1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. A-17A 36-0207 USAFM: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
what is it?
The Northrop A-17, also known as the Northrop Model 8, a development of the Northrop Gamma 2F model, is a two-seat, single-engine, monoplane, attack bomber built in 1935 by the Northrop Corporation for the United States Army Air Corps. When in British Commonwealth service during World War II, the A-17 was called Nomad.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 14.5 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 92 years ago, in 1934.
- Top speed is 2.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 14.5 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
- Range of 1,046 km: 6× Amsterdam to Brussels.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1934-10-06
- introduced
- 1936
- retired
- 1944
- status
- retired
- number built
- 446
- role
- ground attack
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Northrop
- engines
- 1× Pratt & Whitney R-1535-11 Twin Wasp Jr
- length
- 9.7 m
- wingspan
- 14.5 m
- height
- 3.6 m
- max take-off weight
- 3,328 kg
- top speed
- 332 km/h
- cruise speed
- 274 km/h
- range
- 1,046 km
- ceiling
- 5,915 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q541960, Wikipedia: Northrop A-17 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.