BT-13 Mike Hunt Alaska Wing

The BT-13 was one of several simplified versions of the more complex Vultee BT-54 Basic Trainer. It was a fixed-gear, low-wing tail-dragger with a crew of two sitting in tandem. When production ended in 1944, approximately 11,537 Valiants had been built. The BT-13 was the most widely used trainer aircraft in WWII. It was flown by most American pilots in transitioning from Primary trainers like the PT-19 to more advanced trainers like the AT-6. It was more complex than the Primary trainer and required the use of two-way radio, landing flaps and a two-position, controllable-pitch prop. The BT-13 was nick-named the “Vultee Vibrator” by its pilots for its most remarkable characteristic- a tendency to shake violently as it approached stall speed.

The Vultee BT-13 Valiant was an American World War II-era basic trainer aircraft built by Vultee Aircraft for the United States Army Air Corps, and later US Army Air Forces. A subsequent variant of the BT-13 in USAAC/USAAF service was known as the BT-15 Valiant, while an identical version for the US Navy was known as the SNV and was used to train naval aviators for the US Navy and its sister services, the US Marine Corps and US Coast Guard.