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T-6 Texan/SNJ/Harvard
AT-6C Texans in flight 1943
USAAF AT-6Cs near Luke Field, 1943
Role Trainer aircraft
Manufacturer North American Aviation
First flight 1 April 1935
Primary users United States Army Air Forces
United States Navy
Royal Air Force
South African Air Force
Number built 15,495
Developed from North American NA-16
Variants North American A-27

The North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s. Designed by North American Aviation, the T-6 is known by a variety of designations depending on the model and operating air force. The USAAC and USAAF designated it as the AT-6, the United States Navy the SNJ, and British Commonwealth air forces, the Harvard, the name it is best known by outside of the US. After 1962, US forces designated it the T-6. It remains a popular warbird aircraft used for airshow demonstrations and static displays. It has also been used many times to simulate the Japanese Mitsubishi Zero in movies depicting WWII in the Pacific.

Development[]

T-6s - a Texan II and a Texan too

An original T-6 Texan aircraft (painted as a US Navy SNJ), right, with the new T-6 Texan II, left, at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, in 2007

South Africa-Friends of the Airforce-T6-Texan(Hardward)01

A South African Air Force Harvard under restoration exposing internal structure

Harvard cockpits-001

Student (L, front) and instructor (R, aft) cockpits

The Texan originated from the North American NA-16 prototype (first flown on April 1, 1935) which, modified as the NA-26, was submitted as an entry for a USAAC "Basic Combat" aircraft competition in March, 1937. The first model went into production and 180 were supplied to the USAAC as the BC-1 and 400 to the RAF as the Harvard I. The US Navy received 16 modified aircraft, designated the SNJ-1, and a further 61 as the SNJ-2 with a different engine.

The BC-1 was the production version of the NA-26 prototype, with retractable tailwheel landing gear and the provision for armament, a two-way radio, and the 550 hp (410 kW) R-1340-47 engine as standard equipment. Production versions included the BC-1 (Model NA-36) with only minor modifications (177 built), of which 30 were modified as BC-1I instrument trainers; the BC-1A (NA-55) with airframe revisions (92 built); and a single BC-1B with a modified wing center-section.

Three BC-2 aircraft were built before the shift to the "advanced trainer" designation, AT-6, which was equivalent to the BC-1A. The differences between the AT-6 and the BC-1 were new outer wing panels with a swept forward trailing edge, squared-off wingtips and a triangular rudder, producing the canonical Texan silhouette. After a change to the rear of the canopy, the AT-6 was designated the Harvard II for RAF/RCAF orders and 1,173 were supplied by purchase or Lend Lease, mostly operating in Canada as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.

Next came the AT-6A which was based on the NA-77 design and was powered by the Pratt & Whitney R-1340-49 Wasp radial engine. The USAAF received 1,549 and the US Navy 270 (as the SNJ-3). The AT-6B was built for gunnery training and could mount a .30 in machine gun on the forward fuselage. It used the R-1340-AN-1 engine, which was to become the standard for the remaining T-6 production. Canada's Noorduyn Aviation built an R-1340-AN-1-powered version of the AT-6A, which was supplied to the USAAF as the AT-16 (1,500 aircraft) and the RAF/RCAF as the Harvard IIB (2,485 aircraft), some of which also served with the Fleet Air Arm and Royal Canadian Navy.

In late 1937 Mitsubushi purchased two NA-16s as technology demonstrators and possibly a licence to build more. However, the aircraft developed by Watanabe/Kyushu as the K10W1 (Allied code name Oak) bore no more than a superficial resemblance to the North American design. It featured a full monocoque fuselage as opposed to the steel tube fuselage of the T-6 and NA-16 family of aircraft, as well as being of smaller dimensions overall and had no design details in common with the T-6. It was used in very small numbers by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1942 onwards. After the war the Japanese Air Self Defense Force operated Texans.

The NA-88 design resulted in 2,970 AT-6C Texans and 2,400 as the SNJ-4. The RAF received 726 of the AT-6C as the Harvard IIA. Modifications to the electrical system produced the AT-6D (3,713 produced) and SNJ-5 (1,357 produced). The AT-6D, redesignated the Harvard III, was supplied to the RAF (351 aircraft) and Fleet Air Arm (564 aircraft). The AT-6G (SNJ-5) involved major advancements including a full-time hydraulic system and a steerable tailwheel and persisted into the 1950s as the USAF advanced trainer.

