2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Curtiss A-8 No.60: Wikimedia Commons· Public domain
- 2. YA-10 Shrike: US Government· Public domain
what is it?
The Curtiss A-8 was a low-wing monoplane ground-attack aircraft built by the United States company Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, designed in response to a 1929 United States Army Air Corps requirement for an attack aircraft to replace the A-3 Falcon. The Model 59 "Shrike" was designated XA-8.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 13.4 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 95 years ago, in 1931.
- Top speed is 2.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 13.4 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1931-06
- introduced
- 1932
- number built
- —
- role
- attack aircraft
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Curtiss-Wright
- engines
- 1× Curtiss V-1570-31 Conqueror
- crew
- 2
- length
- 9.8 m
- wingspan
- 13.4 m
- height
- 2.7 m
- max take-off weight
- 2,671 kg
- top speed
- 294 km/h
- cruise speed
- 246 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 5,517 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q1145683, Wikipedia: Curtiss A-8 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.