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Additional Information from
Internet Encyclopedia
The Northrop Gamma was 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.
Design and development
The Gamma was a further
development of the successful Northrop Alpha and shared its predecessor's
aerodynamic innovations with wing fillets and multicellular stressed-skin wing
construction. Like late Alphas, the fixed landing gear was covered in
distinctive aerodynamic spats, and the aircraft introduced a fully enclosed
cockpit.
Operational history
The Gamma saw fairly limited
civilian service as mail planes with Trans World Airlines but had an
illustrious career as a flying laboratory and record-breaking aircraft. The US
military found the design sufficiently interesting to encourage Northrop to
develop it into what eventually became the Northrop A-17 light attack aircraft.
Military versions of the Gamma saw combat with Chinese and Spanish Republican
air forces.[1] Twenty Five Gamma 2Es were assembled in China from components
provided by Northrop; these were deployed in various attack missions during the
early stages of the War of Resistance-WWII, particular against Imperial
Japanese naval assets.[2][3] In the morning of 11 November 1937, three Chinese
Air Force Northrop 2ECs of the 2nd BG, 14th Squadron led by Capt. Yu attacked
the IJN fleet aircraft carrier Kaga off the Ma'anshan Islands; the bombs fell
wide into Kaga's wake, and the Chinese Gammas were pursued and intercepted by
three A5Ms of Kaga's combat air patrol led by flight leader Jirō Chōno,
shooting down two (Gammas no. 1405 of Sung I-Ching and Li Xi-Yong, and no. 1402
of Peng Te-Ming and Li Huan-Chieh) while Yu managed to escape into the clouds
and return his damaged Gamma to base.
On June 2, 1933 Frank Hawks flew
his Gamma 2A "Sky Chief" from Los Angeles to New York in a record 13
hours, 26 minutes, and 15 seconds. In 1935, Howard Hughes improved on this time
in his modified Gamma 2G making the west-east transcontinental run in 9 hours,
26 minutes, and 10 seconds.
The most famous Gamma was the
Polar Star. The aircraft was carried via ship and offloaded onto the pack ice
in the Ross Sea during Lincoln Ellsworth's 1934 expedition to Antarctica. The
Gamma was almost lost when the ice underneath it broke, and had to be returned
to the United States for repairs. Polar Star's second assignment to Antarctica
in September 1934 was also futile — a connecting rod broke and the aircraft had
to be returned yet again for repairs. On January 3, 1935, Ellsworth and pilot
Bernt Balchen finally flew over Antarctica.
On November 23, 1935, Ellsworth
and Canadian pilot Herbert Hollick-Kenyon attempted the world's first
trans-Antarctic flight from Dundee Island in the Weddell Sea to Little America.
The crew made four stops during their journey, in the process becoming the
first people ever to visit Western Antarctica. During one stop, a blizzard
completely packed the fuselage with snow which took a day to clear out. On
December 5, after traveling over 2,400 miles (3,865 km) the aircraft ran out of
fuel just 25 miles (40 km) short of the goal. The intrepid crew took six days
to travel the remainder of the journey and stayed in the abandoned Richard E.
Byrd camp until being found by the Discovery II research vessel on January 15,
1936. Polar Star was later recovered and donated to the Smithsonian National
Air and Space Museum.
Variants
Gamma 2A
First production aircraft, sold
to Texaco and flown by Frank Hawks as "Sky Chief", 785 hp (585 kW)
Wright radial engine.
Gamma 2B
Two-seat version with tandem
controls, flown across Antarctica as the Polar Star, 500 hp (373 kW) Pratt
& Whitney Wasp radial engine.
Gamma 2C (YA-13)
Northrop-proposed attack version
to compete with Curtiss A-12 Shrike armed with 4x 0.30 cal machine guns in the
wings, 1x 0.30 cal machine gun on a flexible mount for rear defence, and up to
1,100 lb (500 kg) of bombs under the wings, evaluated by USAAC in 1933
XA-16
YA-13 prototype redesignated
after being fitted with a Pratt & Whitney R-1830-9 engine
Gamma 2D
Cargo version used by TWA, three
built, 710 hp (529 kW) Wright Cyclone engine.[2] One aircraft was converted
into an "Experimental Overweather Laboratory" studying icing,
superchargers, radios, and turbulence at 20,000–35,000 ft (6,100–10,670 m),
then used by USAAC under the designation UC-100. Another retired TWA aircraft
was used by Spanish Republican air force for coastal patrol.
Gamma 2E
Similar to Gamma 2C in armament
except for a 1,600 lb (727 kg) bomb load, used by the Republic of China Air
Force as a light bomber until 1938 with a number of aircraft built in China,
one, as K5053, used by the British Aeroplane & Armament Experimental
Establishment, and two supplied to the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service, as
the Northrop BXN, for evaluation in 1933.
Gamma 2F
Another attack version developed
in parallel with Gamma 2C, entered service as Northrop A-17 .
Gamma 2G
Two-seat race version,
originally with a Curtiss Conqueror engine, later changed to Pratt &
Whitney Twin Wasp Jr., then to Wright Cyclone SGR-1820-G-5. Flown by Jacqueline
Cochran and Howard Hughes.
Gamma 2H
Testbed for Sperry automatic
pilot, also flown by Russell Thaw to a third-place finish in the 1935 Bendix
Trophy race.
Gamma 2J
Two-seat trainer powered by 600
hp (448 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp with retractable undercarriage intended
for USAAC. North American BC-1 preferred. Only one built.[7]
Gamma 2L
Used by Bristol for Bristol
Hercules engine testing.
Gamma 5A
One aircraft exported to
Imperial Japanese Navy (designation BXN1) as a study in modern engineering.
Gamma 5B
Two-seat version with the
cockpits moved forward, used by the Spanish Republican air force for coastal
patrol.
Gamma 5D
One aircraft exported to Japan
with "Army-type" equipment (designation BXN2), studied by Nakajima,
then passed to Manchukuo National Airways which used it for aerial
reconnaissance over China and USSR.
Operators
Military operators
China
Japan as BXN
Spain
Spanish Republican Air Force –
Northrop 2D and 5B Gamma
United States
United States Army Air Corps
Civil operators
Manchukuo
Manchukuo National Airways
United States
Trans World Airlines
