Vultee BT - 13 Valiant The Vultee BT - 13 Valiant was an American World War II - era basic trainer aircraft built by Vultee Aircraft for the United States Army Air Corps , and later US Army Air Forces . A subsequent variant of the BT - 13 in USAAC / USAAF service was known as the BT - 15 Valiant , while an identical version for the US Navy was known as the SNV and was used to train naval aviator s for the US Navy and its sister services , the US Marine Corps and US Coast Guard . Design and development . The Vultee BT - 13 was the basic trainer flown by most American pilots during World War II . It was the second phase of the three phase training program for pilots . After primary training in PT - 13 , PT - 17 , or PT - 19 trainers , the student pilot moved to the more complex Vultee for basic flight training . The BT - 13 had a more powerful engine and was faster and heavier than the primary trainer . It required the student pilot to use two way radio communications with the ground and to operate landing flaps and a two - position Hamilton Standard controllable pitch propeller . It did not , however , have retractable landing gear nor a hydraulic system . The large flaps are operated by a crank - and - cable system . Its pilots nicknamed it the " Vultee Vibrator . " Due to the demand for this aircraft , and others which used the same Pratt & Whitney engine , some were equipped with Wright powerplants of similar size and power built in 1941 - 42 . The Wright - equipped aircraft were designated BT - 15 . The Navy adopted the P & W powered aircraft as their main basic trainer , designating it the SNV . The BT - 13 production run outnumbered all other Basic Trainer ( BT ) types produced . It was back in 1938 that Vultee Aircraft ' s chief designer , Richard Palmer , began the design of a fighter . At this time the USAAC issued a requirement and design contest for an advanced trainer for which substantial orders had been promised to the victor . Palmer began to adapt his design concept from a fighter to that of an advanced trainer and the result of this was the V - 51 prototype . The aircraft made its maiden flight on 24 March 1939 as a cantilever low - wing monoplane of all - metal construction . Despite the use of metal throughout the design the control surfaces remained fabric - covered . The prototype was powered by a Pratt & Whitney R - 1340 - S3H1 - G Wasp radial rated at 600 hp ( 447 kW ) driving a two - blade variable pitch metal propeller . Other features included an enclosed cockpit for the crew of two , integral fuel tanks in the wings , and a hydraulic system for the operation of the flaps and retractable main landing gear . The V - 51 was entered into the USAAC competition as the BC - 51 during May 1939 . The USAAC instead chose the North American BC - 2 , but purchased the BC - 51 prototype anyway , designating it the BC - 3 . Despite the disappointment , Palmer was not finished yet . He continued to refine the design of the VF - 51 into the VF - 54 in an attempt to meet the expectation of an export market for just such a trainer . The VF - 54 used the same basic airframe as the VF - 51 , but was fitted with a lower powered engine . No export sales were made . From this design , evolved the VF - 54A . Instead of retractable gear , it had fixed gear very nicely faired and a revised power plant of a Pratt & Whitney R - 985 - T3B Wasp Jr . radial rated at 450 hp ( 335 . 5 kW ) and the Vultee BT - 13 Valiant was born . The USAAC was made aware of the improvements made to the aircraft and in August 1939 the type was ordered as the BT - 13 . The initial order was for 300 aircraft with a Pratt & Whitney R - 985 - 25 radial and the first of these was accepted by the USAAC in June 1940 . The BT - 13A was produced to the extent of 7 , 037 aircraft and differed only in the use of a Pratt & Whitney R - 985 - AN - 1 radial engine and lack of landing gear fairings . There were 1 , 125 BT - 13B ' s produced and differed from the A model in having a 24 - volt , rather than the original 12 - volt electrical system . The next variant was actually designated BT - 15 because Pratt & Whitney found it impossible to keep up production of the R - 985 engine . Instead a Wright R - 975 - 11 radial was substituted into the 1 , 263 aircraft produced . The US Navy began to show an interest in the aircraft as well and ordered 1 , 150 BT - 13A models as the SNV - 1 . In addition , the Navy ordered some 650 aircraft designated as SNV - 2 , roughly equivalent to the BT - 13B . Once in service , the aircraft quickly got its nickname of " Vibrator . " There are several explanations given for this nickname . 1 : Because it had a tendency to shake quite violently as it approached its stall speed . 2 . During more adventurous maneuvers the canopy vibrated . 3 . On takeoff , the aircraft caused windows on the ground to vibrate . 4 . The two - position propeller had an irritating vibration in high pitch . The BT - 13 served its intended purpose well . It and its successors were unforgiving aircraft to fly , but were also extremely agile . Thus the BT - 13 made a good aircraft to help transition many hundreds of pilots toward their advance trainers and fighters yet to be mastered . The BT - 13 was not without its faults . The tail was held on with only three bolts and after several in - flight failures , the Navy restricted the aircraft from aerobatic and violent maneuvers . The Navy declared the SNV obsolete in May 1945 and replaced it in the basic training role with the SNJ ( AT - 6 ) . The Army also replaced the BT - 13 with the AT - 6 before the end of the war . After World War II , virtually all were sold as surplus for a few hundred dollars each . Many were purchased just to obtain their engines , which were mounted on surplus biplanes ( such as Stearman s ) to replace their less powerful engines for use as cropdusters . The BT airframes were then scrapped . Today , some " BT ' s " ( collectively , BT - 13s , BT - 15s and SNVs ) are still flying , though in very limited numbers ( and none in military or government service ) . Popular culture . One notable post - war " variant " of the BT ' s are the " Tora " aircraft . In 1968 Twentieth Century Fox purchased nine BT - 13 / 15 and modified them for use in the motion picture " Tora ! Tora ! Tora ! " . The " Val " dive bombers seen in this film are actually BT - 13 and BT - 15 . The " Zero " fighters and " Kate " torpedo bombers are mostly Harvard IV ' s . After the film , these aircraft were sold to private owners . Many are still flying , several of them as part of the Commemorative Air Force ' s " Tora ! Tora ! Tora ! " squadron , which performs air battle reenactments at air shows . Several " Tora " aircraft also appeared in the later " Pearl Harbor " film . See also . Comparable aircraft :