The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is a single-engined advanced trainer aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation. It has been known by a variety of designations depending on the model and operating air force. The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) and USAAF designated it as the AT-6, the United States Navy the SNJ, and British Commonwealth air forces the Harvard, the name by which it is best known outside the US. Starting in 1948, the new United States Air Force (USAF) designated it the T-6, with the USN following in 1962.
Internally designated as the NA-26, it was based on the North American NA-16 prototype and was submitted to the USAAC Basic Combat Trainer competition in March 1937 and entering service later that same year. The T-6 was used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Air Force (USAF), United States Navy (USN), Royal Air Force (RAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II. The type was supplied to numerous U.S. allies under the Lend-Lease initiative, while both the Canada Car and Foundry and Noorduyn produced the type under license. In total, 15,495 T-6s of all variants have been built.
The T-6 continued to be operated into the Cold War, being used during both the Korean War and the Vietnam War to perform the forward air control mission. During this era, it became frequently used for counterinsurgency operations, such as by the RAF against the Mau Mau rebellion, the French Air Force during the Algerian War, the Portuguese Air Force during the Portuguese Colonial War, and the Spanish Air Force during the Ifni War. Multiple operators flew T-6s during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It also saw action during the Ecuadorian–Peruvian War, the India–Pakistan war of 1971, the Greek Civil War and the South African Border War. During the 1990s, most remaining military operators opted to withdraw the type. The T-6 continued to fly in civil hands. Into the twenty-first century, it has remained a popular warbird used for airshow demonstrations and static displays. On occasion, the T-6 has been used many times to represent various historical aircraft, including the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero.
Design and development
The Texan's ancestry goes back to the North American NA-16 prototype, which was first flown on 1 April 1935. That same year, NAA submitted the design for the USAAC Basic Trainer Competition; the company also targeted the export market.
Modified as the NA-26, it was submitted as an entry for a USAAC Basic Combat Trainer competition in March 1937. Based on the NA-18, but with a foot-longer wingspan, it was the first of the NA-16 series with retractable landing gear. It was similar to the BT-9, but with a larger engine, the Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp, and could accommodate two guns. Receiving only minor alterations, 177 unarmed NA-36s entered service as the BC-1 with a R-1340-47 engine from 9 June 1937. Roughly 30 were modified as BC-1-I instrument trainers. The BC-1A (NA-55-1) followed as an armed version, primarily for Air Corps Reserve and National Guard units, and the 83 built could be equipped with a machine gun on the nose and a flexible gun in the rear cockpit.
The USN received 40 NA-28 aircraft based on the BT-9, which it designated the NJ-1, as well as 16 NA-52s, designated the SNJ-1, 36 NA-65 as SNJ-2s, and 25 NA-79 also as SNJ-2s.
In March 1937, the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation of Australia purchased an NA-32 (NA-16-1A, with fixed undercarriage) and an NA-33 (NA-16-2K with retractable undercarriage) along with a manufacturing license. The first CAC Wirraway, based on the NA-33, flew on 27 March 1939, of which 755 aircraft were built.
In August 1937, Mitsubishi Jukogyo K.K. purchased a single NA-16, NA-16-4R (NA-37), powered by the Pratt & Whitney R-985-9CG, including manufacturing rights. A second N-16, NA-16-4RW (NA-47), powered by a smaller Wright engine, was ordered in December 1937. After being evaluated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, Kyusu and K.K. Watanabe Tekkosho chose to ignore the NAA design almost entirely, and built 176 of the somewhat similar K10W1 from 1941 to 1942, which the Allies gave the code name Oak. After WWII, the Japanese Air Self Defense Force operated 195 Texans (9 T-6Ds, 11 T-6Fs, and 175 T-6Gs) and the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force operated 62 (10 SNJ-4s, 41 SNJ-5s, and 11 SNJ-6s).
According to Dan Hagedorn, "the BC-1A series may be regarded as the true beginning of the modern AT-6 series". In December 1938, the British Commonwealth started receiving the first of 400 Harvard Mark Is (NA-49), for use in the Central Flying School. They were powered by the Pratt & Whitney R-1340-S3H1 Wasp. In May 1939, the RCAF ordered 30 Harvard Mark Is (NA-61). Then in November 1939, the British Purchasing Commission ordered the first of eventually 1275 Harvard Mark IIs (NA-66, NA-75, NA-76, and NA-81) for the RAF and RCAF.
On 23 April 1939, NAA received a contract for 251 BT-14s and 94 AT-6s. The BT-14 (NA-58) was a fixed-gear aircraft with a metal-skinned fuselage 14 inches longer than the BT-9. In 1941, 27 BT-14s were refitted with the R-985-11 and designated as BT-14A-NAs. In June 1939, NAA received an order for 94 AT-6-NAs (NA-59), powered by the Wright R-1340-47 and able to mount two machines guns.
