Beechcraft AT-10 Wichita

AT-10 Wichita

Role	Military trainer aircraft
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 and the Globe Aircraft Company. It was used to train pilots for multi-engined aircraft such as bombers.

Development

"The flag of the United States and colors of the AAF Training Command Pilot School, George Field, Ill, flying overhead, the AT-10s flown by cadets taking advanced training."

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

Specifications

Data from American Warplanes of World War II ^[1]

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 ^[2] (3.15 m)
Wing area: 298 ft² (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 engine, 295 hp (220 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 198 mph (172 knots, 319 km/h)
Range: 770 mi (970 nmi, 1,240 km)
Service ceiling: 16,900 ft (5,150 m)
Wing loading: 20.6 lb/ft² (100 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.096 hp/lb (0.16 kW/kg)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beechcraft AT-10.

Notes

↑ Donald 1995, p.8.
↑ Air Force Museum Fact Sheet. National Museum of the US Air Force. Retrieved 23 May 2009.

Bibliography

Donald, David (editor.) American Warplanes of World War II. London:Aerospace Publishing, 1995. ISBN 1-874023-72-7.
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

Beechcraft, Raytheon Aircraft and Hawker Beechcraft aircraft models

Beechcraft designation	16 17 18 19 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 99 100 101 120 200 300 350 390 400 1074 1079 1300 1900 2000

Military	XA-38 AT-7 AT-10 AT-11 C-43 C-45 C-6 C-12 F-2 L-23 T-1 T-6 T-34 XT-36 T-42 T-44 U-8 U-21 GB JB-1 JRB SNB CT-128 CT-134 CT-145 CT-156

Drone	QU-22 AQM-37 MQM-61A MQM-107

Hawker business jet line	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-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-41 T-42 T-43 T-44 T-45 T-46 T-47 T-48 (I) T-48 (II) CT-49 T-50 T-51 T-52 T-53

Alternate sequences

1962 redesignations	T-1 T-2

1990-1996 sequence	T-1 T-2¹ T-3 T-4¹ T-5¹ T-6

¹ Not assigned

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Beechcraft AT-10 Wichita

Development

Operators

Specifications

See also

References