October 1940 by the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) to keep them out of Japanese hands and redesignated A-27 under the USAAC aircraft designation system. Assigned to Nichols Field in the Philippines and used as a trainer, all A-27s were destroyed within a month during the Japanese invasion of that country during World War II.

Operators

United States

• United States Army Air Corps
  • 4th Composite Group, Nichols Field, Luzon, Philippines
    • 3rd Pursuit Squadron - 1941
    • 17th Pursuit Squadron - 1941
    • 20th Pursuit Squadron - 1941

Thailand

Specifications (A-27)

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Length: 29 ft 0 in (8.84 m)
• Wingspan: 42 ft 0 in (12.8 m)
• Height: 12 ft 2 in (3.71 m)
• Max takeoff weight: 6,730 lb (3,053 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Wright R-1820 Radial, 785 hp (585 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 250 mph (402 km/h, 220 kn)
• Range: 800 mi (1,290 km, 700 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 28,000 ft (8,530 m)

Armament

• Guns: 2 x nose-mounted 30 caliber M1919 Browning machine guns

and 1 x rear-mounted 30 caliber machine gun

• Bombs: 4 x 100 lb bombs on underwing racks

See also

Related development

• North American NA-16
• North American P-64
• North American T-6 Texan

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• CAC Wirraway

Related lists

• List of military aircraft of the United States

Bibliography

• Hagedorn, Dan (2009). North American's T-6: A Definitive History of the World's Most Famous Trainer. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press. ISBN 978-1-58007-124-6.