North American T-6: SNJ, Harvard and Wirraway (Crowood Aviation Series)

115 Pages·2000·97.162 MB·English

by  Peter C. Smith

· NORTH AMERICAN 1-6
SNI, Harvard and Wirraway
Peter C. Smith
North American T-6
Other titles in the Crowood Aviation Series
Aichi D3A1/2 Val PeterC. Smith
Aeroplanes ofthe Royal Aircraft Factory Paul Hare NORTH AMERICAN T·6
Avro Lancaster Ken Delve
BAC One-Eleven Malcolm L. Hill
c.
Bell P-39 Airacobra Robert F. Dorr with Jerry Scutts
Boeing 747 Martin W. Bowman SNj, Harvard and Wirraway
Boeing 757 and 767 Thomas Becher
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Martin W. Bowman
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress Peter E. Davies and Tony Thornborough
Consolidated B-24 Liberator Martin W. Bowman
Curtiss SB2C Helldiver PeterC. Smith
De Havilland Mosquito Martin W. Bowman
McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk Brad Elward
Peter C. Smith
Douglas AD Skyraider Peter C. Smith
English Electric Canberra BarryJones
English Electric Lightning Martin W. Bowman
Fairchild Republic A-IO Thunderbolt II Peter C. Smith
Gloster Meteor BarryJones
Hawker Hunter BarryJones
Hawker Hurricane PeterJacobs
JunkersJu 87 Stuka Peter C. Smith
Lockheed C-l30 Hercules Martin W. Bowman
Lockheed F-I04 Starfighter Martin W. Bowman
Luftwaffe - A Pictorial History Eric Mombeek
Messerschmitt Bf 110 Ron Mackay
Messerschmitt Me 262 David Baker
achtjagd Theo Boiten
ight Airwar Theo Boiten
orth American F-86 Sabre Duncan Curtis
Panavia Tornado Andy Evans
Short Sunderland Ken Delve
Sopwith Aircraft Mick Davis
V-Bombers BarryJones
Vickers VC10 Lance Cole
Vickers-Armstrongs Wellington Ken Delve
World War One in the Air- A Pictorial History Ken Delve
1)~CI
The Crowood Press
Firs,.puhlished in 2000hI' Dedication
TheCro\\'ood PressLrd
Ranbhury, M",.lhorough To Simon Watson, for all your help and advi cdown the years.
WilrshireSN82HR
©PererC.Smirh2000 Contents
All right>reserl'ed.Noparto(thispublicationmal'
hereproducedorrriln~mittcdin(lnyfurnlOfhyany
IllC;lIl~,electronicormechanical, including Introduction 7
photocopy,recording,or(lnyinformationS[OfClge
andn::rric\'al!'lY~[Cm, withoutpermi:-,sio!l inwriting
(rom thepuhlishers. 1 BUILDING ON SUCCESS 9
BritishLibraryCataloguing-in-Publication Data 2 THE GENUS OFTHE AT-6 19
Acaralogue record(orthishook isavailahlefrom
the British Lihrary.
3 THE DESIGN COMES OF AGE 31
ISBN I86126382 J
4 ENTER THE TEXAN 39
5 BRITAIN TAKES THE HARVARD 51
6 'THESIX' DESCRIBED 59
7 FLYING 'THE SIX' 70
8 THE GLOBAL PlLOT TRAINER 83
9 THE WIZARDS OF OZ
Wirraway, Boomerang, Ceres 95
10 POST-WAR DEVELOPMENTS 116
11 THE T-6 RE AISSANCE 147
12 THE MOSQUITOES BITE
Korea 171
13 THE GREAT REVIVAL
Civilian Usage 191
Appendix I Harvard 2B Engine Data 202
Appendix II NAA Charge Number List 203
Appendix III AT-6D/SNj Listings (The '88' Series List) 205
Typefacesused:Goudy(rex!), Appendix IV Royal Canadian Air Force NAA Trainer List 209
Chelrenham (headings).
Appendix V Mosquito Nomenclature - Korea 210
Typesetanddesigned hy
D . N Puhlishing Appendix VI Preserved T-6/SNj/Harvard/Wirraways 213
Baydon,Marlhorough,Wilrshire.
otes 219
Printed,md boundinGreat Britainhy Bookcraft. Index 222
Introduction
This is the story of one of the most suc throwing dictators in Portugal or holding from his book Auwbiogral)hy ofaTail/lOok
lessful and hest-Ioved aircraft ofall time. the line against communist aggression in er:; Charles Shuford; Chuck Downey of
Rorn on the eve ofwar, when the need to Korea, this 'training' aircraft showed she I)oplar Grove, Illinois; John Hamlin,
train unprecedented numbers of young could use her teeth as well. whos' oUlstanding volume, The Harvard
men to become pilots was first being real And so for six decades the distinctive File', is the essential startingpointfor any
ized,sooutstandingwas thedesign, andso growJi of this unique aircraft has shaken one who wishes to know anything at all
great the demand that the North Ameri and broken the peace ofthe skies all over ahoLit the Harvard; Doug Ma Phail of
can Advanced Trainer 6 (AT-6) went on theglobe. Her popularityshows nosign of Dundas, Ontario, anada, who produced
tohe builtinevergreaternumbers to erve decline in her dotage. The story of the the essential book on Harvard' The Noreh
the mushrooming ofAllied military avia noisy orth American is by no means merican Trainers in Canada; and was very
tion. Ifyou became an Allied pilot during over,and recording it is thereforea unique helpful tome; evilleM. Parnell whopro
World WarTwo, the chances arc that you and special privilege. vided much help and photos on the
learnedyour 'killsin theAT-6,the J (as Wirraway and Ceres for me, and whose
the S avy termed it) or, if you were book, Allstralian Air Force since 19/ /" is
British, ustralian,Canadian, Rhodesian, Acknowledgements the standard source; Kil"ten Tedesco and
South African or any other flyer from the tephanie Mitchell of the Ariwna ero
Empire, the Harvard. Theauthorwouldparticularlyliketothank space Foundation, Pima ir & pace
ames abounded. In an effort to make the following for their unstinting aid, Museum, Tucson; Kate Igoeofthe mith
her more media-friendly the Americans adviceandhelpincompilingthechequered sonian A~M, Washington DC; George
christened later Dalla -built versions the history ofthe AT-6 in all her many guises, J, Walsh ofDarien, Connecticut; WiIIiam
'Texan', toequate with the British naming ami acknowledges his deep debt to their J. Armstrong, Department of the avy,
their vel"ions the 'Harvard'. It never contribution to this ontinuingstory. Wa hington DC; Colonel abri Aydogan,
caught on, and 'T-6' or just 'The ix' was Firstandforemost toAndrewand Karen MinistryofDefence,Ankara,Turkey; D..
