Building America's forgotten trainer

Air Classics, Sep 2001 by O'Leary, Michael

BEFORE AMERICA'S ENTRY INTO WORLD WAR TWO, VULTEE SET UP AN EXTREMELY EFFICIENT FACILITY TO CHURN OUT BT-13 VALIANTS. THESE RARE ARCHIVAL PHOTOGRAPHS REVEAL A PORTION OF THIS COUNTRY'S MASSIVE WAR EFFORT

Even though Vultee would build over 11,000 Valiants at its Downey, California, facility the type, today, is fairly rare with just approximately 40 airworthy although numerous other airframes are under restoration but the surviving population of BTs is probably a bit under 200. Sold surplus after World War Two, for $500 or less, there were over 5000 Valiant: on the US civil register during the late 1940s! This late production Valiant is seen nearing completion as it heads down the Downey production line.

Development of the BT- 13 came about in a rather convoluted fashion: Vultee's Richard Palmer had been working on the design of a new lighter weight fighter in 1938 when the Army opened a competition for a new training plane. As war tensions were building and military forces around the world were increasing, a substantial order was very likely. Taking some design concepts of his fighter, Palmer began designing a new aircraft and it flew just 88 days later. Designated BC-51 for Basic Combat, the plane went aloft under the control of Eddie Allen on 24 March 1939.

Early production BT- 13 center sections are prepared for attachment to fuselages. The BC-51 was fitted with a Pratt & Whitney R-1340-S3H IG of 600-hp with retractable landing gear and flaps. In the BC competition, the aircraft did not receive a production order from the Army. Next in line was the Model 54 which had basically the same airframe as the BC-51 but was intended as a lowerpowered advanced trainer for export. Performance was poor and the plane was fitted with the same powerplant as the BC-51 but it crashed on 16 November 1939, the day after its first flight with the new engine. The plane had been given the export name of Valiant.

Fabric being applied to the BT- 13's wooden control surfaces. Still hoping to gain a large order, Vultee came up with the Model 54A Valiant. Fitted with fixed landing gear and a P&W R-985-T3B of 450-hp, the aircraft made its first flight on 28 July 1939. This aircraft was almost an immediate hit and the prototype, carrying the civil registration NX21754, was extensively test flown and, with slight changes, the Army ordered 300 aircraft as the BT-13 on 16 September 1939. At the time, this was the largest training order ever placed by the military.

A woman worker selects fuselage side frames from a large pre-made batch. On 13 January 1940, Vultee delivered a skeleton BT- 13 to the Air Corps so the type could be thoroughly studied prior to its introduction into service. The first complete BT-1 3, with a P&W R-98524, was delivered in February of the same year and production deliveries began in earnest by June with the first BT- 13s being assigned to the Air Corps training base at Kelly Field. Due to the efficiency of the Vultee mass production system, these aircraft were delivered 45 days ahead of schedule.

With such a large initial order for BT- 13 Valiants, Vultee set up an extremely efficient system to mass produce the trainer. New workers, including many women were hired. Using a Singer sewing machine, this woman is completing the boots that went around the control sticks.

The need for training aircraft was so great that Vultee soon received orders for 7037 BT-13As which were fitted with the standardized R-985-AN- I and deleted the landing gear leg fairings. Vultee employees finish adding the national insignia to the yellow wing panel of a BT- 13.

The orders pouring in, Vultee further mechanized its production line and this model of efficiency began churning out Valiants at an unprecedented rate. Note the complete engine QECs on an overhead feed which were automatically lowered into position once a new fuselage had rolled into its assigned position on the hangar floor.

Installing the Valiant's simple electrical system as the aircraft frames move down the production line. The BT-13B was fitted with

a 24-volt electrical system and the Air Corps purchased 1125 B models.

Rows of already completed and painted wings await installation on the fuselage center sections. An order for BT- I 3As from Peru was completed in October 1941 and the wings for these aircraft are to the right.

Assembling the BT- 13's large and rugged center section. The aircraft's robust design was well-suited to ham-fisted students learning the intricacies of basic training.

Officials inspect the fuselage frame for the 1000th Valiant. In service, the BT- 13 proved to be a rugged, if noisey, training aircraft. It gained the nickname "Vibrator" from a peculiar vibration that traveled through the airframe.

When America entered the Second World War, more and more women were employed at Vultee and quickly taught how to build the Valiant. For the majority, war work was the first job they ever had. The US Navy quickly caught on to the value of the BT- 13 and placed orders for 1150 SNV- 1s (similar to the BT-13A) and 650 SNV-2s (similar to the BT- 13 B).