Item Description
Original Item. Only One Available. This is a lovely Propeller & hub assembly off of a WWII BT-13 Valiant trainer aircraft. The Vultee BT-13 was the basic trainer flown by most American pilots during World War II. It was the second phase of the three phase training program for pilots. After primary training in PT-13, PT-17, or PT-19 trainers, the student pilot moved to the more complex Vultee for continued flight training. The BT-13 had a more powerful engine and was faster and heavier than the primary trainer.
The propeller set measures roughly 92” in overall length, with the blades each sticking out by roughly 42”. The hub assembly is roughly 12½” tall. The blades still rotate, which make the set difficult to move. We believe the set to be a constant-speed propeller as opposed to a two-position controllable-pitch propeller. The Hamilton Standard decals appear to be modern-replacements, so the propeller set may have recently been on a BT-13 that underwent museum restoration. The hub assembly has a few scattered markings including 52282E, likely just a part number.
This is a fantastic propeller set that would look great mounted to a wall or hanging from a ceiling. It’s in great museum-restored condition and will become the centerpiece of any WWII Aviation collection! The vast majority of American pilots during WWII saw training on this aircraft! Comes ready for further research and display.
Vultee BT-13 Valiant
The Vultee BT-13 Valiant is an American World War II-era basic (a category between primary and advanced) trainer aircraft built by Vultee Aircraft for the United States Army Air Corps, and later US Army Air Forces. A subsequent variant of the BT-13 in USAAC/USAAF service was known as the BT-15 Valiant, while an identical version for the US Navy was known as the SNV and was used to train naval aviators for the US Navy and its sister services, the US Marine Corps and US Coast Guard.
According to Jonathan Thompson, "The three trainer designs that shared their basic engineering with the Vanguard fighter were all promoted under the same name, Valiant. The prototypes had consectutive serial numbers 139, 140 and 141 and made their first flights in the Spring and Summer of 1939. While similar in appearance, they were distinct in purpose and performance, and only one of them succeeded in winning a production contract. This turned out to be six AC contracts with three supplements, eventually amounting to 11,526 aircraft, plus twelve ordered by Peru, for a total of 11,538."
On 24 March, the Vultee BC-51 advanced trainer first flew, but lost out in competition to the North American AT-6. The Air Corps did accept the Vultee BC-51 though, designating it as the BC-3 after some upgrades in the Spring of 1940. On 9 June, Vultee model 54 advanced trainer first flew. Its original 450-hp Wright Whirlwind was eventually replaced with a R-1340. On 28 July, the Vultee model 54A first flew. According to Thompson, "A Basic Trainer, similar to the model 54 except for its fixed landing gear and P&W R-985 engine, it struck pay dirt. In August the USAAC selected it for volume production as the BT-13. which became the standard type for the category throughout World War II."
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