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.

Fairchild PT-19A
Primary Trainer

When WASP arrived at Avenger Field in March 1943, there were ninety-one (91) Fairchild PT-19A aircraft for their primary flight training. The primary phase of training consisted of a total of 70 flying hours including 28 hours dual instruction and 42 hours solo flying. When flying dual, the instructor rode in the rear cockpit. The PT-19A is flown solo from the front cockpit. The PT-19’s simple but rugged construction includes an open cockpit and fabric-covered welded steel tube fuselage. The remainder of the aircraft is of plywood construction. Fairchild was awarded its first Army PT contract on 22 September 1939. It went into quantity production in 1940. This PT-19A, USAAF Serial Number 43-31463, was manufactured in January of 1944. It was flown in primary training by the 59th Army Air Forces Flying Training Detachment at Tompson-Robbins Field. This PT-19A is now painted in the official pre-war Army trainer paint scheme of blue fuselage, yellow wings, and red and white striped rudder.

Boeing Stearman PT-17 “Kaydet”
Primary Trainer

The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is a biplane flown during the 1930s and 1940s as a military trainer aircraft. As the Army PT-17 Kaydet, it served as a primary trainer for the military forces throughout World War II. The PT-17 was a conventional biplane of rugged construction with large, fixed landing gear and tandem open cockpits. WASP Classes began receiving primary training in PT-17s in December 1943. The trainees logged a total of 70 flight hours in the Stearman, primarily at the auxiliary fields. Our PT-17 in fact originated as a Jacobs (R-755) powered PT-18 in October 1940, one of only 150 such planes built. It is properly painted in the original U.S. Army Air Corps trainer paint scheme. The plane was first delivered to the Dallas Aviation School at Love Field, Dallas, Texas before being transferred to the W.F. Long Flying School, Hicks Field. In June 1941, it was transferred to the British Flying Training School (B.F.T.S.) No. 1 at Terrell, Texas, where it was flown in training RAF cadets until being sold as army surplus in June 1945.

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.

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.