Is it a Zero? Texan? Wirraway?

[Luka]

Got sick of looking at the last post so i'm gunna put this one out. There once was an aircraft designer, maybe dutch, maybe not. Who travelled the world selling designs to countries around the time of WW2. As a result the Japanese Zero, the Harvard Texan and the CAC Wirraway are all the same design! It was a simple, solid design. One that would lend itself nicely to a trainer. The Japanese "sharpened" the design and left out armour and made a pretty nice fighter (so long as you weren't the one flying it!)-(No self sealing tanks). The Americans saw the design for what it was and created the famous and still flying Texan.
The desperate Australians tried to make a fighter/bomber/recon out of the aircraft, with a couple of 303s...never could intercept anything...was long gone by the time it got to height!
Am i imagining this story or is there a skeric of truth?

[DAIRD]

Hi Luka,

I've found something for you.

look here:

http://www.nzwarbirds.org.nz/at6a.html

Even Luftwaffe operated ca. 200 T-6 for training purposes between 1940 and 1945.

...and here (no English version):

http://www.beuteflugzeuge.de/North-American-Flugzeuge.phtml

[Luka]

Hi Luka,

I've found something for you.

look here:

http://www.nzwarbirds.org.nz/at6a.html

Even Luftwaffe operated ca. 200 T-6 for training purposes between 1940 and 1945.

...and here (no English version):

http://www.beuteflugzeuge.de/North-A...lugzeuge.phtml

- Wow! Mind boggling stuff! Who woulda thunk the Luftwaffe even flew them! Over 40 Nations! - Thats got to be some sort of record...No wonder i keep seeing them!!
But it still doesn't say "who" designed it other than "North American" - Quite a few, most aircraft even during the war had its genisus from an individual, the engineering team would then "improve" the initial idea...So who came up with the original idea? Must be a VERY proud dude.
Thanks man! Heaps of new stuff there for me.

[guamainiac]

Wiki is claiming that though the Japs bought a few in 1937, there are no parts common and it is a smaller plane with different construction.

But I believe you can add Saab to the mix. One of the history sites clearly had a Texan as attributed to Saab. After a debate and getting bloody eyeballs I finally found where it was built under license. But it does not appear on many Saab sites.

I have been in a similar whizzing contest over the turbo. They are masters at dancing between raindrops with the language and you would believe that Saab brought out the first production turbo on a car. No way.

Olds and Corvair made a tons of them in the 1960's ten years before Saab.

[Alex - Spot-This !]

never heard about WW2 Lufwaffe Texans .... any link, docs about it ?

[DAIRD]

When Wehrmacht marched into Francein1940, they captured a lot of US-build aircraft, which were ordered by the French government some years ago. This also happened to some DC-2 or DC-3 they captured from KLM which coudln't escape.

[Alex - Spot-This !]

AFAIK France didn't have any T-6 in their inventory in 1940. I think there's a mistake and the Luftwaffe's T-6 are all post-war.

[DAIRD]

as I said... look here:

http://www.beuteflugzeuge.de/North-American-Flugzeuge.phtml

[guamainiac]

A reading of "The Saab-Scania Story" gives a clue. It indicates that the Swedish air force operated them from 1939 to 1949.

They were produced under license starting in 1937. One of the key things about the formative companies is that they were all backed by German money since the Germans were not allowed to produce military equipment. Sweden was said to be technically neutral but had strong ties to Germany.

The NA-164M was built under license as the Sk-14.

"Svenska Aero AB was established in 1921. The principals behind the new company were German aircraft manufacturers who, under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles were forbidden to produce airplanes at home. The Naval Air Service ordered a number of Heinkels from the company, the affair was shrouded in mystery; the company was never registered and no records detailing it's operation have been forund. Although Heinkel was presumably the major shareholder, Svenska Aero ran into difficulties ... a time when Heinkel's management and design personnel were more urgently needed by the German armaments industry." They also mention "parties fronting for the German Junkers company".

It seems quite likely that Germany did not have to tip their hand by ordering anything from NA but those aircraft were provided by SAAB?

The first two aircraft produced by the Trollhattan facility in 1938 were a Northrop B5 and the medium heavy Junkers Ju86 bomber.