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Aircraft Wrecks in the Mountains and Deserts of the American West Northrop A-17 In 1935 the Northrop Corporation received a contract for 110 A-17 two seat attack aircraft. The Pratt & Whitney 750 h.p. R-1535-11 powered the all metal, modern for it's time, strike aircraft. With a span of 47' 8" and length of 31' 8" the A-17 loomed large. Armament included four wing mounted and one flexible 0.30-in Browning machine guns, and four hundred pounds of bombs. Top speed was 220 m.p.h. and the range was 732 miles. The A-17 had fixed landing gear, but 129 improved A-17A featured a fully retractable arrangement. The wrecked Northrop A-17 shown here was found by John Thayer and his friend Craig, who then took Brent Farlie to the site some years ago. Because we want to protect this site no date of crash or serial number is included. The site is remote and not visible from the air. This has helped to preserve a very rare aircraft that should be considered for recovery and restoration by a reputable museum. The WWII era Northrop N3PB recovered from a lake in Iceland during the 1980's is an outstanding example of what can be achieved for static display purposes. This wreck site deserves every consideration for conservation and preservation. (Photos courtesy of Brent Farlie)
Click on thumbnail to see large view! |
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 Variable-pitch propeller and hub from the A-17.
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 Landing gear and left wing of A-17. |
 Tail wheel assembly. |
 The USAAC of the 1930's even painted combat aircraft in high visibility colors as seen in this photo of the A-17's orange yellow wing with U.S. ARMY painted on the underside. The fuselage was painted in a color known as true blue.
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 A-17 aileron section with fabric covering still attached.
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 Practice/anti-personnel bomb dispenser.
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Crash site with both wings and bomb dispenser
visible. |
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Kent Wood recently visited the USAAC Northrop A-17 wreck that was located by Brent Farley. Kent visited on the anniversary day and time of the original accident. Happily the majority of the plane is still there. Thanks to Kent Wood for the following updated photos. |
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Kent Wood sits on the A-17 wing with perforated dive brake on his right. |
Kent and with propeller and hub assembly. |
 A-17 wing with original 1930’s era Army Air Corps yellow paint. |
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