Aircraft
AIRCRAFT AT THE WASP MUSEUM
The training equipment at Avenger Field consisted of over 200 airplanes of standard types. The women trained on five aircraft: PT-17, PT-19, BT-13, AT-6, and the UC-78 during their time in Sweetwater. The Museum is proud to have four of these five airworthy trainers in its collection. Visit them at the Museum when they are not at airshows and other events.
Boeing Stearman PT-17 “Kaydet”
Primary Trainer
The Boeing-Stearman Model 75 was a biplane used as a military trainer during the 1930s and 1940s. The Army PT-17 Kaydet served as a primary trainer throughout World War II. It is a rugged, conventional biplane with fixed landing gear and tandem open cockpits. Trainees completed approximately 70 hours of primary flight training in the Stearman, much of it at nearby auxiliary fields. With limited space available for this phase of training at Avenger Field, the surrounding fields provided additional areas where trainees could practice takeoffs and landings. This Stearman was assigned to Avenger Field during the WASP training program. On July 28, 1944, WASP Nancy A. Nordruff was flying this aircraft when a fire forced her to bail out. Nordruff parachuted safely to the West Texas ground below. The aircraft survived the war and entered civilian ownership as N64905. Following decades of civilian use, flying, and restoration, the National WASP WWII Museum acquired the Stearman in August 2026, returning it to Avenger Field.
North American AT-6 “Texan”
Basic Trainer
The AT-6 evolved from North American’s BT-9 basic trainer built for the United States Army Air Corps in 1935. North American built the AT-6, designated the SNJ by the Navy, from the late 1930s into the 1950s. Re-designated by the United States Air Force as the T-6 in 1948, the Air Force continued employing the plane as a trainer, using the remanufactured T-6G as the primary trainer from 1951 until 1958. Of the 15,495 AT-6/SNJs built by North American, more than 600 remain airworthy today. When asked about their favorite plane flown in training at Avenger Field, WASPs invariably replied, “The AT-6 Texan.” The AT-6 owned and exhibited by the National WASP WWII Museum, is an AT-6D, Army Serial No. 41-34166, built by North American Aviation at Grand Prairie, Texas. This aircraft served in World War II at Luke Field, Arizona, the largest single-engine advanced flight training school in the Army Air Forces.
Vultee BT-13 “Vultee Vibrator”
Basic Trainer
During World War II, the Vultee BT-13 was the basic trainer flown by most American pilots, including the WASP. Basic flight training followed primary training, and it preceded advanced training. The BT-13 was heavier and had twice the horsepower of the primary trainers. It required the student pilot to use two-way radio communications, landing flaps, and a two-position Hamilton Standard propeller. The museum’s BT-13 served the Army Air Forces during World War II at Malden Army Airfield, Malden, Missouri. This BT-13 was sold as army surplus in 1946. The American Aviation Heritage Foundation of Blaine, Minnesota restored this plane over a period of five years and generously donated it the National WASP WWII Museum in memory of WASP Betty Strohfus 44-W-1. The museum flies the BT-13 to multiple air shows throughout the year.
Cessna UC-78 “Bamboo Bomber”
Advanced Trainer
Originally built as the civilian Cessna Model T-50 beginning in 1939, the twin-engine plane was adopted for use by the Army Air Forces as the AT-17 and UC-78 for multi-engine training of pilots expected to become transport or bomber pilots in World War II. It is constructed from “non-strategic” materials consisting of fabric covered tubular steel fuselage and wood wings. Because of its wood construction it was jokingly referred to by pilots as the “Bamboo Bomber.” It contained no bamboo and was never a bomber.
The Cessna UC-78 Bobcat was used by the WASP for multi-engine training. There were as many as forty of the twin-engine trainers at Avenger Field during the summer of 1943. There are only 5 air worthy UC-78s in the world.