Subsequently the NA-121 design with a completely clear rearmost section on the canopy, gave rise to 25 AT-6F Texans for the USAAF and 931, as the SNJ-6 for the US Navy. The ultimate version, the Harvard 4, was produced by Canada Car and Foundry during the 1950s, and supplied to the RCAF, USAF and Bundeswehr.

A total of 15,495 T-6s of all variants were built.

Operational history[]

Combat use[]

20 AT-6 Texans were employed by the 1st and 2nd fighter squadrons of the Syrian Air Force in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, providing ground support for Syrian troops, and launching air strikes against Israeli airfields, ships, and columns, losing one aircraft to anti-aircraft fire. They also engaged in air to air combat on a number of occasions, with a tail gunner shooting down an Israeli Avia S-199 fighter.[1]

FAC T-6 with phosphor rockets in Korea

A USAF T-6 forward air control aircraft in Korea.

The Royal Hellenic Air Force employed three squadrons of British and American supplied T-6D and G Texans for close air support, observation, and artillery spotting duties during the Greek Civil War, providing extensive support to the Greek army during the Battle of Grammos. Communist guerillas called these aircraft "O Galatas" ("The Milkman"), because they were flying very early in the morning. After the "Milkmen", the guerillas waited for the armed Spitfires.

During the Korean War and, to a lesser extent, the Vietnam War, T-6s were pressed into service as forward air control aircraft. These aircraft were designated T-6 "Mosquitos".[2] No. 1340 Flight RAF used the Harvard in Kenya against the Mau Mau in the 1950s, where they operated with 20 lb bombs and machine guns against the gangs. Some operations took place at altitudes around 20,000 ft above mean sea level. A Harvard was the longest-serving RAF aeroplane, with an example, taken on strength in 1945, still serving in the 1990s (as a chase plane for helicopter test flights—a role for which the Shorts Tucano's high stall speed was ill-suited). The T-6G was also used in a light attack or counter insurgency role by France during the Algerian war in special Escadrilles d'Aviation Légère d'Appui (EALA), armed with machine guns, bombs and rockets. At its peak, there were 38 EALAs active. The largest unit was the Groupe d'Aviation Légère d'Appui 72, which consisted of up to 21 EALAs. From 1961 to 1975, Portugal, also, used hundreds of T-6G in the counter insurgency role during the Portuguese Colonial War. During this war, almost all the Portuguese Air Force bases and air fields in Angola, Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea had a detachment of T-6Gs. In 1955, Argentine Army SNJ-4s were dispatched to attack government troops on June 16 during the Revolución Libertadora and one was shot down by a loyalist Gloster Meteor. One November 18, 1963 Argentine Navy SNJs attacked a loyalist column. Argentine Navy SNJ-4s were also were used by the Colorado rebels in the 1963 Argentine Naval Mutiny, launching attacks on the 8th Regimiento de Caballería de Tanques on April 2 and 3, knocking out several M4 Sherman tanks but losing one SNJ to anti-aircraft fire.[3] In 1957-58, the Spanish Air Force used T-6s as counterinsurgency aircraft in the Ifni War, armed with machine guns, iron bombs and rockets, achieving an excellent reputation due to its reliability, safety record and resistance to damage.

The Pakistan Air Force used T-6Gs in the 1971 war as a night ground support aircraft hitting soft transport vehicles of the Indian army. In the early hours of 5 December, during a convoy interdiction mission in the same area, Squadron Leader Israr Quresh's T-6G Harvard was hit by Indian anti-aircraft ground fire and a shell fractured the pilot’s right arm. Profusely bleeding, the pilot flew the aircraft back with his left hand and landed safely. The World War II vintage prop-engined trainers were pressed into service and performed satisfactorily in the assigned role of convoy escorters at night. T-6s remained in service, mainly as a result of the United Nations arms embargo against South Africa's Apartheid policies, with the South African Air Force as a basic trainer until 1995. They were replaced by Pilatus PC-7MkII turboprop trainers.[4]

Recent research testbed[]

The Harvard 4 has also been recently used in Canada as a testbed aircraft for evaluating cockpit attitude displays. Its aerobatic capability permits the instructor pilot to maneuver the ship into unusual attitudes, then turn the craft over to an evaluator pilot in the "blind" rear cockpit to recover, based on one of several digitally-generated attitude displays.[5]

Variants[]

Operators[]

SNJ washed

WAVES washing an SNJ at NAS Jacksonville, Florida, USA.

