Designated the BT-13 by the Army Air Corps and the SNV-2 by the Navy, the Vultee Valiant was the next aircraft cadet pilots flew after learning to fly the PT-17 (Stearman), PT-19 or PT-22. Less forgiving than these primary trainers, the SNV/BT-13 required the student pilot to pay more attention to the aircraft in flight. Additionally in the SNV/BT-13, student pilots were introduced to advanced items such as a two-way radio for communication with the ground.
Designed in the late 1930s, the SNV/BT-13 was chosen in 1939 by the U.S.A.A.C. and by the Navy in 1940 for use as a basic trainer. A confidence builder for green pilots, the SNV/BT-13 has been described as a “roomy, noisy, aerobatic and smelly” airplane and received the ignominious nickname “The Vultee Vibrator” from its pilots. The aircraft sharpened the pilot's skills and introduced students to the feel of a more complex and powerful aircraft. Unlike the primary trainers that were fitted with a fixed pitch prop, the SNV/BT-13 was equipped with a two position, variable-pitch propeller requiring greater skill to fly. After mastering the SNV/BT-13, pilots advanced to the AT-6 Texan for fighter pilot training or a twin-engined advance trainer for bomber or transport pilot training.
Once America was fully involved in World War II, Vultee received orders for more than 10,000 SNV/BT-13s, making the plane one of the most important American trainer aircraft of the war. Due to a shortage of the BT-13's Wasp Junior radial engine, Vultee began to fit the Wright R-975-11 radial to BT-13 airframes. A total of 1,693 BT-15s, as these planes were called, were built before the end of the war. Today, the few airworthy SNV/BT-13s or BT 15s left are very popular with warbird collectors and can often be seen at airshows around the country.
The paint scheme of the SNV-2 on display is authentic for a SNV-2 based at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas during World War II. This SNV-2 was delivered to Cabaniss Field, Corpus Christi on April 8,1944. It served in VN12D8, a training squadron based at Cabaniss Field from August 1944 to February 1945. In March 1945, it was transferred to VN13D8C (also a training squadron) at Chase Field in Brownsville, Texas where it served until March l945, when it was transferred to the Naval Air Station in Clinton, Oklahoma. It remained in Clinton until October 31,1945, before it was stricken from the Navy's records.
|ENGINE||Pratt & Whitney R-985 Junior Wasp|
|WING SPAN||42 feet, 2 inches|
|LENGTH||28 feet, 8 inches|
|HEIGHT||12 feet, 5 inches|
|MAX TAKEOFF WEIGHT||4,227 pounds|
|MANUFACTURED BY||Consolidated Vultee Aviation|
|TOTAL EXISTING||Approximately 150|
|MUSEUM'S AIRCRAFT BUILT||1944|
|MAXIMUM SPEED||155 m.p.h.|
|SERVICE CEILING||19,400 feet|