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The SNJ T6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the US Navy and Air Force and their allies. Designed by North American Aviation, the iconic trainer is known by a variety of designations depending on the model and operating air force.

These information files were written by well-known warbird expert Randy Sohn (former USAF B-25 instructor and DC-3 Captain at North Central Airlines.) He had graciously given us authority to share them with the round-engine fans.

For many aviators, the passion for flight began in a Stearman Kaydet. One of U18 most recognizable World War II trainers ever, the steady and forgiving Kaydet taught many thousands of pilots how to fly. The two-seat, open-cockpit biplane was introduced by Stearman Aircraft Division of Boeing in Wichita, Kansas in 1934.

4 June 1942, 0702: Led by Lieutenant Commander John C. Waldron, Torpedo Squadron Eight (VT-8) flew at low altitude toward the expected position of the attacking Japanese fleet, while the fighters escorted the dive bombers at high altitude. Waldron sighted the enemy fleet at a distance of 30 miles and ordered his squadron to attack.

Flight Petty Officer Koga flew his oil-spewing airplane to Akutan Island , in the Aleutian chain, which had been designated for emergency landings. A Japanese submarine stood nearby to pick up downed pilots. At a level, grassy valley floor half a mile inland, Koga lowered his wheels and flaps and eased toward a three-point landing.

In September, 1941, I was transferred from the staff of the Third Carrier Division to aircraft carrier Akagi, a position I had left just one year earlier. Shortly after joining my old comrades in Akagi, I was given additional duty as commander of all air groups of the First Air Fleet. This was an assignment beyond all my dreams. I felt that some thing big must be afoot.