Book Review of
North American T-6 Harvard/Texan
Classic Trainer Aircraft for Air Forces Around the World
Author: Duke Hawkins
Classic Aircraft in Detail Series no. 002
HMH Publications
ISBN: 978-2-931083-15-4
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $32.00
HMH Publications
ISBN: 978-2-931083-15-4
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $32.00
HISTORY:
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1970s.
Designed by North American Aviation, the T-6 is known by a variety of designations depending on the model and operating air force. The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) and USAAF designated it as the AT-6, the United States Navy the SNJ, and British Commonwealth air forces the Harvard.
The name by which it is best known outside the US. Starting in 1948, the new United States Air Force (USAF) designated it the T-6, with the USN following in 1962. It remains a popular warbird used for airshow demonstrations and static displays.
It has also been used many times to simulate various historical aircraft, including the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero. A total of 15,495 T-6s of all variants were built.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Crew: two (student and instructor)
Length: 29 ft (8.8 m)
Wingspan: 42 ft (13 m)
Height: 11 ft 8 in (3.56 m)
Wing area: 253.7 sq ft (23.57 m2)
Empty weight: 4,158 lb (1,886 kg)
Gross weight: 5,617 lb (2,548 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN1 Wasp radial engine, 600 hp (450 kW)
Maximum speed: 208 mph (335 km/h, 181 kn) at 5000 ft (1,500 m)
Cruise speed: 145 mph (233 km/h, 126 kn)
Range: 730 mi (1,170 km, 630 nmi)
Service ceiling: 24,200 ft (7,400 m)
Rate of climb: 1,200 ft/min (6.1 m/s)
Wing loading: 22.2 lb/sq ft (108 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.11 hp/lb (kW/kg)
Armament:
Provision for up to 3 × 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns
THE BOOK:
HMH is based in Belgium.
This book is of soft-cover, with 114 pages in 9 ½” x 9 ½” page format.
It contains 257 color photos made of the majority of the aircraft of these types that are in airworthy condition today.
The cover art shows two T-6 Harvard’s flying in formation over the countryside. Both are overall bare-metal with yellow fuselage bands and yellow bands over the tops of their wings. Their wing-tips are red. Both have vertical fin flashes of blue, white and red stripes. Both have black anti-glare panels in front of their wind-screens.
The Harvard in the foreground has a large black fuselage code H roundel 210. Both aircraft are with the Belgian Air Force.
One corner of the cover has illustration of the author, Duke Hawkins, wearing pilot gear.
The back cover shows another Harvard flying at sundown with the sun going down. It is dark and the aircraft is a black silhouette that shows no markings.
The color photos include 194 walk-around type photos of:
17 of the cowling, 4 of the air-intake, 9 of the exhaust, 5 of the weapons, 13 of the canopy, 2 of the foot-steps, 3 of the wing lights, 17 of the wings,28 of the inside of the cockpit, a ground-crewman, 23 of the main and tail wheels, 15 of the rudder and elevators, 11 of the engine, 47 of the interior and exterior of the fuselage.
The last page of the book shows 26 color cover arts of other books that HMH publishes:
Spitfire , T-6 Harvard/Texan (this book), Aircraft Carrier Juan Carlos I, Jaguar, F-16 Fighting Falcon, Dassault Mirage 2000, Fulcrum, Panavia Tornado, Typhoon, SAAB RJ32 Viggen, Hornet, Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Dassault Mirage FI, Harrier II, Mig-31 Foxhound, Dassault Mirage III, Skyhawk, Phantom II, SIAI Marchetti SF-260, Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot, Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, A-400M Atlas, Sukhoi Su-35s Flanker E, Grumman ER-60 Prowler, C-160 Transall and the Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter.
This is a neat book on the Harvard. It will be of great interest to modelers and aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of HMH Publications books and all HMH titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1970s.
Designed by North American Aviation, the T-6 is known by a variety of designations depending on the model and operating air force. The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) and USAAF designated it as the AT-6, the United States Navy the SNJ, and British Commonwealth air forces the Harvard.
The name by which it is best known outside the US. Starting in 1948, the new United States Air Force (USAF) designated it the T-6, with the USN following in 1962. It remains a popular warbird used for airshow demonstrations and static displays.
It has also been used many times to simulate various historical aircraft, including the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero. A total of 15,495 T-6s of all variants were built.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Crew: two (student and instructor)
Length: 29 ft (8.8 m)
Wingspan: 42 ft (13 m)
Height: 11 ft 8 in (3.56 m)
Wing area: 253.7 sq ft (23.57 m2)
Empty weight: 4,158 lb (1,886 kg)
Gross weight: 5,617 lb (2,548 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN1 Wasp radial engine, 600 hp (450 kW)
Maximum speed: 208 mph (335 km/h, 181 kn) at 5000 ft (1,500 m)
Cruise speed: 145 mph (233 km/h, 126 kn)
Range: 730 mi (1,170 km, 630 nmi)
Service ceiling: 24,200 ft (7,400 m)
Rate of climb: 1,200 ft/min (6.1 m/s)
Wing loading: 22.2 lb/sq ft (108 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.11 hp/lb (kW/kg)
Armament:
Provision for up to 3 × 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns
THE BOOK:
HMH is based in Belgium.
This book is of soft-cover, with 114 pages in 9 ½” x 9 ½” page format.
It contains 257 color photos made of the majority of the aircraft of these types that are in airworthy condition today.
The cover art shows two T-6 Harvard’s flying in formation over the countryside. Both are overall bare-metal with yellow fuselage bands and yellow bands over the tops of their wings. Their wing-tips are red. Both have vertical fin flashes of blue, white and red stripes. Both have black anti-glare panels in front of their wind-screens.
The Harvard in the foreground has a large black fuselage code H roundel 210. Both aircraft are with the Belgian Air Force.
One corner of the cover has illustration of the author, Duke Hawkins, wearing pilot gear.
The back cover shows another Harvard flying at sundown with the sun going down. It is dark and the aircraft is a black silhouette that shows no markings.
The color photos include 194 walk-around type photos of:
17 of the cowling, 4 of the air-intake, 9 of the exhaust, 5 of the weapons, 13 of the canopy, 2 of the foot-steps, 3 of the wing lights, 17 of the wings,28 of the inside of the cockpit, a ground-crewman, 23 of the main and tail wheels, 15 of the rudder and elevators, 11 of the engine, 47 of the interior and exterior of the fuselage.
The last page of the book shows 26 color cover arts of other books that HMH publishes:
Spitfire , T-6 Harvard/Texan (this book), Aircraft Carrier Juan Carlos I, Jaguar, F-16 Fighting Falcon, Dassault Mirage 2000, Fulcrum, Panavia Tornado, Typhoon, SAAB RJ32 Viggen, Hornet, Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Dassault Mirage FI, Harrier II, Mig-31 Foxhound, Dassault Mirage III, Skyhawk, Phantom II, SIAI Marchetti SF-260, Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot, Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, A-400M Atlas, Sukhoi Su-35s Flanker E, Grumman ER-60 Prowler, C-160 Transall and the Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter.
This is a neat book on the Harvard. It will be of great interest to modelers and aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of HMH Publications books and all HMH titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Very highly recommended.