North American Harvard

With the Royal Air Force undergoing rapid expansion in the late 1930s there was a need for more trained pilots and therefore more training aircraft. This lead to the British Purchasing Commission ordering 200, later being increased to 400, North American BC-1 trainers during June 1938. Although these would be fitted with British equipment and known as the Harvard Mk I.

The first flight of the Harvard took place on the 28th September 1938. The Mk I was powered by the 600-hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-S3H1 engine giving the aircraft a top speed of 180 mph, range of 850 miles and a service ceiling of 24,000 ft. No armament was installed. It would be No. 3 Flying Training School that received the first examples to enter service on the 3rd December 1938.

Based on the North American AT-6 the Harvard Mk II followed and featured a number of changes including a triangular shaped fin. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engine it had a top speed of 205 mph, range of 750 miles and a service ceiling of 23,000 ft. No armament was installed. There were also two sub-variants. The Harvard Mk IIA was based on the AT-6C and the AT-16 formed the basis for the Harvard Mk IIB.

The Harvard Mk III was powered by a 550-hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine and this was based on the AT-6D. Its top speed and range was the same as its predecessor, although it had a slightly lower service ceiling of 22,000 ft. It was unarmed.

The final variant was the Harvard Mk IV. This was fitted with a 600-hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN-1 engine which gave the aircraft a top speed of 180 mph, range of 800 miles and a service ceiling of 22,400 ft as with other training variants this was unarmed.

The Harvard remained in service training Royal Air Force pilots until the 23rd March 1955. Another major user of the type was the Royal Canadian Air Force who retired theirs in 1966. In total 6,101 Harvards were built.

Harvard Mk IV at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford