The US Navy kept Helldivers in frontline service to 1947 and reserve units through 1950, but the Army version faced a different role problem. The US Army ordered 900 aircraft as the A-25A Shrike, yet its intended tactical-support mission had largely passed to the P-47 Thunderbolt by the time deliveries arrived in late 1943. More than 400 were transferred to the US Marines, where some attacked bypassed Japanese positions while others became trainers or target tugs. Australia likewise reconsidered the type after receiving its first ten aircraft and deciding that specialized dive bombing was obsolete. The A-25 shows how a system can meet its specification yet arrive after another aircraft or doctrine has taken over the job.
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How the A-25 Shrike lost its intended mission
US postwar service continued, but the Army's A-25 version arrived after the P-47 had taken over tactical air support and left many Shrikes without their intended job.