Vultee BT-13 Valiant. The Vultee BT-13 Valiant is an American World War II-era basic (a category between primary and advanced) 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 aviators for the US Navy and its sister services, the US Marine Corps and US Coast Guard.

Design and development

According to Jonathan Thompson, "The three trainer designs that shared their basic engineering with the Vanguard fighter were all promoted under the same name, Valiant. The prototypes had consectutive serial numbers 139, 140 and 141 and made their first flights in the Spring and Summer of 1939. While similar in appearance, they were distinct in purpose and performance, and only one of them succeeded in winning a production contract. This turned out to be six AC contracts with three supplements, eventually amounting to 11,526 aircraft, plus twelve ordered by Peru, for a total of 11,538."

On 24 March, the Vultee BC-51 advanced trainer first flew, but lost out in competition to the North American AT-6. The Air Corps did accept the Vultee BC-51 though, designating it as the BC-3 after some upgrades in the Spring of 1940. On 9 June, Vultee model 54 advanced trainer first flew. Its original 450-hp Wright Whirlwind was eventually replaced with a R-1340. On 28 July, the Vultee model 54A first flew. According to Thompson, "A Basic Trainer, similar to the model 54 except for its fixed landing gear and P&W R-985 engine, it struck pay dirt. In August the USAAC selected it for volume production as the BT-13. which became the standard type for the category throughout World War II."

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 continued 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 (or, more commonly, a constant-speed propeller).

The BT-13A dispensed with the landing gear fairings. 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 BT-15B had a 24-volt electrical system.

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.

According to Thompson, "Because of Vultee's outstanding production achievement, as well as the service's accelerated training programs, the huge pilot requirements were met by mid-1943 and the last Valiants were built in mid-1944. Except for resonances in various flight modes that earned it the nickname 'Vibrator,' the Valiant's simplicity and effectiveness caused it to be taken for granted, and practically forgotten after all of them were sold at war's end."

The BT-13 was not without its faults.  Some had been built with plywood tailcones and empennages, which did not always remain firmly aligned with the aircraft.

Thompson states, "Most of the 5137 Valiants sold in the United States by the War Assets Administration, Reconstruction Finance Corporation and other agencies went for $450, a mere $1/hp, to cropdusters who wanted only the R-985 and R-975 engines."

Variants

BC-3
Vultee Model V.51 with retractable landing gear and a 600hp P&W R-1340-45, one built, not developed.
BT-13
Vultee Model V.54 with fixed undercarriage and a 450hp P&W R-985-25 engine, 300 built.
BT-13A
As BT-13 but fitted with a 450hp R-985-AN-1 engine and minor changes, 6407 built, survivors re-designated T-13A in 1948.
BT-13B
As BT-13A but with a 24-volt electrical system, 1125 built.
BT-15
As BT-13A with a 450hp Wright R-975-11 engine, 1693 built.
XBT-16
One BT-13A was re-built in 1942 by Vidal with an all-plastic fuselage as the XBT-16.
SNV-1
BT-13As for the United States Navy, 1350 transferred from United States Army Air Corps.
SNV-2
BT-13Bs for the United States Navy, 650 transferred from United States Army Air Corps.
T-13A
Surviving BT-13As were re-designated in 1948, due to dual allocation of T-13 with the PT-13 in practice they were still known as the BT-13 to avoid confusion.

Operators

 Argentine Air Force
 Argentine Navy

 Bolivian Air Force (37 BT-13 between 1942 and 1958)

 Brazilian Air Force (120 BT-15s)

 Chilean Air Force

 Colombian Air Force (Fourteen BT-15s)

 Cuban Air Force

 Dominican Air Force

 Ecuadorian Air Force

 Air Force of El Salvador

 French Air Force

 Guatemalan Air Force

Haiti Air Corps

 Honduran Air Force

 Indonesian Air Force

 Israeli Air Force

 Nicaraguan Air Force

 Paraguayan Air Arm 10 BT-13A received through Lend-Lease 1942–1943. Two BT-13 bought in Argentina in 1947.
 Paraguayan Naval Aviation Three BT-13 donated by Argentina in the 1960s.

Peruvian Air Force

 Soviet Air Force

 United States Air Force
 United States Army Air Forces
 United States Navy

Venezuelan Air Force
Centro de Instruccion Aeronautica Civil

Surviving aircraft
Australia
 41-23063 – BT-13A airworthy with John Kempton in Albury, New South Wales.

Brazil
 1072 – BT-15 on static display at the Museu Aeroespacial in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro.
 42-1216 – BT-13A in storage at Museu TAM in São Carlos, São Paulo.

Canada
42-89379 – BT-13A airworthy in Edenvale, Ontario.

Indonesia

 B-427 – BT-13A on display at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali.
 B-604 – BT-13A on display at Suryadarma Air Force Base in Kalijati, Subang Regency, West Java.
 B-605 – BT-13A on display at Gembira Loka Zoo in Yogyakarta.
 B-608 – BT-13A on display at Jurug Solo Zoo in Surakarta, Central Java.
 B-610 – BT-13A on display at Gedung Juang 45 Subang in Subang Regency, West Java.
 B-616 – BT-13A on display at Indonesian Air Force Academy in Yogyakarta.
 B-620 – BT-13A on display at Sempor Dam in Kebumen Regency, Cemtral Java.
 B-622 – BT-13A on display at Mangkang Zoo in Semarang, Central Java. It was stripped of all markings and painted blue.
 B-633 – BT-13A on display at Dirgantara Mandala Museum in Yogyakarta.

Netherlands

 42-43210 – BT-13A airworthy at the Early Birds Museum on Lelystad Airport in the Netherlands.

United States

 3022 – SNV-1 on static display at Main Campus of the Kalamazoo Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
 156739 – SNV-1 airworthy at the Estrella Warbirds Museum in Paso Robles, California.
 41-10418 – BT-13A on static display at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, Kansas.
 41-10571 – BT-13A on static display at the Quik Stop Mini-Mart in Caruthers, California. It is mounted nose-first on top of a gas station island awning.
 41-10814 – BT-13A airworthy with Vultee Resource & Management in Yukon, Oklahoma.
 41-11355 – BT-13A on static display at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida. It is painted as an SNV-1.
 41-11538 – BT-13A airworthy with the Commemorative Air Force Minnesota Wing in South St. Paul, Minnesota.
 41-11584 – BT-13A on static display at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, Kansas.
 41-21178 - BT-13A airworthy with the Commemorative Air Force in Houston, Texas.
 41-21218 – BT-13A under repair to airworthy condition with Valiant Effort in Livermore, California.
 41-21487 – BT-13A on static display at the March Field Air Museum in Riverside, California. It is painted as 41–22365.
 41-21933 – BT-13A on static display at the Travis Air Force Base Heritage Center at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California.
 41-22124 – BT-13A in storage at the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility of the National Air and Space Museum in Suitland, Maryland.
 41-22204 – BT-13A on static display at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum in Box Elder, South Dakota.
 41-22386 – BT-13A on static display at the Moffett Field Historical Society Museum in Mountain View, California.
 41-22441 – BT-13A airworthy at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, Pennsylvania.
 41-23075 – BT-13A airworthy on loan from Rene J. Vercruyssen to the Chico Air Museum in Chico, California.
 42-04130 – BT-13A on static display at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas.
 42-41303 – BT-15 on static display at the Gunter Annex of Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.
 42-42353 – BT-13A on static display at the Pima Air Museum in Tucson, Arizona.
 42-88675 – BT-13A airworthy at the National WASP WWII Museum in Sweetwater, Texas.
 42-88708 – BT-13 on display at the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum in Rio Grande, New Jersey.
 42-88855 – BT-13A airworthy with Barry D. Burns in Hubbard, Oregon.
 42-89607 – BT-13B airworthy at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.
 42-89678 – BT-13A on static display at the Castle Air Museum in Atwater, California.
 42-90018 – BT-13B on static display at the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia.
 42-90026 – BT-13B airworthy with the Alaska Wing of the Commemorative Air Force in Anchorage, Alaska.
 42-90296 – BT-13B airworthy at the War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.
 42-90590 – BT-13B airworthy with Ryan Shively of Richland, Washington. It was delivered to the USAAF in May 1944 and served with the 54th Fighter Squadron, 2nd Air Commando Group, 4501st Base Unit, and 338th Base Unit.
 42-90629 – BT-13B on static display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.
 42-90054 – BT-13B airworthy with the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California.
 c/n 7832 – BT-13A on static display at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.
 c/n 8408 – BT-13 on static display at the Fort Worth Aviation Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.
 Unknown ID – Unknown variant in storage in unrestored condition at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California.
 Unknown ID – BT-13 under restoration at the Fargo Air Museum in Fargo, North Dakota.
 Unknown ID – BT-13A on static display at the Florida Keys Marathon International Airport in Marathon, Florida. [source: FAA registry search]
 79-1366 – BT-13 airworthy on display at the Wings of Honor Museum in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. [source: FAA registry search]

Popular culture

The 1942 Army training film Winning Your Wings opens with actor Jimmy Stewart landing a BT-13.

BTs were used by Twentieth Century Fox in the 1970 motion picture "Tora! Tora! Tora!", converted to look like Aichi D3A Vals.
After filming, the studio sold or donated the altered aircraft.

Specifications (BT-13A)

See also
Related development:
 Vultee P-66 Vanguard
Comparable aircraft:
North American T-6 Texan

References

Bibliography

External links
 

BT-13
1930s United States military trainer aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1939
Low-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear
Single-engined piston aircraft