Gerard F. Vultee, for whom the Vultee Aircraft was named, had worked as an
engineer at Douglas Aircraft and Lockheed Aircraft before becoming Lockheed's
chief engineer in 1928. While at Lockheed, Vultee designed the Lockheed 8 Sirius
for Charles and Anne Lindbergh and began design work on a single-engined
transport but the Stock Market Crash of 1929 had placed Lockheed in financial
trouble and it could not afford to build this new aircraft. Vultee left Lockheed in
1930 and began looking for a financial backer for his transport. Vultee's search
ended when he met Errett Lobban Cord in September 1931. Cord, the head of the
Cord Corporation, owned two aviation companies, Stinson Aircraft and Lycoming
Motors, two automobile companies, Auburn and Dusenberg, and five other engine
manufacturers. In early 1931, Cord had founded two airlines and he saw Vultee's
high-speed transport as a replacement for the Stinson tri-motors these airlines were
operating. In January 1932, Cord formed the Airplane Development Corporation
as a subsidiary of the Cord Corporation, with Vultee as chief engineer, to begin
work on the Vultee V-1 transport. The company initially used a hangar in Burbank,
California but moved to Glendale six months later.
In early 1932, Cord faced labor problems with his airlines pilots and he sold both
airlines to American Airways in exchange for seven percent of the stock of
American's parent company, the Aviation Corporation. By late 1932, Cord had
purchased 30 percent of the stock in the Aviation Corporation and after a bitter
stockholder's battle, Cord gained control of the company.
The U.S. Congress passed the Air Mail Act of 1934 which prohibited any air mail
contractor from holding an interest in any other aviation enterprise except landing
fields. The result was that the Aviation Corporation was required to divest
American Airways which was promptly renamed American Airlines. Another result
was that the Cord companies were restructured, i.e., the Aviation Manufacturing
Company was formed as a division of the Aviation Corporation and the corporate
hierarchy was now the Aviation Company-Aviation Manufacturing
Company-Airplane Development Company. (Note that none of these companies
were named Vultee.) Gerard Vultee was named vice president and chief engineer of
the Aviation Manufacturing Company and work began on an attack bomber for
export. The facilities at Glendale proved too small for production and the company
moved to an abandoned plant in Downey, California in June 1936.
Although Vultee aircraft sold well overseas, the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC),
superseded by the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) on 20 June 1941, had ignored
their aircraft, and in January 1938, Vultee and his wife flew east on a sales trip.
While returning to California, Vultee took off from Winslow, Arizona on 29
January, flew into a snowstorm and crashed in the mountains killing both occupants
of the aircraft.
E.L. Cord sold his interests in the Aviation Corporation to a syndicate in 1937
which resulted in a number of corporate reorganizations. In November 1937,
Vultee was reorganized as the Vultee Aircraft Division of the Aviation
Manufacturing Corporation; this was the first time that a company was named
Vultee. In 1939, Stinson Aircraft became a division of Vultee and on 14 November
1939, Vultee Aircraft, Incorporated was established to acquire the assets of the
Aviation Manufacturing Company making Vultee a subsidiary of the parent
company, the Aviation Company. The next major reorganization occurred in
November 1941 when Vultee acquired majority ownership of the Consolidated
Aircraft Corporation. Two boards of directors, headed by the same person, were
maintained to control the two companies but this changed on 17 March 1943 when
the two companies merged and were renamed the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft
Corporation with headquarters in San Diego, California. Stinson remained a division
of the new company
In 1939, Vultee had begun a design effort on a pursuit aircraft and three training
aircraft; one of these trainers was the Model 54. A total of 11,538 Model
54/74/79s were built for the USAAC/USAAF as BT-13-VUs and BT-15-VUs,
for the U.S. Navy (USN) as SNVs, and for the Peruvian Air Force.
The Model 54/74/79 basic trainer was a single-engine, two-seat, low-wing
monoplane with fixed landing gear designed as a transition trainer between primary
trainers, such as the Stearman N2S Kaydet, q.v., and advanced trainers, such as
the North American SNJ Texan, q.v. The aircraft was all metal with metal framed,
fabric covered control surfaces, i.e., the elevators, rudder and ailerons; the tandem
cockpits, under a continuous transparent canopy, had dual controls. The
BT-13/SNVs were powered by a 450 hp (340 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985
nine-cylinder, single-row, air-cooled radial engine driving a Hamilton-Standard
two-position variable-pitch propeller. There was a shortage of R-985 engines in
1941-42 and 1,693 Model 74s were completed with a 450 hp (340 kW) Wright
R-975-11 nine-cylinder, single-row, air-cooled radial engine; these aircraft were
delivered to the USAAF only and were designated BT-15-VUs.
