The HARVARD ( or AT-6, Yale, Texan, SNJ, Wirraway etc....these are all variants of the same airframe), is probably the best known training aircraft of all time. Several generations have thrilled to it's unforgettable roar. (Caused by the tips of its 9 foot propeller going supersonic.) It was used as an advanced trainer by 137,000 aircrew who came from all over the world to learn to fly in Canada as part of THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AIR TRAINING PLAN.

It bridged the gap between the elementary trainers of the day like the D.H. TIGER MOTH, and the thoroughbred fighters such as the Spitfires, Hurricanes and Mustangs. It was, of course fully aerobatic and pleasant to fly, but it had enough vices to ensure that students learned to do things properly if they wished to survive.

Read more: The Harvard

The real lineage of the Harvard began in 1937 with a USAAF competition to develop a basic trainer. The requirements were for a type capable of basic instruction as well as simulating the controls and feel of an actual combat aircraft. It also had to be able to carry guns and bombs as necessary.

Read more: Birth Of A Classic

With hostilities on the horizon, France went to North American for a version of the BT-9 called the NA-57. these proved very popular, so, just before the war, they ordered a further 230 updated machines. This incarnation was called the NA-64, later to be called the YALE I.

It was a hodge-podge machine, featuring the Harvard canopy, the fixed landing gear and the Wright Whirlwind engine. It did, however, have the semi-monocoque rear fuselage rather than the earlier fabric structure. It retained an early wing type, which gave it certain vicious stall characteristics. Later modifications to correct this were never really successful so the aircraft kept its reputation of biting the unwary.

Read more: The Yale