The Curtiss A-8 was a low-wing

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

ground-attack aircraft built by the

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company

Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909–1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Curtiss, Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in ...

, designed in response to a 1929

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

requirement for an attack aircraft to replace the

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. The Model 59 "Shrike" was designated XA-8.

Development

The XA-8 won a competition against the General Aviation/Fokker XA-7, after which 13 service test aircraft were ordered (five as YA-8s and eight as Y1A-8s). After the completion of testing, 11 of these aircraft were redesignated A-8. The A-8 was the first Curtiss machine of all-metal low-wing monoplane configuration with advanced features such as automatic

leading edge slats A slat is an aerodynamic surface on the leading edge of the wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. When retracted, the slat lies flush with the rest of the wing. A slat is deployed by sliding forward, opening a slot between the wing and the slat. Air from ...

and trailing-edge

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s. Four forward-firing machine guns were mounted in the wheel fairings, and an additional weapon of the same calibre was fitted in the observer's

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, on the front part of an aircraft, spacecraft, or submersible, from which a pilot controls the vehicle. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls th ...

for rear defense. The standard bomb load was four bombs. One YA-8 was fitted with a

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...

and designated YA-10, while another was used for testing of the Curtiss V-1570 Conqueror engine as the Y1A-8A. This aircraft was redesignated A-8 upon the completion of testing. 46 aircraft were ordered as A-8Bs, however the order was changed to the Model 60 A-12s before production began.

Operational history

The A-8 created a sensation in US aviation circles when it went into service with the 3rd Attack Group at

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in April 1932. All other standard aircraft were of

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

configuration, and the first monoplane fighter (the Boeing P-26A) did not become operational until eight months later.

Variants

;XA-8: Model 59, one prototype, (30-387), length , wingspan , gross weight

Curtiss V-1570-23 The Curtiss V-1570 Conqueror was a V12 liquid-cooled aircraft engine. Representing a more powerful version of the Curtiss D-12, the engine entered production in 1926 and flew in numerous aircraft.Gunston 1989, p. 46. Design and development Des ...

direct drive engine EL-2003-00274

;YA-8: Model 59A, service test aircraft, 5 built, (32-344 to 32-348), gross weight , one was reworked as the YA-10 prototype with the

Pratt & Whitney Hornet The Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet was a widely used American aircraft engine. Developed by Pratt & Whitney, 2,944 were produced from 1926 through 1942. It first flew in 1927. It was a single-row, 9-cylinder air-cooled radial design. Displaceme ...

radial engine ;Y1A-8: service test aircraft, 8 built, (32-349 to 32-356) gross weight ;A-8: 12 redesignated YA-8 and Y1A-8 aircraft ;Y1A-8A: last Y1A-8 with

Curtiss V-1570-57 The Curtiss V-1570 Conqueror was a V12 liquid-cooled aircraft engine. Representing a more powerful version of the Curtiss D-12, the engine entered production in 1926 and flew in numerous aircraft.Gunston 1989, p. 46. Design and development Des ...

geared engine, length , gross weight ;A-8A: redesignated Y1A-8A aircraft ;A-8B: cancelled, replaced by

A-12 Shrike The Curtiss A-12 Shrike was the United States Army Air Corps' second monoplane ground-attack aircraft, and its main attack aircraft through most of the 1930s. It was based on the A-8, but had a radial engine instead of the A-8's inline, wate ...

Operators

; *

Specifications (YA-8)

References