Things with wings -The VULTEE VENGEANCE .

Captain Eric Brown , RN test pilot , wrote about that aircraft.

In his opinion the aircraft ( Vengeance IV ) placed second in dive bombing efficiency.

The STUKA being first

http://www.internetmodeler.com/artman/publish/nrbook_reviews/Wings-of-the-Weird-Wonderful.php

Revell re-issued the old FROG kit

http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/portland/971/Reviews/usaaf/vengeance-m.htm

HOW-COME no one told me about a plane in the U.S. air force that looked like a STUKA ?

Frankly, I didn't make the even the remote connection...  Viewed from the front, the Vultee bird resembles the TBF more to me...

The Vultee doesn't have real gull wings (actually, inverted gull is a better term).  The Corsair is the only US WW2 plane that did, I believe.  Also, the A-17 attack/dive bomber had wheel pants, which are big identifiers on the Stuka, so the A-17 probably looks as much like a Stuka as the Vengeance.  Though the A-17 never went into real volume production, it is, of course the ancester of the Dauntless!

Just an aside, the Ju87's gear was jettisonable for ditching or belly-landings.. And technically, "Stuka" is the German abbreviation for "Sturzkampfflugzeug" (STUrzKAmpfflugzeug), which translates to "Dive Bomber".. So ALL dive bombers, from the A-17 to the SBD, to the Ju-87 and 88 are technically "Stukas", in the German... 

It's just that the Ju87 was the "definative" WW2 German dive-bomber, and through common usage became known as the "Stuka"... For example, a German soldier would shout a warning to his fellows about an American A-26 attacking their position with the cry of "ACHTUNG, STUKA!"... 

This is what I love about this forum. All the wonderful trivia. 

"... For example, a German soldier would shout a warning to his fellows about an American A-26 attacking their position with the cry of "ACHTUNG, STUKA!"... 

Whereas his American counterpart would have just yelled... "INCOMING!!"