Model Designation
Basic flight training in the
United States prior to World War II
was generally provided in light
biplanes, which tended to be slow,
stable and tolerant of fledgling
pilots. Thus, the majority of U.S.
Army Air Corps primary training in
1940 was still being done in
biplanes like the Boeing-Stearman
PT-13/17 series. However, given the
increasingly high-performance nature
of the world's combat aircraft, the
Army reasoned that the primary
training was too easy, giving the
beginner a false sense of mastery
that could, on the next leg up, slow
down his learning, or even cause him
to fail, when he was prematurely
thrust into more demanding aircraft.
Experienced instructors wanted the
primary trainer to be a monoplane,
with higher wing loading that
demanded more careful flying. Such
reasoning led the USAAC to evaluate
the Fairchild M62 two-seat
monoplane.
The M-62 first flew in May 1939,
and won a fly-off competition later
that year against 17 other designs
for the new Army training airplane.
Fairchild was awarded its first Army
PT contract for an initial order on
22 September 1939.
History
The original production batch of
275 were powered by the inline 175
hp Ranger L-440-1 engine and
designated the PT-19. In 1941 mass
production began and 3,181 of the
PT-19A model, powered by the 200 hp
L-440-3, were made by Fairchild. An
additional 477 were built by Aeronca
and 44 by the St. Louis Aircraft
Corporation. The PT-19B, of which
917 were built, was equipped for
instrument flight training by
attaching a collapsible hood to the
front cockpit.
Compared to the earlier biplane
trainers, the Fairchild PT-19
provided a more advanced type of
aircraft. Speeds were higher and
wing loading more closely
approximated that of combat
aircraft, with flight
characteristics demanding more
precision and care. Its virtues were
that it was inexpensive, simple to
maintain and, most of all, virtually
vice-less. The PT-19 truly lived up
to its nickname, the Cradle of
Heroes. It was one of a handful of
primary trainer designs that were
the first stop on a cadet's way to
becoming a combat pilot.
Thousands of the PT-19 series
were rapidly integrated into the US
and Commonwealth training programs,
serving throughout World War II and
beyond. Even after their retirement
in the late 1940s, a substantial
number found their way onto the US
civil register.
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