36-185 was assigned to NACA at Langley. Returned to Douglas, which had taken over Northrop, and sold to France. Photo by: Rudy Arnold / Smithsonian Institution

1937: TOS with USAAC. 25 Jun 1937: 3rd Attack Group, Barksdale, LA. Ca. 1939: Kelly Field, TX. Apr 1940: Bolling Field, DC; Served as support aircraft for Military Attaches in Honduras, Guatemala, and Haiti. 20 Jun 1941: TOS USAAF. No dates as to when NMUSAF acquired it, but it is the only A-17 type to exist.

The serial of this aircraft, applied only in the data block on the left side of the forward fuselage, could be read off a large scan of this sharp photo. It was more difficult to trace the unit. The 88th Reconnaissance Squadron seems to have operated a mixed bag of planes around 1937, including this early Northrop A-17 (no suffix) - note fixed landing gear. They were based at Hamilton Field, California. The picture was taken at Redding Municipal Airport which must then have been Benton Field. Photo from: California State Library

Northrop developed the A-17 in the early 1930s to fill a USAAC requirement for an attack bomber. This example, on display at the National Museum of the USAF, is one of 129 built of the 'A' version that included an retractable undercarriage and improved engine.