North American SNJ

Texan

The SNJ, by North American Aviation, a two-place advanced trainer, was the classroom for most of the Allied pilots who flew in World War II. Also called the T-6 Texan by the Army Air Corps, the Harvard by the RAF, and affectionately known as "the pilot maker" by its crews,  the SNJ was designed as a transition trainer between basic trainers and first-line tactical aircraft.

In all, the SNJ trained several hundred thousand pilots in 34 different countries. A total of 15,495 of the planes were made. Though most famous as a trainer, the SNJ also won honors in World War II and in the early days of the Korean War.

This remarkable and versatile aircraft was an evolution of the company's BC-1 basic combat trainer, which was first produced for the U.S. Army Air Corps with fixed landing gear in 1937 under a contract that called for 174 planes. It was designed by North American as a low-cost trainer with all the characteristics of a high-speed fighter. Although not as fast as a fighter, it was easy to maintain and repair, had more maneuverability and was easier to handle. A pilot's airplane, it could roll, Immelmann, loop, spin, snap, and vertical roll. It was designed to give the best possible training in all types of tactics, from ground strafing to bombardment and aerial dog-fighting, and contained such versatile equipment as bomb racks, blind flying instrumentation, gun and standard cameras, fixed and flexible guns, and just about every other device that military pilots had to operate.

Specifications

Engine	Pratt & Whitney R-1340 AN-1 Wasp @ 600 hp
Speed	240 mph max 150 mph cruise 90 mph approach 65 mph stall
Weight	5,800 lb gross 4,000 lb empty
Length	29' 6"
Height	11' 1"
Wingspan	42' 0"
Fuel Capacity	110 gal
Oil Capacity	10 gal
Service Ceiling	24,000 ft
Range	1100 miles
Armament	Up to three .30 cal machine guns Six 50 lb bombs or rockets used in Korean War