The PT-19 served as a primary trainer during World War II.
In the late 1930s, the Fairchild Aircraft Manufacturing Company entered their M-62, later known as the PT-19 design to satisfy the Army Air Corps’ call for a primary trainer.
Among its refinements are excellent forward visibility and widely spaced fixed landing gear which guarded against ground accidents. The steel tubing frame and plywood covered wing and tail structures were light, strong and easy to maintain. As production increased, Fairchild began fitting Continental radial engines to PT-19 frames, calling the new aircraft the PT-23. Fairchild also produced the PT-26, a modified PT-19 featuring a fully enclosed canopy for the Royal Canadian Air Force to help combat the cold Canadian climate. By the end of the war, a total of 8,130 PT-19s, PT-23s and PT-26s had been produced.
HISTORY OF THE LSFM PT-19
This PT-19 rolled off the assembly line in November 1941 and served as a trainer in World War II. It underwent a complete restoration in the early 1990s. The family of Jack Threadgill of Bryan, Texas donated the aircraft to the LFSM in 2015. Around 100 PT-19s remain airworthy today.
