Beechcraft AT-10 Wichita

AT-10 Wichita

Role	Military trainer aircraft Type of aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Beechcraft
First flight	1941
Introduction	1942
Primary user	United States Army Air Forces
Produced	1942–1944
Number built	2,371

The Beechcraft AT-10 Wichita was an American World War II trainer built for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) by Beechcraft. It was used to train pilots for multi-engined aircraft such as bombers.

YouTube Encyclopedic

1/3
Views:
2 237
7 036
1 139

Transcription

Development

Beechcraft began designing the Model 25 early in 1940 in response to the requirement of the then-named United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) for a small twin-engined aircraft suitable for use in training student pilots in the handling of multi-engined retractable landing gear aircraft. As there were concerns at the time about a future possible shortage of aluminium, part of the requirement was that the aircraft be built of "non-strategic" materials. Beechcraft met this requirement by designing the aircraft to be built primarily from wood.

The Model 25 prototype was given to the USAAC for evaluation, but it was destroyed in a crash on May 5, 1941. The following day Beechcraft began work on the Model 26, which was soon ready, making its first flight on July 19 the same year. The type was accepted and deliveries began to the USAAF under the designation AT-10 in February 1942 at a time when US military fortunes were at their nadir.

The type was named "Wichita" after Wichita, Kansas, the location of the Beechcraft factory. By the end of 1942, 748 had been delivered and were playing a part in training crews for the vast fleets of bomber and transport aircraft that were pouring off factory production lines all over the United States. Beechcraft production terminated in 1943 after it had delivered 1,771 AT-10s. Globe Aircraft built another 600 before production finally ceased the following year.

Operators

United States

United States Army Air Forces

Surviving aircraft

41-27322 – AT-10 under restoration by AirCorps Aviation for the Cadet Air Corps Museum.^[1]^[2]
42-35143 – AT-10 on static display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.^[3]^[4]

Specifications

Data from American Warplanes of World War II ^[5]

General characteristics

Crew: Two
Length: 34 ft 4 in (10.46 m)
Wingspan: 44 ft 0 in (13.41 m)
Height: 10 ft 4 in (3.15 m) ^[6]
Wing area: 298 sq ft (27.7 m²)
Empty weight: 4,750 lb (2,155 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 6,130 lb (2,781 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Lycoming R-680-9 air-cooled radial engines, 295 hp (220 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 198 mph (319 km/h, 172 kn)
Range: 770 mi (1,240 km, 670 nmi)
Service ceiling: 16,900 ft (5,200 m)

References

Notes

^ "Beechcraft AT-10 Wichita". AirCorps Aviation. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
^ Cravens, Chuck (4 May 2017). "Cadet AirCorps Museum AT-10 Project". AirCorps Aviation. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
^ "Beech AT-10 Wichita". National Museum of the United States Air Force. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
^ "Airframe Dossier - Beech AT-10 Wichita, s/n 42-35143 USAAF, c/n 660-GF". Aerial Visuals. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
^ Donald 1995, p.8.
^ Air Force Museum Fact Sheet. National Museum of the US Air Force. Retrieved 4 Dec 2016.

Bibliography

Donald, David (editor.) American Warplanes of World War II. London:Aerospace Publishing, 1995. ISBN 1-874023-72-7.
Lawrence, Joseph (1945). The Observer's Book Of Airplanes. London and New York: Frederick Warne & Co.
Phillips, Edward H., Beechcraft - Pursuit of Perfection, A History of Beechcraft Airplanes. Eagan, Minnesota:Flying Books, 1992. ISBN 0-911139-11-7.
Taylor, M. J. H. ed. Jane's American Fighting Aircraft of the 20th Century Mallard Press. ISBN 0-7924-5627-0

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beechcraft AT-10 Wichita.

Beech AT-10 Wichita – JSTOR

v t e Beechcraft, Raytheon and Hawker Beechcraft aircraft
Model Numbers	16 17 18 19 20 23 24 25 26 28 33 34 35 36 38 40 45 46 50 55 56 58 60 65 70 73 76 77 80 85 87 88 90 95 99 100 A100-1 101 120 200 220 300 350 360 390 400 997 999 1001 1013 1019 1025 1070 1072 1074 1079 1080 1088 1089 1094 1095 1098 1100 1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1107 1108 1300 1900 2000 3000
Names	Airliner (1) Airliner (2) Airliner (3) Baron Beechjet Bonanza Cochise Debonair Denali Duchess Duke Expeditor Grizzly Huron Jayhawk Jet Mentor Kansan King Air (1) King Air (2) Lightning Mentor Musketeer (1) Musketeer (2 - CAF) Navigator Pegasus Premier I Queen Air Queen Airliner Seminole Sierra Skipper Staggerwing Starship Sundowner Super King Air Texan II Travel Air Traveler Twin Beech Twin Bonanza Twin-Quad Ute Voyager Wichita
Military designations	XA-38 AT-7 AT-10 AT-11 C-43 C-45 C-6 C-12 F-2 L-23 RC-12 T-1 T-6 T-34 XT-36 T-42 T-44 U-8 U-21 GB JB JRB SNB CT-128 CT-134 CT-145 CT-156
Drones	QU-22 AQM-37 MQM-61A MQM-107
Hawker business jets	Hawker 200 Hawker 400XP Hawker 750 / 800 / 800XP / 850XP / 900XP series Hawker 1000 Hawker 4000

United States trainer aircraft designations, Army/Air Force and Tri-Service systems

Advanced Trainer
(1925–1948)

Basic Combat
(1936–1940)

Basic Trainer
(1930–1948)

Primary Trainer
(1924–1948)

Main sequence
(1948–present)

1948 redesignations	T-6 T-7 T-11 T-13² T-13A T-13B/D T-17 T-19
New designations	T-28 T-29 T-30 T-31 T-32 T-33 T-34 T-35 T-36 T-37 T-38 T-39 T-40 T-41² T-41 (I) T-41 (II) T-42² T-42 (I) T-42 (II) T-43 T-44 T-45 T-46 T-47 B T-48² YT-48 T-48TS T-49 T-50 T-51 T-52 T-53 T-54

Alternate sequences

1962 redesignations	T-1 T-2
1990– sequence	T-1 T-2¹ T-3 T-4¹ T-5¹ T-6 T-7

¹ Not assigned • ² Assigned to multiple types

This page was last edited on 24 February 2024, at 06:51

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia