The Northrop N-3PB is
related to but not a
variant of the Gamma 2F/A-17/Douglas 8A.
After leaving Douglas and setting up once again as an independent company, Northrop
was approached by Norway with a request for a coastal patrol floatplane. The company
had already been working on a slightly enlarged, heavier and more powerful aircraft
based on an extensive redesign of the 8A, N-3 was the Northrop model number. This
design was reworked into the floatplane configuration to meet the Norwegian's needs.
Aside from the basic wing little else was the same, the fuselage of the N3PB was very
different from that of the earlier design.