The pilot maker
Designed and built in the 1930s, the Harvard holds legendary status as a fighter-trainer, remaining in service in some air forces right up until the 1970s.
Fighter-trainer
The North American T-6 Texan was designed by North American Aviation in 1937 under the designation NA-26 as a single-engine fighter trainer for military pilots transitioning from low-powered primary trainers to high-performance front-line fighters.
By number it is the most prolific fighter trainer ever built with a total of 15,495 aircraft, including all variants, being produced. It trained pilots of the United States Army Air Force, the United States Navy, the Royal Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and as recently as the 1970s.
It is known by several designations. The USAAF designated in the AT-6—Advanced Trainer. The United States Navy designated it SNJ, with the S standing for Scout. The RAF designated it the Harvard. It has also over time gathered several other monikers such as ‘the pilot maker’ and ‘the window breaker’.
The Harvard is a two-seat tandem seat aircraft with metal fuselage and wings and fabric control services. It is powered by a Pratt & Whitney R1340-AN-1 Wasp air-cooled, nine-cylinder, supercharged radial engine rated at 550HP.
Harvard IIB FE695
Harvard IIB FE695 was built in December 1942 as an AT-16 Harvard by Nordyun Aviation under a lend lease agreement with the US Air Force. It was issued with military serial number 42-892. The Royal Canadian Air Force took delivery of the aircraft the same year and assigned their military registration FE695 before sending it to the No.6 Service Flying Training School at Dunnville, Ontario, where it trained Commonwealth pilots under the Empire Air Training Scheme.
Flying legend
In November 1945, the aircraft was placed in military storage until being discharged in June 1947. Following refurbishment, the aircraft took to the skies once more, this time with the Swedish Air Force under the type designation SK-16A with the military registration Fv16105. The aircraft served with No. 5 Squadron of the Swedish Air Force from August 1948 through to March 1972.
It joined the world renowned Fighter Collection in 1990 and between the years of 1991 and 1995 underwent a thorough overhaul. Its restoration complete, it flew again on the 8th May 1996.
Harvard FE695 was then acquired by Northwind in 2020. She flies regularly out of Duxford Aerodrome near Cambridge. You can see also see her being displayed at various air shows around the UK.
