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Stearman (Boeing) PT-13D Kaydet
The PT-13 was a standard primary trainer flown by the United States and several allied nations during the late 1930s through World War II. In 1933 Lloyd Stearman designed the forerunner of the Kaydet, the Model 70, for the civilian market. Three years later, the U.S. Army Air Corps adopted a militarized version, designated the PT-13. In 1938 Boeing purchased the Stearman Co., which continued producing the Kaydet. There were many nearly identical models of the Kaydet. While the PT-13 was powered by a Lycoming engine, a Kaydet with a Continental engine received the designation PT-17, and with a Jacobs engine, the PT-18. A later version which featured a cockpit canopy was designated the PT-27.
Well-liked by the students who flew, the Kaydet trained many thousands of pilots during WWII. Following WWII, the USAAF phased out the Kaydets in favor of more modern trainers.
Of 10,346 Kaydets ordered for the United States and its allies, 2,141 were PT-13s for the USAAF. The PT-13D on display, donated in 1959 by the Boeing Airplane Co., was the last Kaydet produced. |