how the bulk ofher U AAF pilotsalways Edie, Mike Chapman, Rod Dean, and all Baker, I awkerde Havilland Victoria Ltd,
called her; to the US avy and Marine at Transport Command, horeham-by Melbourne; Dr Fred Beck, Office of Air
Corpsflyersshewasknown asthe' J',or Sea, for their kindness and hospitality; Force History, Bolling AFB; Giancarlo
sometimes the 'J-Bird'. In Korea she Squadron Leader Norman E. Rose, that Garello from Italy for hi kindness in pro
hecame the 'Mosquito' after her all-sign, outstanding and exceptional RAF pilot viding photos and details of Italian T-6s;
and airforces the worldovercame up with and instructor whose knowledge of the Major-General Ahmed I. Behery, om
theirown namesfor orth merican vi Harvard in all her moods is unrivalled; my mander Royal Saudi AirForce, Riyad; Mrs
arion's most famous product. good friend Group Captain Arthur Mur Anne Bell, Fleet Air Arm Museum,
Brought about by the needs of World landGill, RAF, whocommandedthe Ferry Yeovilton; M. Benoits, IRP, Paris;
War Two, the T-6's story did not end in Training Unit at Abingdon post-war and David V. . Berrington, Ohai; Warrant
1945; indeed, it had hardly begunl Far had previously flown twentyassorted Har Officer PL Boulton, Air taff Defence
from ending her days with the end ofthe vards at different points in his distin HQ, Wellington, ew Zealand; haz
war, theT-6continued toform a hasi part guished career; Flight Lieutenant Harry Bowyer, Mulbarton, orfolk; ommander
of most Western air force' training 'ys Knight, MBE, RAFVR, an out tanding B,J. Bromfield, Royal Australian avy,
tems. Many former T-6 pilots, now civil in tructor and pilot whose memoirs and R ir ration owara; Jack Bryant,
ians once again, seized the opportunity to photographs of training in Canada are T G , Langley; Meg Campbell, Palmer-
renewtheirloveaffairwith thisuniqu fly invaluable; Robert . Mullaney of Bell ton orth; Herr Cimander, Armando da
ing machine; whether a' stunt plane, acr port, who wasequallyat home in the N]; i1va Coelho, Forca Aerea Portugue'a,
obatics mount, crop sprayer, mail-plane, George]. Wal hwhoalso hared memories Li bon; Del' BundeI' minster del' Verteidi
pylon racer or just plain fun ma hine, ex of her with me; Dan Hagerdorn of the gung, Bonn; Group Captain B. ole,
military T-6s were snapped up in ever mithsonian A M, Wa hington DC, Ghanian Air Force HQ, Accra; Dr Ira
increasing numbers by flyer from Los whose own contribution to the whole T-6 Chart, orthrop Corporation, Haw
ngele to Lahore, from London to Lima, family story in his book WarBird Tech is thorne, alifornia; M.B. Chenel, Musee
and so the T-6 hegan her second areer. outstanding and whose knowledge of de I' iretdel'Espace, Le Bourget;John A.
ot that her fighting days were over; Latin American T-6s is second to none; oliver, Lomita, California; Terry Dow
whether it be as a ground stI'afer in India, Captain Donald Wesley Monson of Palm man, R ZAF Museum, Christchurch;
Wing-tiptowing-tipastheRCAFAerobaticTeamroaroveranotheroftheteamduringrehearsalsin1961. CFPU hunting down terrorists in Igeria, over- Desert, California, for p'rmission toqUOle Group Captain Theo ]. MacLc<1Il dc
6 7
I 'TRaDUCTION
Lange, Rotorua; Chas Dellow, Mermaid Najjar, Royal Jordanian Air Force, In Fli~ht, Wood'ide, California; Louis J.
Beach; teven D. Eisner, Van uys, Cali mman; William C. orthropJr, RCMB VO 100, Fish Hoek, outh Africa; David H PTER 0 E
fornia; MajorK.W. Farrell,Canadian Forces Inc, ewport Beach; the late Arthur Wilson, Department of Defence, Canber
Photographic Unit, Ottawa; olonel Pearcy, 'harnbrook, Bedford; Bob Piper, ra, CT.
Francesco Fino, tato Maggiorer dell Royal Australian Air Force Historical
Building on Success
Aeronautica, Rome; James L.R. Flynn, Office, anberra ACT; Flight Lieutenant
The North American Charge
Ringwood,Victoria;WarrantOfficerD.W. P.B. Ratnayake,Sri LankaAFHQ,Colom
Gardner, RAAF Museum, Point Cook; bo; Air ommodore ahay, ir HQ, Number System
Group Captain John E. Gerber, RAAF, IAF,New Delhi; adao eno,Aichi,Japan;
Turner, CT; Wing ommander Arthur Hanfried chliephake, K6nigsbrunn; FD. Much confusion has arisen over the vari
Murland Gill, Llanwarne; Colonel H.R. heppard, RAF Museum, Hendon, Lon ous model numbers of orth merican The lineage ofthe orth American AT until 1January 1935. It was on this date viation was reorganized and a new
Haberli, Berne; Brian Hall, Myrtle Bank, don; Ray . Sturtivent, St Albans, who aircraftofthis period.These wereaccount 6, an aircraft of its time but destined to that orth American became associated management tGlm was establish'd und'r
SA; Anthony E. Hutton, The quadron, overthe years has been agreat boon to me numbersofordersto which all the costsof outlive almost all ofher contemporaries, with the actual de ign ami manufactureof Kindleb'rgerand Atwood as president and
North Weald; DrJ.A.M.M.Janssen, Royal with the sharing of his unrivalled knowl tooling, materials, labourand manufacture was a long and distinguished one. The its own produ ts, when it took under its vice president, respectively.