RSAF T-6 Texan

Saudi Air Force Have T-6 Texan

Flag of Argentina Argentina
Flag of Austria Austria
North American T-6G Texan 5

Belgian Air Force T-6G

Flag of Belgium (civil) Belgium
Flag of Biafra Biafra
GW T6-RIAT05

Restored Canadian Harvard II at 2005 Royal International Air Tattoo

Flag of Bolivia Bolivia
Flag of Brazil Brazil
Canadian Red Ensign 1921-1957 Canada
Texan AT-6

Colombian Air Force AT-6 Texan during World War II.

Flag of the Republic of China Republic of China (Taiwan)
Flag of Chile Chile
Flag of Colombia Colombia
Flag of the Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo
Flag of Cuba Cuba
Flag of Denmark Denmark
North American Harvard

Danish Harvard II

Flag of the Dominican Republic Dominican Republic
Flag of El Salvador El Salvador
Flag of France France
Flag of Gabon Gabon
NA T6 Luftwaffe

Restored T-6D in Luftwaffe markings

CAFAirshowFormation

Formation flying at the Commemorative Air Force Airsho 2008 (sic)

SNJ-5

War Dog, an SNJ-5 painted in MCAS El Toro colors, seen during a 2004 airshow.

Flag of Germany Germany
Flag of Greece (1828-1978) Greece
Flag of Haiti Haiti
Flag of Hong Kong 1959 Hong Kong
Flag of Honduras Honduras
Flag of India India
Flag of Indonesia Indonesia
Flag of Iran Iran
Flag of Israel Israel
Flag of Italy Italy
Flag of Japan Japan
North American Harvard at Onerahi Aerodrome, New Zealand 1961

RNZAF Harvards at Onerahi Aerodrome, near Whangarei, New Zealand in 1961.

Flag of Katanga Katanga
  • Force Aérienne Katangaise[6]
Flag of Lebanon Lebanon
Flag of South Korea Republic of Korea
Laos
  • Royal Laotian Air Force
Flag of Mexico Mexico
Flag of Morocco Morocco
Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands
Flag of Mozambique Mozambique
Flag of New Zealand New Zealand - 1 maintained for historic flight
Flag of Norway Norway - 1 maintained for historic flight
T 6

T-6G in Portuguese Air Force museum

Flag of Nicaragua Nicaragua
Flag of Pakistan Pakistan
Flag of Paraguay Paraguay
SNJ-4 Texan 7667

South African Air Force Harvard IIA (equivalent to the AT-6C) in World War II era markings

Flag of the Philippines Philippines
Flag of Portugal Portugal
Flag of South Africa 1928-1994 South Africa
Harvard AT-6 Syrian Air Force

Syrian Harvard

Flag of Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia
Flag of South Vietnam South Vietnam
Flag of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia
Flag of Spain Spain
T-6 Texan 1

Restored Harvard II in RAF desert camouflage colours

Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union
Flag of Sweden Sweden
  • Swedish Air Force 145 Harvard IIb as Sk 16A, 106 T-6A, T-6B, SNJ-3, SNJ-4 as Sk 16B and 6 SNJ-2 as Sk 16C.
Flag of Switzerland  Switzerland
Flag of Syria Syria
Flag of Thailand Thailand
Flag of Tunisia Tunisia
Flag of Turkey Turkey
T-6Texan93222

T-6G Texan fly by at 2010 - Hillsboro AirShow in Oregon, USA

US flag 48 stars United States
Flag of Uruguay Uruguay
T-6G Texan

T-6G Texan in Uruguayan Air Force Aeronautic Museum in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Flag of Venezuela Venezuela
Flag of SFR Yugoslavia Yugoslavia
Flag of Zaire Zaire

Specifications (T-6G)[]

SNJ BuAer 3 side view

Line drawings for the T-6/SNJ

Data from Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II[7]

General characteristics

  • Crew: two (student and instructor)
  • Length: 29 ft (8.84 m)
  • Wingspan: 42 ft (12.81 m)
  • Height: 11 ft 8 in (3.57 m)
  • Wing area: 253.7 ft² (23.6 m²)
  • Empty weight: 4,158 lb (1,886 kg)
  • Loaded weight: 5,617 lb (2,548 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN-1 Wasp radial engine, 600 hp (450 kW)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 208 mph at 5,000 ft (335 km/h at 1,500 m)
  • Cruise speed: 145 mph (233 km/h)
  • Range: 730 miles (1,175 km)
  • Service ceiling: 24,200 ft (7,400 m)
  • Rate of climb: 1200ft/min (6.1 m/s)
  • Wing loading: 22.2 lb/ft² (108 kg/m²)
  • Power/mass: 0.11 hp/lb (kW/kg)

Armament

  • Provision for up to 3× 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun
  • In popular culture[]

    After World War II, the National Air Races established a unique racing class for the AT-6/Texan/Harvard aircraft; This class continues today at the Reno National Air Races each year.