The prototype aircraft was the Model 54A which first flew on 28 July 1939. The
first production aircraft was the Model 54D, designated BT-13 by the USAAC; an
order for 300 aircraft powered by an R-985-25 engine was placed on 16
September 1939.
The second production aircraft was the Model 74, designated BT-13A by the
USAAC/USAAF and SNV-1 by the USN. This aircraft was powered by an
R-985-AN-1 engine and an initial order for 2,000 aircraft was placed by the
USAAC on 14 April 1941. A total of 6,407 BT-13As were built; 200 BT-13As
were transferred to the USN as SNV-1s in 1941 and 1,150 SNV-1s were
ordered directly by the USN. The Model 74As were 1,693 BT-15-VUs equipped
with the Wright R-975 engine; all were for the USAAF.
The last production versions were the Models 79 and 79A. The Model 79,
designated BT-13B by the USAAF, was equivalent to the BT-13A but was
powered by an R-985-AN-3 engine and equipped with a 24-volt electrical system;
1,125 of these aircraft were built for the USAAF. On 19 February 1944, the
USAAF ordered 650 SNV-2s for the USN; these aircraft, which were identical to
the BT-13Bs, were designated Model 79As.
In service, these aircraft earned the nickname Vultee Vibrator due to the vibrations
created when it approached its stall speed of 75 mph (121 km/h) clean. The aircraft
was underpowered, slow, noisy, unattractive and unforgiving but there is no record
of any structural failures causing an accident or crash while in flight.
PRODUCTION HISTORY
SNV-1: 1,350 Model 74s, equivalent to the USAAF BT-13A, powered by a 450
hp (340 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-1 nine-cylinder, single-row, air-cooled,
radial engine.
SNV-2: 650 Model 79As, equivalent to the USAAF BT-13B, powered by a 450
hp (340 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-3 nine-cylinder, single-row, air-cooled,
radial engine.
OPERATIONAL HISTORY
U.S. Navy
The first SNV-1 flew on 5 August 1941 and was delivered to Naval Air Station
(NAS) Corpus Christi, Texas. By December 1941, there were 35 SNV-1s at both
NAS Corpus Christi and NAS Pensacola, Florida. During the war, SNVs were
also based at NAS Jacksonville and Miami, and Naval Auxiliary Air Station
(NAAS) Barin Field and Ellyson Field, Florida and NAAS Cabaniss Field and
Cuddihy Field, Texas.
The last SNV-2 was delivered on 28 February 1944 and the SNV-1 was declared
obsolete in May 1945. The last SNV-2 was removed from the inventory in April
1946.
U.S. Marine Corps (USMC)
The USMC obtained at least four SNV-1s as utility aircraft in 1943. In August
1943, four SNV-1s were assigned to Marine Scout Bombing Squadron Three
Hundred Forty Two (VMSB-342) based at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS)
Cherry Point, North Carolina.
U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)
The USCG acquired two SNV-1s in 1942 for instrument flying training and utility
duties; they remained in service with the USCG until 1945. In early 1943, both
aircraft were assigned to Coast Guard Air Station (CGAS) Biloxi, Mississippi.
SPECIFICATIONS
Power Plant: One 450 hp (340 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985 nine-cylinder,
single-row, air-cooled, radial engine
Wing Span
Length
Height: 9 feet 1 inch (2.77 meters)
Wing Area: 239 square feet (22.20 square meters)
Empty Weight
Loaded Weight
Maximum Speed
Cruising Speed
Service Ceiling
Maximum Range: 725 miles (1,191 km)
Armament: None
SNV-1: R-985-AN1
SNV-2: R-985-AN3
SNV-1: 42 feet (12.8 meters)
SNV-2: 42 feet 2 inches (12.85 meters)
SNV-1: 28 feet 10 inches (8.79 meters)
SNV-2: 28 feet 8.5 inches (8.75 meters)
SNV-1: 2,976 pounds (1,350 kg)
SNV-2: 3,375 pounds (1,531 kg)
SNV-1: 3,991 pounds (1,810 kg)
SNV-2: 4,496 pounds (2,039 kg)
SNV-1: 182 mph at 1,400 feet (293 km/h at 427 meters)
SNV-2: 166 mph at 1,400 feet (267 km/h at 427 meters)
SNV-1: 170 mph at 5,000 feet (274 km/h at 1,524 meters)
SNV-2: 140 mph at 5,500 feet (225 km/h at 1,676 meters)
SNV-1: 21,000 feet (6,401 meters)
SNV-2: 16,500 feet (5,029 meters)