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Vultee BT-13 Valiant

The Vultee BT-13 Valiant was a monoplane Basic Trainer with seating for an instructor and trainee, under a greenhouse canopy, and had fixed landing gear.   The base BT-13 and BT-13A variants were fitted with a 450 HP Pratt & Whitney R-985 radial engine, while a variant known as the BT-15 was fitted with a 450 HP Wright R-975 radial engine.  

Per reference [8] a prototype BT-13 took its first flight in March 1939 and entered service with the US armed forces in June 1940.  Eventually 9,525 of this type aircraft were built and it served as the main Basic Trainer for the USAAC during WWII.  A number of these aircraft were transferred to the US Navy to also serve as a Basic Trainer and were identified as the SNV in naval service.  In addition to service with the US Armed Forces it alsoeventually served with the air forces of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, the USSR, and Venezuela.

As shown in the images below distinguishing features of this aircraft including;
BT-13
[Image Sources: US Government/Public Domain via Ref [8] - as annotated by this site]

The table below summarizes the current data collected on this type aircraft, identifying sources for the data

    BT-13 Source Notes
Primary Source   2 3, 5
No of Crew   2
Engine:  
   Qty   1
   Model   R-985-25
   Displacement  (cu in) 985
   Power  
     Military (HP)
     War Emergency (HP)
    Normal (HP) 450
    Take Off (HP) 450
   Eng Dims  
     Length (ft) 3.53
     Width/Dia (ft) 3.81
     Height (ft)
   Base Engine Wt (lb) 665
Propeller  
   # Blades   2
   Dia (ft) 9
   Manufacturer   Two-Speed
   Type  
Wing  
   Span (ft)
   Root Thickness (%)
  (in)
   Total Area  (sq ft) 239
     Wing (less Ailerons & Flaps) (sq ft)
     Ailerons (sq ft)
     Flaps (sq ft)
Tail Area (sq ft) 71.7
   V Tail Area (sq ft) 18.62
     Fin (sq ft)  
     Rudder (sq ft)  
   H Tail Area (sq ft) 53.08
     Stabilizer (sq ft)  
     Elevator (sq ft)  
Total Control Surf Area (sq ft)
Length  
   Overall (ft) 27.8
   Fuselage (ft) 28.8
   Body  (ft) 27.8
     Body Depth (ft)
    Body Width (ft)
Fuel Tank Volume (gal)
   Wing Tanks (gal)
    FuselageTanks (gal)
Oil Tank Volume (gal)
Water Injection Fluid Tank Volume (gal)
Wetted Area (sqf) (sq ft)
Pwr Ldng (lb/HP) 9.36
Wing Ldng (lb/sq ft) 17.62
Struct. Des. GW  (lb)
Ultimate Load Factor (G's)
Design Speed (mph) 180
Not to Exceed Speed (mph)
   
Total Struct Weight   1630
   Total Wing   710
     Wing    
     Ailerons    
     Flaps    
     Fuselage Carry-Through    
   Tail   107
     H Tail   82
       Stabilizer    
       Elevator    
     V Tail   25
       Fin    
       Rudder    
   Body + Eng Section + LG  
   Body + LG   813
   Body   539
     Fuselage    
     Engine Section    
   Landing Gear   274
     Mn Landing Gr   236
     Tail/Nose Aux LG   38
   Tail Hook  
   Booms  
   Nacelles    
Total Propulsion Weight   1018
   Engine w/ Accessories   750
   Engine(s) as Installed   689
     Accessories   61
    Turbocharger(s)  
   Controls   20
   Propeller(s)   163
     2-Blade   163
     3-Blade    
     4-Blade    
   Starting System   39
   Water Injection System  
     Tanks    
     Piping Etc    
   Cooling System  
   Lube System   21
     Tanks    
     Piping Etc    
   Fuel System   25
     Tanks    
     Piping Etc    
Total Sys. & Eqpmt.   516
   Instruments   69
   Surface Controls    104
   Hydraulics  
   Electrical Equip   192
Electronics (Purple means incl in Furn/Gray in Useful Ld)  
   Arm Prov/Equipment & Armor  
    Furnishings   151
   Anti-Ice (If not in Furn)  
   Other /Misc  
     Hoisting Gear  
     Floatation Gear  
     Armor Plate    
     
Empty Wt   3164
Basic Mission Useful Load   1048
   Crew   400
   Equipment  
   Oil   63
   Fuel   552
   Fuel & Oil Trapped in Systems  
   Water Solution for Engine Injection  
   Bombs/Torp Etc  
   Radio (if Not Included in Empty Wt)  
   Nav Equipment  
   Oxygen System  
   Armament  
     Guns & Ammo    
       Guns    
       Ammo    
     Pyrotechnics    
     Camera    
     Other    
   Other Useful Load   33
Basic Mission GW   4212

For the filming of the movie "Tora, Tora, Tora" in 1970 several BT-13 aircraft were converted to look like Japanese Aichi Val D3A dive bombers, some of which still appear in air shows.

Notes: This website has been developed with a number of low cost or free programs including Hot Metal Pro, KompoZer, MicroSoft Designer and Da Button Factory.com

Rev 3-13-25

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