The USAAC AT-6A and the USN SNJ-3 were based on the NA-77 and NA-78 designs. Pratt & Whitney R-1340-49 Wasp radial engines powered the USAAC aircraft, while R-1340-38s powered the USN aircraft. The USAAC received 1847 AT-6As, and the USN received 270 SNJ-3s.
The AT-6B (NA-84) was built for armament training and could mount a machine gun on the right nose cowl and right wing and in the rear cockpit and could carry a light bomb rack. The aircraft was powered by the R-1340-AN-1 engine. The USAAC received 400.
The NA-88 design was used to build 2,970 AT-6Cs (747 of which went to the British Commonwealth as Harvard IIas), 2401 SNJ-4s, 2604 AT-6Ds (537 of which went to the British Commonwealth as Harvard IIIs), and 1357 SNJ-5s. The first AT-6C aircraft was delivered on 12 February 1942. The 12-volt electrical system was changed to a 24-volt system in the AT-6D, for standardization amongst the service. The AT-6D, which was also armament-capable, and early versions included a wing gun camera and a high-pressure oxygen system. The AT-6D used two toggle starter switches, rather than the foot-pedal starter, and the first AT-6D was delivered on 22 July 1943. The USN received an additional 630 AT-6Ds direct from the USAAF, redesignating them SNJ-5s, for a total of 1987. Similarly, the NA-121 design was used to build the final wartime Texans and included 800 AT-6Ds (of which 211 went to the USN as SNJ-5s), and 956 AT-6Fs (of which 411 went to the USN as SNJ-6s). They were capable of carrying a centerline drop tank.
From 1942, Canada's Noorduyn built 2,557 R-1340-AN-1-powered Harvard IIs under license, paid for by USAAF Lend-Lease funds as the AT-16, but they were designated as the Harvard II.B. After WWII, many remained in service with the RCAF.
The NA-168 series consisted of remanufactured AT-6s and SNJs for the USAF, starting in 1949. The Air Training Command received 641 aircraft, designated T-6G-NT, of which 416 eventually were sent to U.S. Military Assistance Program countries. U.S. National Guard units received an additional 50 aircraft, of which 28 eventually were sent to France. An additional 59 aircraft were liaison/trainer aircraft, designated LT-6G-NA, for the Korean War. These aircraft could be deployed with two detachable machine-gun pods and four HVARs or four bombs, plus a auxiliary drop tank. Alternatively, they could carry the gun pods and 12 SCA markings rockets or six bombs. The T-6G-NAs had a fuel capacity, while previous models had a capacity. The rear cockpit also had the same instruments as the front cockpit. Then in 1951, the USAF placed an order for 824 T-6Gs, designated T-6G-1-NH, for the Air Training Command.
The Canada Car and Foundry built 285 Harvard 4s, designated NA-186, under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program (MDAP) and an additional 270 aircraft directly for the RCAF. In April 1951, the USAF ordered an additional 107 T-6Gs for the MDAP, designated NA-188. They placed an order for 11 training aircraft in March 1952, designated NA-195, and then a final batch of 110 aircraft in June for MDAP, designated NA-197.
Operational history
The aircraft was mainly used for training, but in many cases, it was also repurposed into combat roles. The aircraft served in over 60 air forces around the world during the 20th century. After serving in air forces, it also went on to be displayed at air shows and museums as a warbird.
Combat use The British used Harvards during World War II in North Africa, but not in a combat role. They were used extensively for preparing pilots in-theatre for flying US aircraft types, whose handling and controls differed from British aircraft.
Peru used its seven T-6 fighter bombers in the Ecuadorian–Peruvian War equipped with two guns, while carrying up to four bombs. Twenty AT-6s 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 airstrikes against Israeli airfields, ships, and columns, with one plane lost to antiaircraft fire. They also engaged in air-to-air combat on a number of occasions, with a rear gunner shooting down an Israeli Avia S-199 fighter.
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) bought 17 Harvards and operated nine of them in the final stages of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, against the Egyptian ground forces, with no losses. In the Sinai Campaign, IAF Harvards attacked Egyptian ground forces in Sinai Peninsula with two losses.
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 , 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 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 bombs and machine guns against the rebels. Some operations took place at altitudes around above mean sea level. A Harvard was the longest-serving RAF aircraft, 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 higher stall speed was ill-suited).
The T-6G was also used in a light-attack or counterinsurgency role by France during the Algerian War in special (EALAs), armed with machine guns, bombs and rockets. At its peak, 38 EALAs were active. The largest unit was the 72, which consisted of up to 21 EALAs.
From 1961 to 1975, Portugal deployed more than 100 T-6Gs to perform counterinsurgency operations 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.
On 16 June 1955, rebel Argentine Navy SNJ-4s bombed Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, Argentina; one was shot down by a loyalist Gloster Meteor. Navy SNJ-4s were later used by the colorado rebels in the 1963 Argentine Navy Revolt, launching attacks on the 8th Tank Regiment columns on 2 and 3 April, knocking out several M4 Sherman tanks and losing one SNJ to antiaircraft fire.