The True Ace Maker The most important U.S. airplane of WW II?

If you want to start a discussion that features all the chaos and passion of a coyote in the henhouse, ask a group of aviation buffs, “What do you think is the most important single-engine airplane of WW II?” Then, stand back. Far back! What begins as a logical discussion will quickly degenerate into a “WHAAAT! You’re nuts … !” type of heated debate.

At Flight Journal, however, we think that, regardless of what airplane, especially what fighter, is picked, it will likely be wrong. At least by our definitions. We define “most important” as “That single-engine airplane without which, victory in WW II would have been much more difficult.” In our view, the airplane that best fits that description began as the lowly North American NA-16/26 that became much better known in the U.S. as the AT-6/SNJ Texan and the Harvard elsewhere.

Yes, we can hear readers worldwide screaming. See how quickly the argument is lowered to babbling on about the incredible contributions of this combat bird versus that one, Spitfire to Mustang to Thunderbolt, etc.?

By the time students got to Advanced Training in the AT-6 Texan, they had flown a primary trainer such as the Stearman PT-17 and a basic trainer, usually the BT-13/15.