| AT-10 Wichita | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Military trainer aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Beechcraft |
| First flight | 1941 |
| Introduction | 1942 |
| Primary user | United States Army Air Forces |
| Produced | 1942-1944 |
| Number built | 2,371 |
The Beechcraft AT-10 Wichita was a World War II trainer built for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) by Beechcraft and the Globe Aircraft Company. It was used to train pilots for multi-engined aircraft such as bombers.
Development[]
"The flag of the United States and colors of the AAF Training Command Pilot School, George Field, Ill, flying overhead, the AT-10s flown by cadets taking advanced training."
Beechcraft began designing the Model 25 early in 1940 in response to the requirement of the then-named United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) for a small twin-engined aircraft suitable for use in training student pilots in the handling of multi-engined retractable landing gear aircraft. As there were concerns at the time about a future possible shortage of aluminium, part of the requirement was that the aircraft be built of "non-strategic" materials. Beechcraft met this requirement by designing the aircraft to be built primarily from wood.[1] The Model 25 prototype was given to the USAAC for evaluation, but it was destroyed in a crash on May 5, 1941. The following day Beechcraft began work on the Model 26, which was soon ready, making its first flight on July 19 the same year. The type was accepted and deliveries began to the USAAF under the designation AT-10 in February 1942 at a time when US military fortunes were at their nadir. The type was named "Wichita" after Wichita, Kansas, the location of the Beechcraft factory. By the end of 1942 748 had been delivered and were playing a part in training crews for the vast fleets of bomber and transport aircraft that were pouring off factory production lines all over the United States. Beechcraft production terminated in 1943 after it had delivered 1,771 AT-10s. Globe Aircraft built another 600 before production finally ceased the following year.
Operators[]
Specifications[]
Data from American Warplanes of World War II [2]
General characteristics
- Crew: Two
- Length: 34 ft 4 in (10.46 m)
- Wingspan: 44 ft 0 in (13.41 m)
- Height: 10 ft 4 in [3] (3.15 m)
- Wing area: 298 ft² (27.7 m²)
- Empty weight: 4,750 lb (2,155 kg)
- Max. takeoff weight: 6,130 lb (2,781 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Lycoming R-680-9 air-cooled radial engine, 295 hp (220 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 198 mph (172 knots, 319 km/h)
- Range: 770 mi (970 nmi, 1,240 km)
- Service ceiling: 16,900 ft (5,150 m)
- Wing loading: 20.6 lb/ft² (100 kg/m²)
- Power/mass: 0.096 hp/lb (0.16 kW/kg)
See also[]
References[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beechcraft AT-10. |
- Notes
- ↑ "Error: no
|title=specified when using {{Cite web}}". March 1944. p. 20. - ↑ Donald 1995, p.8.
- ↑ Air Force Museum Fact Sheet. National Museum of the US Air Force. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
- Bibliography
- Donald, David (editor.) American Warplanes of World War II. London:Aerospace Publishing, 1995. ISBN 1-874023-72-7.
- Phillips, Edward H. Beechcraft - Pursuit of Perfection, A History of Beechcraft Airplanes. Eagan, Minnesota:Flying Books, 1992. ISBN 0-911139-11-7.
- Taylor, M. J. H. ed. Jane's American Fighting Aircraft of the 20th Century Mallard Press. ISBN 0-7924-5627-0
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The original article can be found at Beechcraft AT-10 Wichita and the edit history here.