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 1970s. Designed by North American Aviation, the T-6 is known by a variety of designations
depending on the model and operating air force. The United States Army Air Corps 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 World War II in the Pacific.
Development
The Texan originated from the North American NA-16 prototype 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 R-1340-47
engine as standard equipment. Production versions included the BC-1 with only minor modifications,
of which 30 were modified as BC-1I instrument trainers; the BC-1A with airframe revisions;
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.
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 and the RAF/RCAF as the Harvard
IIB, 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
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
and SNJ-5. The AT-6D, redesignated the Harvard III, was supplied to the RAF and Fleet Air
Arm. The AT-6G 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.
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 Gramos.
Communist guerillas called these aircraft "O Galatas", because they saw them flying
very early in the morning. After the "Milkmen", the guerillas waited for the armed Spitfires
and Helldivers. 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". 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. 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, 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 used more than
a hundred T-6Gs, also 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 Navy 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. Argentine
Navy SNJ-4s were also were used by the Colorado rebels in the 1963 Argentine Navy Revolt,
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.
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.
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 aircraft 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.
Variants
Operators
Argentina Argentine Army Aviation
Argentine Naval Aviation Austria
Austrian Air Force
Belgium Belgian Air Force
Biafra Biafran Air Force
Bolivia Bolivian Air Force
Naval Aviation Brazil
Brazilian Air Force Canada
Royal Canadian Air Force Royal Canadian Navy
National Research Council
Republic of China Republic of China Air Force
Chile Chilean Air Force
Colombia Colombian Air Force
Republic of the Congo Congolese Air Force
Cuba Cuban Air and Air Defense Force
Denmark
Royal Danish Air Force Dominican Republic
Dominican Air Force El Salvador
Air Force of El Salvador France
French Air Force Gabon
Gabon Air Force
Germany Luftwaffe
Greece Hellenic Air Force
Haiti Armed Forces of Haiti
Hong Kong Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force
Honduras Honduran Air Force
India Royal Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force Indonesia
Indonesian Air Force - ex-Dutch aircraft. Iran
Iranian Air Force Israel
Israeli Air Force Italy
Aeronautica Militare Japan
Japan Air Self-Defense Force Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
Katanga Force Aérienne Katangaise
Lebanon Lebanese Air Force
Republic of Korea Republic of Korea Air Force
Royal Laotian Air Force Mexico
Mexican Air Force Total of 120 delivered, 47 AT-6 and 73 T-6C
Morocco Royal Moroccan Air Force
Netherlands Royal Netherlands Air Force
Dutch Naval Aviation Service Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force
- Post war Mozambique
Mozambique Air and Air Defense Forces New Zealand - 1 maintained for historic
flight Royal New Zealand Air Force
Norway - 1 maintained for historic flight
Royal Norwegian Air Force Nicaragua
Nicaraguan Air Force Pakistan
Pakistan Air Force Paraguay
Paraguayan Air Force Paraguayan Naval Aviation
Philippines Philippine Air Force
Portugal Portuguese Air Force
Portuguese Naval Aviation South Africa
South African Air Force
Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesian Air Force
South Vietnam Vietnam Air Force
Saudi Arabia Saudi Air Force
Spain Spanish Air Force
Soviet Union Soviet Air Forces
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.
Switzerland Swiss Air Force
Syria Syrian Air Force
Thailand Royal Thai Air Force
Tunisia Tunisian Air Force
Turkey Turkish Air Force: 196 planes of various types
United Kingdom Royal Air Force
Royal Navy
United States United States Army Air Corps/Army Air Forces
United States Air Force United States Navy
United States Marine Corps United States Coast Guard
Uruguay Uruguayan Air Force
Venezuela Venezuelan Air Force
Yugoslavia SFR Yugoslav Air Force
Zaire Specifications
Data from Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II
General characteristics Crew: two
Length: 29 ft Wingspan: 42 ft
Height: 11 ft 8 in Wing area: 253.7 ft²
Empty weight: 4,158 lb Loaded weight: 5,617 lb
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN-1 Wasp radial engine, 600 hp
Performance Maximum speed: 208 mph at 5,000 ft
Cruise speed: 145 mph Range: 730 miles
Service ceiling: 24,200 ft Rate of climb: 1200ft/min
Wing loading: 22.2 lb/ft² Power/mass: 0.11 hp/lb
Armament Provision for up to 3× 0.30 in machine gun
In popular culture After World War II, the National Air Races
established a unique racing class for the AT-6Harvard aircraft; This class continues
today at the Reno National Air Races each year.
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. The
Flying Lions Aerobatic Team uses Harvards acquired that the South African Air Force
was decommissioning. See also
T-6 Texan variants T-6 Texan II
Related development North American NA-16
North American BT-9 North American A-27
North American P-64 CAC Wirraway
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Arado Ar 96 Fiat G.49
Kyushu K10W FMA I.Ae. 22 DL
Macchi MB.323 Miles Master
Piaggio P.150 Soko 522
Valmet Vihuri VL Pyry
Yakovlev Yak-11 Related lists
List of aircraft of World War II List of military aircraft of the United States
List of aircraft of the RAF List of aircraft of the RNZAF
References Notes
Bibliography
External links Warbird Alley: T-6Harvard page - History,
photos, specs, and links Texan, Harvard & SNJ Registry - Lists approximately
1,200 extant T-6's by serial number The Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association
Backgrounder on the Harvard 4 AT-6: School Marm With an Attitude
"A Yank at Grantham: First North American "Basic" Trainer Delivered to the R.A.F. :
The Harvard Described Flight 1939 T.O. TT-6C-2 Handbook Erection and Maintenance
Instructions T-6, -6A, 6B USAF Model T-6C, T-6D Navy Models SNJ-3, SNJ-4, SNJ-5, SNJ-6