_Squadron_RAF_anchored_to_a_buoy%2C_in_1941_(44-PF-172n).jpg)
2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. N-3PB FFS: Paaln· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. Northrop N-3PB of No. 330 (Norwegian) Squadron RAF anchored to a buoy, in 1941 (44-PF-172n): U.S. Office for Emergency Management. Office of War Information. Domestic Operations Branch. Bureau of Special Services. World War II Foreign Posters 44-PF-172n.· Public domain
what is it?
The Northrop N-3PB Nomad was a single-engined American floatplane of the 1940s. Northrop developed the N-3PB as an export model based on the earlier Northrop A-17 design. Twenty-four were purchased by Norway, but were not delivered until after the Fall of Norway during the Second World War.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 14.9 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 86 years ago, in 1940.
- Top speed is 3.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 14.9 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
- 1940
- introduced
- 1941
- number built
- 24
- role
- patrol bomber/torpedo bomber floatplane
- engines
- 1× Wright GR-1820-G205A
- length
- 11 m
- wingspan
- 14.9 m
- height
- 3.7 m
- max take-off weight
- 4,808 kg
- top speed
- 414 km/h
- cruise speed
- 296 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 7,315 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1974980, Wikipedia: Northrop N-3PB Nomad (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.