A-3 Taurus
| A-3 Taurus | |
|---|---|
| File:Ov10bronco.jpg An A-3 Taurus taxis at an airshow in 2007. | |
| General information | |
| Type | Close air support and ground attack aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Flynn Defence Systems |
| Status | Retired |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1967-1979 |
| Introduction date | 3 January 1967 |
| Retired | 24 November 1989 |
The Flynn Defence Systems A-3 Taurus, also known as the Battlebull and sometimes simply as the Taurus, is a turboprop light ground attack and close air support aircraft. It was developed in the Allied Castarcian States in the 1960s, primarily for anti-armour operations, although the A-3 Taurus was capable of, and was used for anti-helicopter, anti-infantry and reconnaissance roles. Under its role of observation and reconnaissance, it can spot for artillery, laser designate targets, and deploy smoke over areas.
The aircraft was originally conceived in the early 1960s as Flynn Defence Systems noted the lack of an up to date attacker in the inventory of the Imperial Castarcian Air Force. The CAF were still operating A-2 Thunderstorm which were designed at the end of the 1930s and Flynn Defence Systems believed that a decent proposal for a replacement aircraft would result in a contract. The original concept was for a rugged, simple, close air support aircraft integrated with forward ground operations.
The concept aircraft was to operate from rugged airfields and be able to use roads as runways. Speed was to be from very slow to medium subsonic, with much longer loiter times than a pure jet. Efficient turboprop engines would give better performance than piston engines. Weapons were to be mounted on the centerline to get efficient unranged aiming. Initially, Flynn Defence Systems favoured strafing weapons were self-loading recoilless rifles, which could deliver aimed explosive shells with less recoil than cannons, and a lower per-round weight than rockets. The airframe was to be designed to avoid the back blast. However, the A-3 Taurus never actually mounted recoilless rifles in service with the Connurist Air Force, instead mounting bombs, rockets, missiles and machine guns.
Design
The A-3 Taurus has a central nacelle containing pilots and cargo, and twin booms containing twin turboprop engines. The visually distinctive item of the aircraft is the combination of the twin booms, with the horizontal stabilizer that connects them.
The aircraft's design supports effective operations from forward bases. The A-3 can perform short takeoffs and landings, including on aircraft carriers and large deck amphibious assault ships without using catapults or arresting wires. Furthermore, the A-3 was designed to take off and land on unimproved sites. Repairs can be made with ordinary tools. No ground equipment is required to start the engines. And, if necessary, the engines will operate on high-octane automobile fuel with only a slight loss of power.
The bottom of the fuselage contains sponsons or "stub wings" that improve flight performance by decreasing aerodynamic drag underneath the fuselage. The sponsons were mounted horizontally on the prototype. Testing caused them to be redesigned for production aircraft. The downward angle assured that stores carried on the sponsons jettisoned cleanly. Normally four .308 in (7.62 mm) machine guns were carried on the sponsons with the .308s accessed through a large forward-opening hatch on the top of each sponson. The sponsons also had four racks to carry bombs, pods or fuel. The wings outboard of the engines contain two additional racks, one per side.
Operational experience showed that there were some weaknesses in the design of the A-3 Taurus, in that it is significantly underpowered. There were plans to upgrade the engines of the Taurus to a more powerful state, but these did not see fruition as the A-4 Dominator had been designed and plans to retire the Taurus had already been made.
Variants
- A-3A Taurus - The original and main production variant. 249 built.
- A-3B Taurus - A one off variation of the A-3 Taurus with a turbojet mounted above the fuselage.
- A-3C Taurus II - Proposed modernisation and upgrade to the A-3A. May see service in future.
Operators
- Template:Country data Allied Connurist States - The Imperial Castarcian Air Force operated 249 aircraft until they were phased out of service in 1989.
- Template:Country data Kheiastan - A small yet unknown amount of A3 Taurus aircraft is confirmed to have been operated by Kheiastan.
Specifications
General Characteristics (A-3A Taurus)
- Crew: two
- Length: 41 ft 7 in (12.67 m)
- Wingspan: 40 ft 0 in (12.19 m)
- Height: 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m)
- Wing area: 290.95 ft² (27.03 m²)
- Empty weight: 6,893 lb (3,127 kg)
- Max. takeoff weight: 14,444 lb (6,552 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Flynn TP60 turboprop, 715 hp (533 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 281 mph (452 km/h)
- Range: 576 mi (927 km)
- Service ceiling: 24,000 ft (7,315 m)
Armament
- Guns: 4 x 7.62x51mm machine guns
- Hardpoints: 5 fuselage and 2 underwing and provisions to carry combinations of:
- Rockets:: 7- or 19-tube launchers for 2.75" FFARs or 2- or 4-tube launchers for 5" FFARs
- Missiles: Various different missiles can be attached to wing pylons
- Bombs: up to 500lb