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The Valiant SNV-2:

The Vultee BT-13 Valiant was a basic trainer aircraft produced between Sept 1939 and August 1944 to meet the training needs of the US Army and Navy. The Vultee BT-13 had a continuous canopy with its crew of two sitting in tandem behind dual controls. It was also equipped with blind flying instruments to teach new pilots the basics of flying at night or in foul weather. BT-13 students soon gave the airplane a nickname which described its most memorable characteristic: the Vultee Vibrator.

The only major variant of the BT-13 was the BT-13B, which featured a revised electrical system. Because of the speed with which the BT-13s were built, there was soon a shortage of Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior engines. To overcome the shortage and maintain production levels, the BT-15, using a Wright Whirlwind engine, was then introduced. Two thousand BT-13s and BT-13Bs were transferred to the US Navy, where they were designated the SNV-1 and SNV-2.

When production ceased in 1944, 11,537 Valiants had been produced. The Valiant was retired at the end of the war, but over 100 of these aircraft are still registered in the United States today, although it is believed that less than half are actively airworthy.

Valiant (SNV-2) Specifications:

Manufacturer: Vultee Aircraft, Incorporated
Type: Trainer
Accommodation: student pilot and instructor
Power plant: one 450 hp Pratt & Whitney R-985 Junior Wasp radial engine
Dimensions: span, 42 feet, 2 inches; length 28 feet, 9 inches; height 12 feet, 5 inches
Weight: empty, 4,360 pounds
Performance: max. speed, 166 mph; service ceiling, 16,500 ft.; range, 516 miles