    Mitsubishi-zero-replica-l

    Mitsubishi Zero replica modified from a T-6 for the movie Tora! Tora! Tora!

    Since the Second World War, the T-6 has been a regular participant at air shows, and was used in many movies. For example, in Tora! Tora! Tora! and The Final Countdown, converted single-seat T-6s painted in Japanese markings represent Mitsubishi Zeros, whereas in A Bridge too Far it represented the razorback Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. Some were modified for the Dutch film Soldaat van Oranje to represent the Dutch pre-World War II fighter Fokker D.XXI. The T-6 also appeared in the Pat Benatar video for Shadows of the Night. The New Zealand Warbirds "Roaring 40s" aerobatic team use ex-Royal New Zealand Air Force Harvards.

    See also[]

    References[]

    Notes[]

    Bibliography[]

    • Becker, Dave and Brent, Winston. AT-6 Harvard in South African Service (African Aviation Series No.1). Nelspruit, South Africa:, Freeworld Publications CC, 2000. ISBN 0-9583880-2-4.
    • Bergése, Francis. North American T-6 (in French). Rennes, France: Ouest France, 1979. ISBN 2-85882-183-6.
    • Davis, Larry. T-6 Texan in Action (Aircraft Number 94). Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1989. ISBN 0-89747-224-1.
    • Donald, David. American Warplanes of World War II. London:Aerospace Publishing, 1995. ISBN 1-874023-72-7.
    • Fletcher, David C. and MacPhail, Doug. Harvard! the North American Trainers in Canada. San Josef,BC/Dundee,Ont: DCF Flying Books, 1990. ISBN 0-9693825-0-2.
    • Hagedorn, Dan. North American NA-16/AT-6/SNJ (WarbirdTech Volume 11). North Branch, MN: Speciality Press, 1997. ISBN 0-933424-76-0.
    • Hamlin, John F. The Harvard File. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. ISBN 0-85130-160-6.
    • Jesse. William. T-6 Texan, the Immortal Pilot Trainer. London: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 1991. ISBN 1-85532-154-8.
    • Kohn, Leo J. The Story of the Texan (American Flight Manuals). Aviation Publications Co., 1975. ISBN 0-87994-034-4.
    • MacPhail, Doug and Östberg, Mikael. Triple Crown BT-9: The ASJA/Saab Sk 14, A Pictorial Essay (in English/Swedish). San Josef,BC/Dundee,Ont: DCF Flying Books, 2003.
    • Marchand, Patrick and Takamori, Junko. North American T-6 et derives (in French). Le Muy, France: Editions d’Along, 2004. ISBN 2-914403-21-6.
    • Morgan, Len. Famous Aircraft Series: The AT-6 Harvard. New York: Arco Publishing Co., Inc., 1965.
    • Olrich, Walter and Ethell, Jeffrey L. Pilot maker; the Incredible T-6. North Branch, MN: Specialty Press, 1982. ISBN 0-933424-34-5.
    • Smith, Peter Charles. North American T-6: SNJ, Harvard and Wirraway. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK: The Crowood Press Ltd., 2000. ISBN 1-86126-382-1.
    • Smith, Peter Charles. T-6: The Harvard, Texan & Wirraway - A Pictorial Record. North Branch, MN: Speciality Press, 1995. ISBN 0-7603-0191-3.
    • Spring, Ivan and Rivers, Reg. Colour schemes and special markings of the North American "Harvard" in service with the SAAF 1940 to 1995. Pretoria, SOuth Africa: Spring Air Publishers, 1996. ISBN 0-9583977-3-2.
    • Starkings, Peter. From American Acorn to Japanese Oak - The tale of an unsung Japanese training aircraft with roots extending across the Pacific Ocean. Arawasi International, Asahi Process, September–December 2007, Issue 7.
    • Swanborough, Gordon and Bowers, Peter M. United States Military Aircraft since 1909. London:Putnam, 1963.
    • Wache, Siegfried. CCF Harvard Mk. IV (T-6) (series F-40 - Die Flugzeuge der Bundeswehr Nr.09) (in German). Buchholz, Germany: Buchholz Medien Verlag, 1989. ISBN 3-935761-09-0.

    External links[]

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    The original article can be found at North American T-6 Texan and the edit history here.