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GA-1

Engineering Division/Boeing GA-1
Type Ground attack
Manufacturer Boeing
Designed by Issac W. Ground-attack aircraft are military aircraft designed to attack targets on the ground and are often deployed as Close air support for and in proximity to their own ground forces An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing building testing selling and maintaining Aircraft, Aircraft parts The Boeing Company is a major Aerospace and defense corporation originally founded by William E Laddon
Maiden flight May 1921
Introduced 1921
Primary user USAAS
Number built 10

The Boeing GA-1 (company designation Model 10) were armored triplanes. The maiden flight of an Aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar The United States Army Air Service was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. The Boeing Company is a major Aerospace and defense corporation originally founded by William E A triplane is a Fixed-wing aircraft equipped with three sets of wings each roughly the same size and mounted one above the other Designed in 1919, it was powered by a pair of modified Liberty engines driving pusher propellors. See also Liberty L-8 for the eight-cylinder prototype & Lincoln Liberty engine WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft A propeller is essentially a type of fan which transmits power by converting Rotational motion into Thrust for propulsion of a vehicle such as an The first of the Engineering Division's heavily-armored GAX series (ground attack, experimental) aircraft, the ponderous airplane was intended to strafe ground troops while remaining immune to attack from the ground as well as from other enemy aircraft. Strafing is the practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft It was so well armored its five-ton weight proved excessive.

Contents

History

Origins

Soon after the end of WW I, the US Army sought to explore highly-armored and -armed specialist ground attack aircraft. This was a pet project of General William Mitchell. William Mitchell may refer to William Mitchell (Reverend (1803&ndash1870 an Anglican priest who established religious services in the Swan River Colony The Army Air Service Engineering Division issued requests for proposals to U. S. aircraft producers on October 15, 1919. There were no designs offered, so the Engineering Division ordered one of its engineers, Isaac W. Laddon, to attempt what the aviation industry clearly considered impossible. His design, designated GAX, first flew at McCook Field on May 26, 1920. The GAX was McCook Field Project P129 and wore AAS serial number 63272. [1]

Development

On June 7, 1920, Boeing was awarded a contract for 20 production models designated GA-1. The Boeing Company is a major Aerospace and defense corporation originally founded by William E Before the first was delivered in May 1921, the order had been reduced to 10. The production aircraft wore Boeing constructors numbers 200-209 and AAC serial numbers 64146-64155. Number 64146 was evaluated at McCook as project P187. [1]

Entry into service

The GA-1 were sent to Kelly Field, Texas, for service tests with the 3rd Attack Group. Kelly Field Annex (Formerly Kelly Air Force Base is a United States Air Force facility located in San Antonio Texas. These tests showed the aircraft to be unacceptable. They had poor performance and visibility. The aircraft suffered from noise and vibrations caused by the 3/16-inch (4. 75mm)-thick armor. Take-off runs were very long by the standards of the day. The GA-1s were extremely unpopular with the pilots conducting the evaluation. [1]

Design characteristics

Aerodynamic cleanliness was sacrificed to fields of fire for its guns. The sturdy structure was able to carry a heavy load of ammunition along with about 2,200 lb (998 kg) of armor plate. The result was an angular machine of wire-braced wooden construction with plywood and fabric covering. A rectangular-section fuselage carried the foward gunner in an open nose position, the pilot in a semi-enclsed cockpit with armored shutters for foward vision, and the rear gunner in an open dorsal position. The engines were carried in mid-wing nacelles. At the front of each nacelle was a gunner's position. [2]

Variants

GA-1
armored triplane, one pilot and 4 gunners, two Liberty L-12A Vee engines of 435 hp (324 kW), ten built
GA-2
biplane, one pilot and two gunners, 750 hp (559 kW) Engineering Division W-18 engine, one 37mm cannon and 6 0. See also Liberty L-8 for the eight-cylinder prototype & Lincoln Liberty engine WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft A biplane is a Fixed-wing aircraft with two main Wings The first powered heavier-than-air Aircraft, the Wright brothers' Wright Flyer 3 in (7. 62mm) machine guns, two built

Milestones

It was rumored the GA-1s survived until surveyed on January 14, 1926 so Kelly Field pilots could be threatened with being forced to fly them for disciplinary infractions. For other uses of the phrase see Machine Gun (disambiguation. All were scrapped in April 1926. [1]

Specifications (GA-1)

Data from "The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft"[2]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

References

  1. ^ a b c d Ray Wagner, 1968
  2. ^ a b Eden & Moeng, 2002, page 314.

External links

See also

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