Beechcraft XA-38 Grizzly

The Beechcraft XA-38 Grizzly was a World War II ground attack aircraft that Beechcraft developed for the United States Army Air Forces but never put into production. The Army Air Forces awarded Beech a contract in December 1942 for two prototypes of its Model 28 Destroyer, a design that began as a bomber-destroyer and shifted to a powerful ground attack aircraft to replace the Douglas A-20 Havoc. Its main armament was a fixed forward-firing 75 mm cannon with 20 rounds, backed by two .50 caliber machine guns and remotely controlled ventral and dorsal turrets, with a crew of two. The first prototype flew on 7 May 1944, but the Wright R-3350 engines had priority for the B-29, and by the time enough were available the war was nearly over, so no production was ordered.