etherlands Air For e, Soesterberg; edgeofFleetAirArm history; Martin Pen were set, or 'charged' against. These direct line ofdescent can be traced back own name the General Aviation Manu Both men had moved over from the
Colonel EduardoJimenez-Carles, Madrid; gelly at Landrake, altash, Cornwall for charge numbers were how the company through a wholeseriesoftrainingaircraft facturing Corporation. Douglas Aircraft Company, where they
Lieutenant-Colonel Sidney F Johnson Jr, much informationand advice;GroupCap themselves tended to identify each indi designs that sprang from the fertiIe and Thehistoryof orthAmericanthenalso had already established a reputation for
Albuquerque; Lieutenant- olonel Zeev tain BhisitSukhum, Royal Thai Air Force, vidual contract and these are chronologi inventive minds of two of the giants of became the history of General Aviation, thems'lves when, as vice president in
Lachd1, IDF,Tel Aviv; J. Laneiro, Loures; Bangkok; DrG.A. 'Doc' wayze, Phoenix, cally more accurate than the variou' con the American aviation industry of the and for that we must go back in time still charge o(engineering and chiefstructural
Reine Maily, Canadian Government Arizona; nna C. rband, Dept of the fusing model numbersgiven by the various 1930s, James H. ('Dutch') Kindleberger further, to 1923 and the incorporation of engineer, respectively, they had helped
Exposition and AVCentre,Ottawa;Cyril avy, Washington DC; Bill C. Walmsley, airforces. Occasionallythe hargenumber and John Lelan ('Lee') Atwood, a formi the Fokker ircraft orporation ofAmeri design and develop the outstanding Dou
R.B. MacPherson, East Ringwood, Victo Rockwell International, Los Angeles; and the model number were identical; d,lhlc team who, under the presidency of ca. Famous for hi' contributions to Imperi glas D -I transport. This famous aircraft,
ria; Tenente QFO olandge Teixeria de ichola' M. Williams, American Aviation more often than not they were different. the former, brought the relatively new al Germany's wartime air fleet, the Dutch notable for its original feature', had come
Menezc, Ministerio de Aeronautica, Historical ociety, Waverly, Iowa; Helen aircraft manufacturingcompanyof orth aeronauticalengineerAntonyFokkerhada to General viation' attention when it
Brasilia-DF; Paul L. Muir, Condell Park, Vaughan-Dawkes, ational Archives, PeterC. mith, Ri'eley, Bedford, American Aviation to the forefront of reputation for successful design and immi had beaten theirown tri-motordesign toa
ew South Wales; Brigadier-General Wellington, ew Zealand; ick Veronico, October 200 .lIrcraft de'ign just prior to the econd grated to the United tates in that year. vitalTranscontinentaland West Air om
World War. Not only was thi' duo Herehefounded theAtlanticAircraftCor petition. In 1934,unabletocompete,Gen
re~ponsible for the design of the T-6, poration, which later hecame the Fokker eral Aviation poached this winning teaml
herselfto be the forerunner ofmore than Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation. This In its new guise, General Aviation pro
17,000 of her type, with numerous addi famous name had been associated with duced two outstandingdesigns: the GA-I5
nonal and world-wide spin-oK, but they many notable pioneering aviation feats in (GA = General Aviation), whi h later
were the team that brought the immortal the I92Osand 1930s, notablyprovidingthe he ame the 0-47 Observation aircraft; and
P-5I Mu tang to fruition, via the A-36 aircraft that made the first orth Pole the GA-16, which first as the NA-16 and
dive bomber, in what proved to be one of flight, under Commander Rich;lrd E. Byrd, thenastheBT-9(BT=Basi Trainer)forthe
the most outstanding fighter aircraft U avy, in 1926. That aircraft had been United tates Army AirCorps (U AAC),
types ofthe period. theFokkertri-motormonoplane.Twoyears wastoblLl,ultimately,viathe BT-IO,BT-14
There was no lack of talent at North later another Fokker product, the Southern and BC-I, to the AT-6, the S J and Har
American in the late]930s, but the story Cross, piloted by quadron LeaderCharles vard family ofadvanced air trainers.
ofthecompany itselfpre-dates that period E. Kingford-Smith, made the 7,400 mile When, in its turn,General viation was
and underwent a number of convoluted flight from Southern alifornia to Aus absorbed into North American, manufa
changes, as various small concerns meta tralia,another'first',and thesameyearsaw ture gradually assumed the dominant role
morphosed intoa winningand innovative the company's Fokker Friendship aircraft and between 1934 and 193 ,the majority
majorcompany. carry the famous woman pilot Amelia of the other concerns, including urtiss
orth American Aviation Inc. was ini Earhart across the Atlantic. In 1929 Cap Aircraft, perry and Trans World irlines
tially incorporated in the tate of tain Ira C. Eaker, piloting the Fokker air (TWA) airline holdings, were disposed of;
Delaware on 6 December ]92 , and for craftQuestionMark, setthe refueling-in-air butsome plantand facilitie were retained,
~ome 'ix years it remained a holdingcom endurance record. in particular the former Curtiss- aproni
panyfora numberofwell-knownand less It was in 1930 that Antony Fokker plantlocatedat Dundalk, Maryland,and it
er known air transportation and manufac returned home to the etherlandsand the was here that General viation, as the
turing firms.! Included in its original General Aviation Manufacturing Corpora manufacturing division of orth Ameri
charter was the directive to acquire and tionacquired the FokkerCompany. Anoth can, first set upshop for the production of
hold ,tock' ami securities in other corpo er famou aviation name that was also theirown designs.
