Vultee V-11
| YA-19 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Role | Ground attack |
| Manufacturer | Vultee |
| First flight | 17 September 1935 (V-11 msn 28) |
| Introduction | 1937 |
| Status | retired (no surviving examples) |
| Primary users |
Republic of China Air Force Turkish Air Force Soviet Air Forces Brazilian Army Aviation |
| Produced | 1936 - 1940 |
| Number built | 224 (all variants) |
| Developed from | Vultee V-1 |
The Vultee V-11 and V-12 were American attack aircraft of the 1930s. Developed from the Vultee V-1 single-engined airliner, the V-11 and V-12 were purchased by several nation's armed forces, including China, who used them in combat against Japanese forces in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The United States Army Air Corps purchased seven V-11s as the YA-19 in the years before World War II, testing them to gather data to compare against twin engine light attack planes.
In 1935, Vultee produced a light bomber derivative of their single-engined passenger transport, the Vultee V-1, which, while demonstrating good performance, was only sold in small numbers owing to restrictions placed on the use of single-engined aircraft for scheduled passenger transport operations.
The resulting aircraft, the Vultee V-11, retained the single-engined, low wing format and all-metal stressed skin structure of the V-1. It combined a new fuselage with accommodation for the two or three crew members under a long greenhouse canopy with the wings and tail surfaces of the Vultee V-1.
An initial order for 30 two-seat V-11Gs was placed by China before the end of 1935. This was followed by orders in 1939 for two versions (the V-12-C and V-12D) of the more powerful V-12 variant. The majority of these were planned to be assembled from kits at the Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company factory at Loiwing near the China-Burma border, and while the first batch of 25 V-12-Cs were completed successfully, the factory was heavily bombed just after assembly of the first V-12-Ds commenced. This resulted in the part built airframes being evacuated to India, where it was planned that the aircraft be completed at the Hindustan Aircraft Limited factory in Bangalore. However, after a few were assembled, production was stopped as the factory was diverted to more urgent overhaul work.
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