Northrop N-3PB Nomad

The Northrop N-3PB Nomad was a single-engined American floatplane of the 1940s, developed as an export model from the Northrop A-17 attack bomber. Norway ordered 24 off the drawing board on 8 March 1940 for coastal reconnaissance, and a Wright Cyclone radial engine powered it, the same type as other Norwegian orders, to simplify maintenance. Norway was invaded before any were finished, so they were delivered only after its fall. Chief test pilot Vance Breese flew the first on 22 December 1940 from Lake Elsinore, California. Exiled Norwegian forces used them from 1941, flying convoy escort and antisubmarine patrols from Iceland and training at Little Norway in Canada. Within two years the type was obsolete for front-line service and larger aircraft replaced the rest in 1943.