rations. As such, the company acted to acquired by General viation that same
provide the funding for these companie yearwasthe Berliner-JoyceAircraftCorpo
and aircraft designs, and nothing more ration, and three years later, in 1933, these GA-16 (NA-16, BT-9)
than that. However, the company brief companiesweremerged. Berliner-Joycehad
also included the manufacture ofall types producedsomenotableaircraftofit own in As the grandfatherofthe T-6, the GA-16
ofaircraft, as well as managingair naviga the previou decade but, although rich is worthy of detailed study. The Army
tion facilities through eitherdirect opera in ideas and innovative personnel, it was requirements (or their basic trainer (BT)
tions or as an agency.' Thus it remained cash-strapped. TI e following year, General type, whichagaincameupforcompetition
CanadianHarvard4,RCAF20450,picturedherein1953withMapleleafinsignia. CFPU
8 9
BUILDING ON SUCCESS ----------------T-6M N- Jam Howard 'Dutch'Kindleberger
-------''------------------
ThemanwhobroughttheT-6intobeing,inadditionto Thatsameyearhetookthegreatstepintoaviationby
ahostofothergreatairplanesofthe1930sand1940s, joiningthefamousseaplanebuildingcompanyofGlenn
in January 1935, were for an aircraft that wasalegendintheaviationindustryofthatperiod.He L.Martin,basedatCleveland,Ohio.Dutchrapidlyrose
would closelysin1Ulate the modern single combined innovative and fresh thinking with practical throughtheMartincompany'shierarchybetween1919
seater monoplane pursuit and attack air qualities that resulted in that happy combination of and1925.HelefttojointheupandcomingDouglasAir
craft then entering service to replace the atheisticfunctionality.Ofhisaircraft,itcouldusuallybe craft Company, then headquartered at Santa Monica,
old biplane types, in both their layouts said,'Ifitlooksright,itisright' California, where he remained until 1934, rising to
DutchfirstsawthelightofaspringWestVirginianday become their vice president and chief engineer. The
(open cockpits and fabric-covered wings
on8May1895,thesonofCharlesFrederickandRose switchtoGeneralAviation'spresident,atfirstinBalti
and airframes)and general layout, whileat
Ann(neeRiddle)Kindleberger.In1911,attheageofsix more,andthentoNorthAmericanAviationatEISegun
the same time providingseparate cockpits
teen, he left college and commenced work at the do,followed.Withthatcompanyheachievedtheacme
for the instructorand pupil to beseated in NationalTubeCompany,Wheeling.Twoyearslaterhe ofhisfame.
tandem. The BT type would also have to Joined the ArmyEngineering Corps asadraughtsman Kindlebergerprovedhimselftobeashrewdbusiness
be tough enough to withstand the proba andinspector.Anoutstandingtalent,bythetimehehad manaswell asanoutstandingdesigner,aswitnessed
blehard handlingofthe novicepilot,and, comeofagein 1916hewas studyingattheCarnegie byhiscleveradaptationoftheMustangfightertotheA
for the same reason, be easy to repair and InstituteofTechnologyandlayingthegroundforalife 36divebomberjustintimetokeepproductiongoingand
maintain in the face ofsuch usage. Butshe timeofhighlysuccessfulcontributionstotheAmerican despitehisowndoubtsaboutwhethersuchaconver
alsohad tobesimpleenough toflyandsafe aviationindustry. sionwouldwork.Itdid,andworkedoutstandinglywell.'
Hequalifiedin1917,justastheGreatWarbegan to butthemaineffectwastokeepthelineintact,which
enough to ensure that the trainees pro
enmeshtheUnitedStatesinitsbloodygrip.Alreadythe reaped dividends with the P-51 Mustang later in the
gressed through to the next stage oftheir
aeroplane, still anovel thing of struts and wire, had war. oneofthepremierfighteraircrafttypesofWorld
training, the advanced trainer (AT).
made its influence felt worldwide and Howard knew WarII.ProducingthefirstMustanginrecordtime(100
Kindleberger and Atwood approached whathisfuturewastobe.HeenteredtheAirCorpsin daysIIproducedadifferentreactionfromBritishdesign
this perennial dilemma with their usual 1917andservedasasecond lieutenant. The dashing er Sidney Cam, whose Hawker Hurricane fighter the
expertise and flair. The GA-16 was built young pilotcourtedandmarriedhisfirstwife,Thelma Mustangoutclassedtotally.HeaccusedDutchofbeing
with traditional materials; the fuselage was BeatriceKnarr.inApril1919andtogethertheyhadthree aliarlKindlebergercertainlyknewhowtoplayhiscards
of fabric-covered steel-tubed framing; the children,daughtersRuth,Joanandson,HowardByron. tothebesteffectpublicity-wise.
two cockpits, in tandem, were open to the WithNorthAmerican,Dutchrosetobecomechairman
elements, save for a small frontal wind oftheboardandchiefexecutiveofficer.Hehadanoth
er, largelyhidden, side to him. however. Hemadehis
shield. The original design sketches show
homeinCaliforniaanddevotedmuchtimetotheGood
that Kindleberger always had a fully L
SamaritanHospiceandtheStJohn'sHospicethere.He
enclosedcockpitin mindforhisprojectulti
divorcedhisfirstwifein1945andmarriedHelenLouise
mately' and, in truth, the aircraft did not
Allen the following year. This marriagealso ended in
I -
long exist in its original form. The design divorce,however.in1960.
also incorporated a cantilever, all-metal, )1 _ Forhiswarworkandcontributiontoaviation,further
flush riveted, stressed-skin wing based on H honours were heaped upon him; the French awarded
the DC-l type, and also incorporatedsever himChevalierLegionofHonourin1951;theItaliansthe
alnovelandnotablefeaturesnotseenbefore Order AI Merito Della Republica Italiana three years
but which were destined to become stan later.EvenmoreexoticwasThailand'saward,madein
1956,asaCompanionoftheExaltedOrderoftheWhite
dard features on such aircraft for the next
Elephant! Dutchwouldhaveseenthehumoroussideof
decade. Fourofthe maininnovationsintro
that.Hisfellowcountrymenwerenolessgrateful,and
duced by the GA-16 wereas follows4
among the many such honours Kindleberger received
weretheAlumniMeritAwardfromtheCarnagieInsti
1. Accessibility ofincemal mechanisms. The TheNAAdesignteamsoriginalsketchesoftheGA-16,dated10December1934.Even tuteofTechnology,thePresidentialCertificateofMerit
introduction, to a largerextent than hith atthisstageaPratt&Whitneyengineismentionedandalthoughtheundercarriage forWarProductionin1948,theExceptionalCivilService
erto,offabric-covered removablesidepan isofthefixedtype,anelongatedandfullyenclosedcockpitcanopyfeaturesandis AwardfromtheUnitedStatesAirForcein1953andthe
els, which allowed ground mechanics faired intotheafterfuselage. RockwellInternational GeneralWilliamE.MitchellAwardin1959.
