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1944 North American T-6 Texan Goes from Trainer to Entertainer

Before American war aces were able to prove themselves in the skies over the Pacific, for instance, they had to learn how to do it. There were a lot of solutions at hand to get these pilots up to speed with what flying a fighter plane was all about, but few are as important as the T-6 Texan.
1944 North American T-6 Texan SNJ-5 7 photos
Photo: Platinum Fighters
1944 North American T-6 Texan SNJ-51944 North American T-6 Texan SNJ-51944 North American T-6 Texan SNJ-51944 North American T-6 Texan SNJ-51944 North American T-6 Texan SNJ-51944 North American T-6 Texan SNJ-5
The airplane came to be in 1935, and it used to roll off the lines of North American Aviation, the same company that made the much more famous P-51 Mustang. It was so successful, that it was kept into service by some countries well into the 1990s.

Over the course of its life, the Texan was made in over 15,000 examples, and in an extreme number of variants. It was primarily deployed to train the pilots of the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, or the Royal Canadian Air Force, but it ended up being used by over 60 nations, including ones that are no longer on good terms with America, like Iran, Syria or China.

Technically speaking, the Texan was rated at a maximum speed of 208 mph (335 kph) and a range of 730 miles (1,175 km). Because it was a trainer, it was not equipped with weapons, but it did come with the necessary gear to allow it to carry up to three machine guns if the need arose.

The one you’re looking at here is of the SNJ-5 variety. That means it was deployed in the service of the U.S. Navy, and was capable of landing and taking off from a carrier deck. It is powered by a Pratt & Whitney engine and comes with a little over 11,000 hours of total time since new.

True to its legacy, it wears the marks of the Naval Air Station Whiting Field, presently the Navy’s largest air wing and the place from where all Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard helicopter pilots come from.

The plane is for sale, going on Platinum Figthers for $185,000, and would probably be quite the sight at air shows across the nation if someone decided to buy it.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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