Beechcraft XA-38 Grizzly

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 05/05/2015 at 16:17 • Filed to: planelopnik, planelopnik history, planes you've (probably) never heard of

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From the Planes You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of Department of Planelopnik, we bring you the Beechcraft XA-38 Grizzly .

The Fairchild Republic A-10 isn’t the only attack aircraft built around a gun. The XA-38 was intended as a replacement for the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and was built around a forward-firing 75mm cannon for attacking armored or hardened ground targets. It also sported six .50 caliber Browning M2 machine guns, two forward-facing, and two each in powered, remote controlled dorsal and ventral turrets. Unfortunately for the Grizzly, it was powered by the same engines used in the B-29, making it a low priority at the time, and when it became clear that the Grizzly wouldn’t be ready for the projected invasion of the Japanese homeland, the program was canceled after only two aircraft were produced.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 05/05/2015 at 16:21

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If one wants to get picky, the Bell P-39 was largely designed around the Oldsmobile cannon some time prior - but if I’m not mistaken the other MGs that were tacked on didn’t track with the relatively low velocity cannon, which made a full broadside impractical except against ground targets. Certainly not much good against Japanese fighters.

A similar double hydraulic turret setup was used on the Arado 240.

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 05/05/2015 at 16:25

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Matt Younkin could have killed a lot of people with this thing.

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/05/2015 at 16:25

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Picky is good. I like picky, because I hate being wrong about this stuff. And I think you are right. It’s the whole reason that the engine was put behind the pilot, IIRC.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 05/05/2015 at 16:26

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4360, right? Isn’t that also the engine on the A-1 Skyraider?

The A-1 is actually a pretty large airplane.

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/05/2015 at 16:26

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But then again, I didn’t say that the Grizzly was the first to be built around a gun, only that the A-10 was not . So I think I’m covered. ;)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 05/05/2015 at 16:27

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Correct, I caught that dodge of yours in there.

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 05/05/2015 at 16:31

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All three (Grizzly, Superfort, Spad) used a version of the Wright R-3350.

And yes, the A-1 is a very big plane. But not as big as the plane that it was developed from .

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 05/05/2015 at 16:34

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It’s amazing what he can do with that plane. I saw him a couple of years ago at an air show in Temple, TX. It was one hell of a show.

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 05/05/2015 at 16:35

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The night show is pretty fantastic. He has an unbelievable amount of lights on that thing.

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/05/2015 at 16:36

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As somebody who has written a doctoral dissertation, I am well of the perils of making declamatory statements like “the first,” “the fastest,” “the ____est” for anything. As soon as you say that, somebody will come along and prove you wrong. My favorite words are “rumored to be,” “reportedly,” “perhaps,” etc.

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 05/05/2015 at 16:39

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That’s something I’d love to see. Ooh, look what I found.

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 05/05/2015 at 16:44

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I’m guessing you’ll see it at a local show before too long. Oshkosh started doing a night show a few years ago and the turnout has been massive. Last year they added another one mid-week.

Only downside is it’s damn near impossible to get good pictures.

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 05/05/2015 at 16:46

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Shooting a night demo would indeed be quite a challenge. I might just put the camera down and watch. Most of the shows in my neck of the woods, though, shut down by 5:00 each day. Though the Temple show I’m going to post later this week has an evening show. Sadly, I’m always busy that weekend and can never make it Saturday night. I always have to go on Sunday. As soon as the acts are over, they head for home.

Fed(oo=[][]=oo)uken > ttyymmnn 05/05/2015 at 17:13

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Another neat tank destroyer:

Henschel Hs 129

The B-3 version carried a 37mm autocannon. It didn’t have a chance to prove itself on the Russian front as the Luftwaffe supply train got bogged down with parts, fuel, and logistical problems, and the grounded, underprotected planes became wonderful targets for Red Air Force strafing.

ttyymmnn > Fed(oo=[][]=oo)uken 05/05/2015 at 17:23

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Neat. I was unaware of that aircraft. Was that basically an AA gun mounted on a plane? I find that somewhat ironic.

Fed(oo=[][]=oo)uken > ttyymmnn 05/05/2015 at 17:26

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Yea haha it’s essentially a flak cannon

sunnydaysam > ttyymmnn 05/05/2015 at 17:54

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‘It is my understanding...’ and ‘to the best of my knowledge...’ are my favorites ;-) Love the article. this arcane aircraft stuff gets my blood going.

ttyymmnn > sunnydaysam 05/05/2015 at 17:56

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Glad you like it. This is a sporadically recurring thing I do, along with my regular Planelopnik Hitory posts.

Manic Otti > Fed(oo=[][]=oo)uken 05/05/2015 at 18:04

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That’s the first thing I thought of.

This is the second.