quick and simple access to most areas of DutchwasalsodeeplyinvolvedwiththevariousAmer
the fuselage and engine cowlings, in order icanaviationbodies.HewasafellowoftheAeronauti
calSciencesFoundation,andbecametheirpresidentin
to get at the working parts of the 400hp
1950. Healsobecamevicepresidentofthe Manufac
Wright R-975-E7 Whirlwind nine cylin once the war had commenced, a similar presentedanewstandarcl.Theentire pow
turingAircraftAssociation, governoroftheAerospace
der, air-cooled radial that powered the air requirement tooptimize battleavailability erplant installation was designed as a sin
Industries Association of America, as well as being
craft. The panels could be quickly obviously meant that such features were gle unit, which could be unbolted and a
directoroftheCaliforniaChamberofCommerce.
detached toallow instantand rapid ingress required oncombataircraftas well. newone boltedon within the time-spanof Honouredandrevered intheaviationworld,atsixty
to all the internal mechanisms and struc eight man-hours. The whole wing fol sevenyearsofageDutchKindlebergerdiedon27July
tures, which could then be easily inspect 2. Interchangeable pares and comlJonents. lowed the design of the DC-2, being of 1962.Despitetheplethoraofhisgreataircraftdesigns
ed, and parts repaired or replaced with the Equally lending itselfto thesame maximiz three basic components, with the two hisnamewill alwaysbeassociatedwiththeMustang
minimum of 'down' time on the aircraft ing of the aircraft's active flying time was outer panels bolted to the constant-chord andtheTexan/Harvard.
itself. With restricted defence budgets in the interchangeabilityofparts, which gave centre section of the fuselage by simple
the 1930s, the need to keep the maximum forspeedy turn-rounclsoffaultyequipment. bolts through the flange angles that could
number of aircraft flying with the mini By makingas many partsas possiblequick be removed with ease ami rapidity. Even
mum delay was paramount; this feature lydetachableandattachable,and byassem the wing-tips were designed as detachable
greatly assisted the North American blingthosecomponents insteeljigs, which assemblies, so that they could be replaced
design in comparison to rivals. Ofcourse, ensured universal fitting, the G -16 quickly in response to that most common
'Dutch'KindlebergershakinghandswithJimmy
DoolittleafterthefamousraidonTokyoint942.
70
BUILDI:--iG ON SUCCESS III II III '(i 0,' ~t('CESS
oftrainingaircraftaccidents,ground loop the next stage. The prototype was duly as the NA-16 that the rrototype was next thirty aircraft, and became the BT- .The
ingl The outer-wing ranels' leading and completed at acostof 36, 0 . displayed. Aprroval had been given to go other contender was the Curtiss-Wright
trailingedges'sweepand thewingdihedral TheG -16design, carryingthecivilian ahead with thi prototype and within the I9R, which had many advanced fearures
angle exactly matched the DC-2, as did regi tration X-20 0, had her maiden flight incredible srace of time of a mere six .t1so.The Armyfinallyoptedfor the orth
theflap, withasinglefull spanslaton the from Dundalk on I Arril 1935, piloted by weeks, the fir t A-16 was piloted by test merican product, probably influenced ~y
centre section and srlit flaps on the outer Eddie Allen,afteramere nineweeksgesta pilot Eddie Allen on I April, carrying the the special case of maintenance fearure
panels, although of course the wing area tion reriod. he was also flown and te ted standard blue fuselage and yellow wings Kmdleberger had built in." Whatever the
wa much smaller. AII control surfaces, by both orth American Company and training colours. he was pronounced truth ofthe matter he proved a great suc
however, were fabric-covered, except for U AA military test pilot out of Logan ready to compete in the U AAC Basic cess and was declared the winner of the
the vertical and horizontal stabili:ers, Field, Baltimore, Maryland, which hadjust Trainer Competition later that same comretition.
which were of stressed skin aluminum been made orerational. ubsequentlysub month at Wright Field, hio, where she Pleased as they were with North Ameri
composition. mitted to the U AAC in February 1935, duly arrived on the 22nd of the month. lim's contribution (the NA-16 being the
she wasenthusiastically received by them.' Before the trials she was fitted with a fully fIrst aircrafttocarrythecorporation'sname
3. O.t/Jlicatiun of handling characteristics of However,adelayensued,which wascaused enclosed cockpit." The other ontestants II1toproduction), the Army wasnotentire
comhat aircraft. Great arc and attention by the re-organization under the aegis of providedstiffopposition.OnewastheSev ly uncritical. They insisted on a numberof
was paid by the design team to ensure that orth American and the subsequent ersky SEV-3XAR, which performed well alterations to the basicdesign beforeallow
the GA-16, as ncar as possible, duplicated intended move to California. Thus it was enough to be rewarded with a contract for ingfull-scale productiontoproceed. gen
the handling, performance and take eral 'c1ean-ur'ofthe aircraft wascalled for,
off/landing characteristics of the single which included adding fairings to stream
engined combat aircraft that the young line the landinggear legsand the fitting of
pilots would eventually have to fly. This small,detachable'spats'tothe insideofthe
made transition from student pilot toqual wheels. Thecockpitceased to be twosera TheST-9assheappeared in1936withfull 'greenhouse'canopyandenormousDfF
ified pur uitorattack rilot easierand more rateand widercompartments,eachoren to loopbelowtheforwardfuselage. RockwellInternational
rapid, a major rlus in what was soon to the clements, and became a fully enclosed
become a mas ively expanding rilot train 'greenhouse', with liding canorie' for
ingrrogramme,aseventsin Europeandthe access.Toimrroveengineperformance,the
FarEast led, with increa ingly inevitability, (lriginal small air intake atop the forward 16-1 re-worked at Dundalk in the GP largestorders placed by the AAC. The
x-e08D
to the onsetofwar. fuselage abaft the NACA engine cowling mould for demonstration purposes, de first move amewith the tran:ferofsev'n
was much enlarged. The wingspan of42ft signed to be customized into a two-placed ty-five key employees from the comrany
4. Fixed landing gear. At a time when (13m) inner toouterwingflange wasfitted pursuit, a two-place light bomberorasin headquarters at Dundalk to Inglewood,
thoughts in design were increasingly turn with ahalf-round coverto improveairflow. gle-place fighter. Options were also avail California,on ovember 1935.
ing to fully or partially retractable landing In addition to the Army's alterations to able to fit retractable landing gear. As The brand-nell', custom-built factory
gear, to provide for smoother air flow and the A-16, orth American put forward C/ C-2080 this aircraft continued to adjoined the runway: of Mines Field,
greater speed in both fighter and bomber their own modifications and imrrove undergo transformations as it was paraded which later became Los Angeles Airrort
aircraft, the GA-16 design retained the ments. The main powerplant was to be before potential customers, until it was (L X); this meant that flight testing and
fixed landing gear with a single oleo leg rerlaced by a more powerful Pratt and finally sold to rgentina two years later.'1 the flying away of production aircraft was
mounted close to the centre-wing section Whitney R-1340 Wasr radial developing The modifications, both Army (accept mu h simplified. The more clement li
leading edge. This was a deliberate choice CarryingthecivilianregistrationX-2080isthefirstoftheline,the originalconfigura 600hp. They also proposed that machine ed) and North Am'rican (rejected), 1l1,1t' also helped, enabling all-year round
forstrength, in much thesamewaythatthe tionofwhatwasnowthe NA-16,seenhereatDundalk,Maryland,inApril1935.Note gunsbefitted for bothoffenceanddefence, changed the company designation to the flying and the area had a large, skilied,
GermanJunkersJu 87 Scul<.a" and japanese theopencockpitlayoutandoverall bluepaintschemeofthe USAACeventhough with two fixed forward-firing 0.30 calibre NA-19" and the first contract wasawarded labour force from which to recruit. The
ichi D3Al7 dive-bombers were to be stillaworksspeculativemachine. RockwellInternational from thecowling,withasingle0.30-calibre by the US C on 3 October 1935, for new factory officially opened on that site
designed and forsimilarreasons.They were machine gun on a flexible mounting car forty-two ofthe new trainers, at a total cost in january 1936, which initially totall'd
meant to operate in rough, tough condi ried in theaftercockrit.This latterarming of 560,000. These received the Armydes some 15 ,67 ft: (14,741111') of fa tory
tions: the German aircraft from forward was not acceptable to the U Armyat this ignation BT-9.A lateralterationwasthefit floorarea. tate-of-the-artfearures includ
airstripsclose to the front line in fast-mov reriod, but wasrrobablybroughton by the ting of a higher cockrit canopy than that ed maximum useofthisareabyalternating
ing land warfare scenarios; the japanese needfor orthAmerican tosell thetypeto featured on the prototype, which gave high bay 'ections with two-story se tions.
from the deck of carrier. In both cases, foreign purchasers, whose airarms' limited improvedcrewheadroom.Thefirst produc The mezzanine and sub-mezzanine floors
hard landings and wear-and-tear were resources might require the aircraft to per tion BT-9 was flown by te t pilot Paul Bal in the two-storeysections were utilized for
expectedtobeminimizedbyholdingoutfor form otherduties inaddition tobasictrain fouron 15 April 1936. the fabrication and a sembly of rarts and
a fixed undercarriage. In thesame way, the ing. As such, the selling line was that the subassemblies, which were then led into
expected treatment of any basic training aircraft was notju t a BTbut in fact agen thefinal assemblyareaslocated in thehigh
aircraft (BT) wa less than gentle landings, eral purrose(GP)de ign,which might~et Transfer of North American baysections. Again, largerassembliesfrom
andsothesamepolicywasadopted,atleast terfit theirvariou requirement.Theabil to California these subassembly area were transported
for the time being. The landing gear leg ity to mountsuch armamentson the basic byoverhead monorails to the main assem
itselfwas notshielded in any way. BT design wa a good selling point, esre The decision to up-sticks and move the bly areas, the first use of this method of
ccordingtothe policyofthe time, BTs cially south ofthe border. entire orth American Corporation from conveyorsystems in the aircraft industry.II
did notcarryanytyreofdefensiveoroffen As the AT-18-1, initiated on 13 May the restricted fa ilities at Dundalk to the At the time ofthe opening ofthe new
Thesameaircraftseenon26August1935,butnowknown asthe NA-18withan
sive armaments, either fixed or flexible enclosedcockpitastested bytheAirCorpsatWrightFieldinJuneand accepted. 1935, this concept was drawn up with wideropen spaces of alifornia was influ plant,just 150men were ready to move in,
machineguns,astraininginair-to-aircom Shealsosportsthe largerengine,twinO.30-calibrenoseguns,wheelfairingsand Argentina as the principal potential cus enced by the rlacing of the BT-9 orders, and both the first tooling and machinery
batdid notcomeintothesyllabusuntil AT, othermodificationsaswellasanewpaintjob. RockwellInternational tomer. Basically this was the original NA- which at that time had been one of the had been transported west and was being
12 13
BUILDING ON SUCCESS lit IIDINC; ON Sll(TESS
installed. By 1September 1939, this tiny fleet and the bulk were assigned to Ran extremestarboard-wing leading edge, to a Wright Field, both with and without a problems. Sh· became the solitary BT-9D contract AC-9345, Navy requisition 327
force had expanded to 3,400 - a remark dolph Field, Texas, the USAAC flight position further inboard closer to the in NACA cowl, in June and July 1937. She an lied to th· RT-14. 37, for forty specially modified machines
ablegrowth record even for the period. To school, and known as rhe West Point of built landing light. was proposed for USAAC use, as the A for avy use. These became the J-1.
cope with such an expansion, the original the Air. In view of the future nomencla Equally radical was the gun mounting: 16-1,buther lackofpowerfound noenthu NA-26
thinkingapplied totheaircraftdesignswas ture and progression of the AT-6 as the for the first time in USAAC trainers, of siasm in the United States. NJ-I
alsogiven overto thesmooth runningand Texan, this proved to he an auspicious the two 0.30-calibre Browning M-l A new prototype was produced on 20
organization of the plant. Kindleberger choice' After some weeks in service, yet machine guns, one, with 200 rounds per NA-23 October 1936, in response to the USAAC The Navy had long lacked a high-perfor
established an apprentice trainingdepart another modification wascalled for by the gun, was forward-firing and mounted Basic Combat Trainer ompetition, pro mance instrument training aircraft wirh a
ment but, more than this, the whole basic Army, and this was the retrospective fit inside thestarboardenginecowling, while On I December 1936, order AC-9345 for posaI37-220. he featured the basic NA closed cockpit, and with the development
concept was redesigned around the break tingofleading-edgeslatstotheouter-wing the other, with 500 rounds per gun, was 117 of this model was placed for rhe 18configuration, but kept the fabric-cov of its new dive and torpedo bombing
ing down of job structuring into simple leading edges to minimize or negate the defensive, on a flexible mounting locared USAAC, and they entered service as the ered fuselage panels. Wingspan was monoplanes, to equip the new Essex class
segments, in the same way as the BT-19 potentially lethal wing-tip stall tendency in the rear cockpit. Type K-3B cameras BT-9B. increased by one foot and the wing area aircraft carriers being built for the fleet,
parts were broken down to facilitate fast that the early production aircraft were could replace both these guns ifrequired.
