Texan Time

Well, time sure does fly in aviation, I guess you could say literally! Can you believe it was a year ago that we first looked at the wonderful "Harvard" back in the September issue of 2021? In this issue I would like to show you around the Harvard's twin sibling the "Texan"! And in particular, one very fine example recently seen soaring gracefully over the Sussex countryside. But first, let's take a little recap...

A Texan or a Harvard?

The 'Texan' (or 'Harvard' depending on where you’re standing) is an advanced fighter trainer that first dates back to 1935 when the United Stated Army Air Corps raised a need for a new training aircraft, as the prototype developed into a finished aircraft in 1937 the British forces recognised the quality of the product and confirmed they likewise needed an aircraft to slot into an advanced training role, so in 1938 they placed an initial order for 200 aircraft with US manufacture 'North American' and were training pilots in them before the outbreak of World War II. For the RAF in particular the aircraft proved an exceptional platform for advanced pilot training and was a giant leap forward from their bi-plane trainers.

Depending on who operated the aircraft, it had several name badges, most commonly the 'Texan' if built for and operated by the United States Army Air Corps or Air Force (or an 'SNJ' if you wore a Navy uniform), and the "Harvard" if built for and delivered to the UK Royal Air Force. But fundamentally it's the same aircraft. And it was a much loved aircraft! Not only throughout the many military training facilities it was stationed with during the war, and not only throughout the time it spent at multiple overseas military stations in post WWII conflicts (including as a combat aircraft), but also outside of military service in an amazing tapestry of history in the civilian world. Whether a Texan or a Harvard, it was often nicknamed the ‘pilot maker’, for many an airman earned the respect of their peers as they transitioned onto the type. And that's true not only in the reflection of decades gone by, but it's true right up to the present day. Indeed, the type is revered as a truly wonderful aircraft to fly and today provides many pilots (and owners) with the opportunity to step into the wonderful world of Warbirds!

Call of Duty

Our stunning picture aircraft is a T-6G built by North American Aviation Inc in 1950. It is powered by a 600 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN-1 engine and flies in the livery of the Royal Air Force marked HT-Y with military number KF402.

It's believed that G-TEXN's airframe may have originally been constructed during the Second World War as an AT-6D but during 1950 some 1,800 airframes were taken aside to be re-manufactured as T-6's, this one included. So, it rolled off the assembly line and onto the flight line in 1950 designated as a T-6G bearing serial number 168-176.

In its first call of duty, the aircraft was proudly presented to the Air Training Command at James Connelly Air Force Base, Texas, USA in the summer of 1951 and was assigned to the 3565th Basic Pilot Training Wing. A month later it was moved over to a similar unit at the Bartow Air Force Base in Florida. Here it stayed teaching the skills and enhancing the talents of many a fighter pilot until the summer of 1956 when it was relocated to the (as known today) Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG) at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona for preservation and storage, aka the 'Boneyard'!

It was later designated as ‘surplus’ (to the future requirements of the US Air Force) and thus the aircraft had a page ready to turn on a new chapter...

Civvy Street!

The first stop on Civvy Street was actually once again back on familiar territory in the state of Florida in 1963 at the hands of a former WWII (Liberator) tail gunner! In 1965 it took some rest in Chicago and in 1976 the aircraft moved to Virginia until purchased in 1980 by a UK company based out of Speke, Liverpool. The aircraft has since remained in the UK and has most recently enjoyed life back in the role

it was built for, an advanced trainer aircraft but this time in much calmer skies over the beautiful Sussex countryside.

You don’t have to just look at the pictures! This wonderful aircraft is offered for sale, please contact for more information!

The Boneyard!

Home to excess military and U.S. government aircraft, the 'Boneyard' is the largest of its kind in the world! Chosen due it's amazingly dry climate and alkaline soil making for a very hard sub-layer called 'caliche', which means they don't have to pave the whole place (you can literally tow a Hercules over it!). The relative humidity is often only around 10% with barely 10" of rain per year (we have over 40" here in the UK). This all makes for an ideal, large scale, outside location to store and preserve aircraft. Indeed, there are some 4,000 aircraft parked there including a few celebrity aircraft such as Maverick’s actual F-14 Tomcat from the original Top Gun Movie! There are also 6,000 engines and over 350,000 aircraft parts in storage. All of this is spread out in precise military rows covering an area of over 2,600 acres (that's over 10 sq. km of precision parking!).

Many of the aircraft are kept in a ‘ready to return’ state of preservation. Meaning that there is an extensive pre-storage workscope carried out before parking up, and an already thought out plan to return the aircraft to service some time later if needed.

Nearby is the brilliant Pima Air & Space Museum which I highly recommend to visit if in the area.

Type: Harvard

Wingspan: 13 m

MGW: 2,548 kg

Powerplant: 600 hp

VNE: 208 mph

Cruise speed: 145 mph

Service ceiling: 24,200 ft

More info: www.TASCVintage.com