Fairchild PT-19 & PT-23

Source: Wiki

The Fairchild PT-19 and PT-23 were Fairchild Aircraft monoplane primary trainer aircraft that served with the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) during World War II. They were contemporaries of the Kaydet biplane trainer used by the USAAF during Primary Flying Training as the introductory pre-solo phase trainer for introducing new pilots to flying before passing them on to the more agile Kaydet. The M-62 first flew in May 1939, and won a fly-off competition later that year against 17 other designs for the new Army training airplane. Fairchild was awarded its first Army PT contract for an initial order on 22 September 1939.

The PT-19 series was developed from the Fairchild M-62 when the US Army Air Corps (later, USAAF) ordered the aircraft in 1940 as part of its expansion program. The cantilever low-wing monoplane with fixed landing gear and tailwheel design was based on a tandem two-seat (for student & instructor), open cockpit arrangement. The simple but rugged construction included a fabric-covered welded steel tube fuselage. The remainder of the aircraft used plywood construction, with a plywood-sheathed center section, outer wing panels and tail assembly. The use of an inline engine allowed for a narrow frontal area which was ideal for visibility while the widely set-apart fixed landing gear allowed for solid and stable ground handling.

The original production batch of 275 were powered by the inline 175 hp Ranger L-440-1 engine and designated the PT-19. In 1941 mass production began and 3,181 of the PT-19A model, powered by the 200 hp L-440-3, were made by Fairchild. An additional 477 were built by Aeronca and 44 by the St. Louis Aircraft Corporation. The PT-19B, of which 917 were built, was equipped for instrument flight training by attaching a collapsible hood to the front cockpit. When a shortage of engines threatened production, the PT-23 model was introduced which was identical except for the 220 hp Continental R-670 radial powerplant. A total of 869 PT-23s were built as well as 256 of the PT-23A, which was the instrument flight-equipped version. The PT-23 was manufactured in the US by Fairchild, Aeronca, St Louis Aircraft Corporation and Howard Aircraft Corporation and in Canada by Fleet Aircraft Corporation as well as Fabrica do Galeao in Brazil.

During 1943, USAAF Training Command received a number of complaints about durability issues with the plywood wings of the PT-19 and the PT-23 when exposed to the high heat and/or humidity of training bases located in Texas and Florida. Maintenance officers at the USAAF overhaul depots had been forced to order replacement of the wooden wing sections after only two to three months' active service because of wood rot and ply separation issues. Subsequently, the USAAF incorporated a demand for all-metal wing sections on all future fixed-wing training aircraft.

The final variant was the PT-26 which used the L-440-7 engine. The Canadian-built versions of these were designated the Cornell for use by the Royal Air Force in Canada and Rhodesia.

Compared to the earlier biplane trainers, the Fairchild PT-19 provided a more advanced type of aircraft. Speeds were higher, the wing loading more approximated combat aircraft with the flight characteristics demanding more precision and care. It was inexpensive, simple to maintain and virtually "vice-less"; thus the PT-19 truly lived up to its nickname - the "Cradle of Heroes." It was one of a handful of primary trainer designs that were the first stop on a cadet's way to becoming a combat pilot. Thousands of the PT-19 series were rapidly integrated into the US and Comonwealth training programs, serving throughout World War II and beyond. Even after their retirement in the late 1940s, a substantial number found their way onto the US civil register. Around 100 still are used today.

The Ranger L-440 (or 6-440C series) are six-cylinder inline inverted air-cooled aero-engines produced by the Ranger Aircraft Engine Division of the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation of Farmingdale, New York, United States. The engine was mainly produced for Fairchild's family of training aircraft in the mid-1930's. The engine was designated the L-440 by the United States military. The dashed suffixes, e.g. -1, -3, etc., indicate power outputs achieved by greater cylinder compression ratios.^Wiki

The PT-19 & PT-23 had multiple designations based on their engines:

PT-19 was the initial production variant of the Model M62 powered by 175hp Ranger L-440-1, 270 built.

PT-19A was built as the PT-19 but powered by a 200hp L-440-3 and detailed changes, redesignated T-19A in 1948, 3226 built.

PT-19B was the instrument training version of the PT-19A, 143 built and 6 conversions from PT-19A.

XPT-23A was a PT-19 re-engined with a 220hp Continental R-670-5 radial engine.

PT-23 was a radial engine (R-670) version, 774 built.

PT-23A was the instrument training version of the PT-23, 256 built.

PT-26 was a PT-19A variant with enclosed cockpit for the Commonwealth Air Training Scheme, powered by a 200hp L-440-3, 670 built for the RCAF as the Cornell I.

PT-26A was a PT-26 but with a 200hp L-440-7 engine, 807 built by Fleet as the Cornell II.

PT-26B was a PT-26A with minor changes, 250 built as the Cornell III.

Cornell I was the RCAF designation for the PT-26.

Cornell II was the RCAF designation for the PT-26A.

Cornell III was the RCAF designation for the PT-26B.