production. In the design stage, large found to have. The rear section of the forward cockpit
assemblies were systematically broken Thiswasanotherfirstforthe AirCorps. was mobile and could be slid backward to
down intosmallerpartstoaid this process. They failed to fully solve the problem and provide a windshield for the rear-scat
Initially the jigs and tools for the 161 sets some aircraft had stall-controlstrips fitted instructor. Some carried the type R-16
ofSOC-I metal floats were utilized to for from 1941 onward. inter-telephoneset, but the radiocompass
mulate this revolutionary policy, '...these Alsoin thespringof1941,survivingair and marker beacon ofthe BT-9 was omit
large metal floats, or pontoonsoften stood craft had the fabric areasoftheirfuselages ted from the rear cockpit.
side-by-sideon theassemblyfloorwith the stripped away. These sections were
first units of the BT-9...'.'4 This enabled replaced with spare meral-covered side
NA-20
the company to build up its work force in panels from the current production line.
preparation for the trainer and observa Further developments of this successful This design was an adaptarion ofthe GP
tion work that followed, and ensured a type followed thick-and-fast from 1936 type and a single demonstrarion machine
smooth transition. onward. Developments included major was produced ( A-16-2). With the civil
The company set new standards in cus orders for the USAAC and Army ian registration NR-16025 she was used to
tomer care, and by producing its aircraft Reserve, with many modifications; the show offthe GP potential to the Chinese
on rime, oreven early,gained ,1 high repu heginning of US Navy interest (and the Government and featured a Wright
tation very quickly in rhe aviation indus adoption of a different powerplant); Whirlwind radial engine and carried two
try - a stark contrast to rhen (and nowl) the sale of the design rights to Australia, 0.30-calibre machine guns. Orders for
current practice. Lee Atwood was quoted thus initiating that country's production similar aircraft (see NA-4I) resulted.
asputtingrhisdown to the resultof, 'intel of the Commonwealth Win'away and Subsequently refitted with the Pratt
ligentapplication ofall forms ofmass pro Boomerang types; and numerous one-offs and Whitney 550hp Wasp radial, and
duction aids to the problemsat hand, plus and small hatches as foreign buyers, from with two OJO-calibre machine guns and
a high spirit of teamwork throughout the all partsofthe globe, took an increasingly light bomb racks below the centre section
organisation'.1i keen interest in North American's new ofthe fuselage, according to thespecifica
product. These many variants arc summa tion ofthe Government ofHonduras, on
rized helow. 9 December 1937she became the NA-16
BT-9 2H (H = Honduras) carryingcivilian reg ThesolitaryNA-22(NA-19-11.AC36-36)whichwastheNAAentryfortheAirCorpsCircularProposalNo.
istration NC-16025. 36-288(PTDemonstration)heldon7July1936.ShewaspoweredbyaWrightR-760ET(J-6-7)Whirlwind
NA-19A
Despitethe upheavalofthe movewest, this enginewhichdeveloped225hp.Noticesherevertedtotheopencockpitconfiguration.
first hatch of trainers, order number AC This model wasordered by the USAAC to RockwellInternational
NA-16-2H
7881, wereproducedand the initialaircraft equip their organized reserve units, forty
first took to the air on 15 April 1936, with beingproduced in theserial rangesNA-19 The resultanr machine was one of many
production deliveries, still painted in blue 4, A-19-12(19, NA-19-34(49 and NA one-offs designed wirh specific Larin BT-9B went up by sevensquare feet. The power the need was more acute than ever.
and yellow ar this period, following very 19-68(83. They became the BT-9A. Americanconditions and requirements in plant was the Pratt and Whitney R-1304 However, among the many changes
quickly. The engine remained the 400hp mind, and was delivered to Tegucigalpa The -B reverted to the pure training role 40 Wasp radial. This aircraft became the required for carrier usage, an additional
Wright R-975-7 Whirlwind that drove a airfield by company pilot Harold White and carried no armament whatsoever. BC-I. In DougMacPhail's words, 'thiswas fa tor complicateJ matters. The Wright
BT-9A
two-bladed propeller. The gross weight of on 4 March 1938, where she was evaluar The lack of a machine gun in the rear the aircraft which unleashed the unearth R-975 was exclusively an Army engine,
the early BT-9 came out at 3,8601b The main differences that the -A had ed hy the Cuerpo de Aviacion Militar cockpit enabled a section of the rear ly howl ofthe Harvard on the world'.'" the Navy had none in its inventory and
(1,750kg) and performance was unexcep over the basic BT-9 were both stability Hondurena (the Honduran Milirary canopy to be fixed and therefore made they required the more tried-and-trusted
tional. The maximum speed was 175mph driven. The overall length ofthe fuselage Aviarion Corps). stronger. Most were initially assigned to NA-28 Pratt and Whitney R-1340-6 Wasp
(280km(h), with a cruise speed 20mph was increased by 5 inches, and the lead Randolph Field, Texas. engine, which developed 550hp, for the
(32km(h) below this figure. The range was ing-edge slats introduced to obviate the The United States avy was very keen to job. The Army had meanwhile moved on
NA-22
an acceptable 810 miles (l,300km), with a wing-tip stall problem were replaced by a BT-9D adopt the newNorth American trainerfor to the NA-29 and this was taken as the
service ceiling of 19,000ft (5,800m) and a complete re-design oftheouter-wing lead This was a further modification ofthe GP theirown n ed ,but they lackedsufficient base for the modified naval aircraft to be
rate of climb of 1,051ft(min (320m(min). ing edge. This incorporated a 2° washout, concepr, fitted with a 225hp Wright R One BT-9B aircraft was altered with pan funds to pia e any ontracts at this time. built upon.
