2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Northrop 2B Gamma Polar Star: Cliff· CC BY 2.0
- 2. YA-13: Wikimedia Commons· Public domain
what is it?
The Northrop Gamma is a single-engine all-metal monoplane cargo aircraft used in the 1930s. Towards the end of its service life, it was developed into the A-17 light bomber.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · low wing · 14.6 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 94 years ago, in 1932.
- Top speed is 2.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 14.6 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
- 1932
- introduced
- 1932
- number built
- 60
- role
- civil/attack
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Northrop
- engines
- 1× Wright R-1820 Cyclone / R-1300 Cyclone 7
- length
- 9.5 m
- wingspan
- 14.6 m
- height
- 2.7 m
- max take-off weight
- 3,334 kg
- top speed
- 359 km/h
- cruise speed
- 328 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 7,132 m
- wings
- low wing
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q3941040, Wikipedia: Northrop Gamma (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.