They proved popular and welcome which helped considerably. This meant 760ET (]-6-7) Whirlwind engine. She was els, as in the BC-I ,and new tail surfaces Instead, orders were pia ed through the After experiments with the YIBT-IO
additions to rhe Army's training aircraft shifting the pilUt tube, located on rhe flown as No. 36-28 (PT Demonstrator) at in another effort to overcome the stall USAAC on 14 December 1936, under (see below), rhe Navy was convinced this
74 75
BUILDING 0 I S CCESS III II DING 0,", Sl(TESS
combination fitted their lill and the fir t V 50 at Corry Field, Florida, serving as four more was imultaneously ordered for
YIBT-JO
order for forty machine wa placed on 14 in trument trainers. Three (serials 0927, the reserve units, and these had the serial
December 1936. They received the desig 0931 and 0947) weresentoutto the West numbers 29-505/53 . They were basically A modification from the first BT-9
nation of NJ-I (Navy category identifier, Coast at AS San Diego, and then two the same as the -B but the lines were ( A-29) rroduction order for the
= trainer; avy comrany identifier, J = were later re-assigned back to Anacostia, smoothed up, some with canvas-covered USAAC was built (s/n 29-385) and
orth merican; and mark number = I). Maryland, while one, (0931) was retained walkways for access on the wings' centre received the designation YIBT-IO. She
The different engine necessitated cosmet with VB-3 from the carrier Saratoga. section. teps were also fitted on the r0rt carried the Army experimental designa
ic changes to the engine cowling: the sin Many ended up as instructional airframes side ofthe cockpit. They featured the wing tion ofYIBT-l0, later modified to BT-lO.
gle exhaust stack of the Wright, which from 1943 onward. leading-edge slats, and carried a single for he was fittcd with a 600hp Wright R
protruded from the starboard edge of the ward-firing0.30-ealibremachinegun in the 1340-4J engine on arrival at Wright Field
front cowl, wa replaced by twin exhaust engine cowling, as well as an after-firing on I Novcmber 1936.
NA-29
stacks positioned beneath the rear cowl gun on a flexible mounting. They al 0 fea
section. The two vents either side of the Further modifications brought forth the tured a avy-type fixed tele'copiegunsight
BT-JO
rearcowl section from the Wright's 'ngine A-29, which the U AACwasenthusias mounted forward ofthe rilot's windshield,
were done away with completely. Finally, tic enough about to place two new orders with the radio mastoffsetto rort toaccom Wright Field's exhaustivc tcsting was
thesmall air intake mounted atop the rear for, on 22 December 1936. They showed modate it. A type T-3A camera could be imprcssiveenough for thc USAACto on
of the cowl for the BT-9 was relocated only a slight cleaning ur ofthe -B design. carried but the marker beacon and radio sider a production run as thc NA-30/BT
with a much largerfitting at the front ven These two batches became the BT-9C. compass were omitted. 10,butnothingfinally cameofthis idea. In
tral position ofthe cowling. Novcmher \94\, this solitary aircraft was
Delivery of the first aircraft was on 3 flown to Mines Field, Los Angelesand was
BT-9C
July 1937. Afterservice at Pensacola, one later purchased by thc Re onstruction
ThenightshiftatInglewoodwithT-6sforawhole
aircraft (Bu a 0949) was fitted with a A batch of thirty-two of these machine Finance Corporation, finally ending hcr
rangeofcustomersstackingupintheyardoutside.
Wright R-134 -I radial engine in March was ordered for the AAC on 22 life at the niversity of anta Barbara
TwoCITUaircraftcanbeseenfarleft,withboth
1940and survived thus until31 July 1944. Decemher 1936, and received serial num USAACandRAFmarkedaircraftintheforeground Ailfield (now anta Barbara Municipal
The bulkofthese aircraft were assigned to bers 29-353/3 4. second batch ofthirty- andbackground. RockwellInternational Airport).
NA-30
The YIBT-l0 concept was taken furthcr
in this design but never got beyond the
drawing board. The Army wa already
convinced that the combination of the
BT-9C and the Pratt and Whitneyenginc
would 'uit thcir purposcsadmirably, while
the U placed order' for the first bat h
ofwhat was to becomc the J-I.
NA-3J OnthelineatInglewood.Working ontheenginefitting sectionwith anexcellent
viewofthebigradial.Aircraftintheforegroundcarriesthenumber165onher
Eurorcan interest had been aroused and stripedtail. RockwellInternational
Fokker in Holland was not the only com
pany in that part ofthe world to want to
cvaluate the orth American's merits.
general order was issued on February based on this de ign. They also obtained
'A-32
1937 and the machinc wasdelivercd on 2 the licence for the Wright R-975-E
Augu,t 1937. Thi single rrototype was engine, which developed 455hp.Theseair The Australianshad for longseen the need
delivered as the A-16-4M. craft received the wedish designation k to produce their own aircraft and become
14and were produced in three batches, (6 semi-independent of the British mother
3/609; 672/699; and 5810/5827) from May land, whom, as the louds of war fast
NAJ64M
1939 onward. A further batch of twenty approached, they knew would bc increas
As a rcsult of a hard sales pitch, the threemorewereconstructedand fitted with ingly hard-pressed to meet their own
Swedish Air Force took deliveryofa single the Piaggio P VlIc RC-35 radial engine, needs, letalonesupply ustl'alia, hefaced
aircraft (s/n 31-3 6) builtwith theirspecial which developed 525hp, as the Skl4a. Yet her own threats from a militant Japan, a
needs in mind. Thi aircraft was delivered a third batch was constructed by AAB in threatwhich London viewed with les con
to Sweden on 15 ovember 1937 and wa May 1942. omeofthe aircraft were used cern than events closer to them in
uscd as a prototype for a licence-built vcr astestbedsforvariou concepts,onehaving Germany, Italy and pain. There was a
.,ionby .B. venskaJarnvagsverkstaderna a ski undercarriage instead of wheels; four need to establish an exclUSively Au.tralian
(ASJA) and later bySAAB. other were fitted with tricycle undercar production industry and the Common
ASJ licence-builtfifty-three aircraftfor riages to trial the y tern for the SAAB T wealth Aircraft Corporation Pty Ltd
the Royal wedish Air Force (Flygvapnet) 2lA fighter programm'. (CAC) was set up on 17 October 1936.
16 17