The Boeing AT-15 was an American twin-engined bomber crew trainer designed and built by
Boeing
The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
's Wichita Division. Only two prototypes, designated XAT-15, were built. Plans to build over 1,000 were cancelled on the United States' entry into the Second World War.
Development
One of the first projects for the former Stearman Aircraft Company which in 1939 had become the Wichita Division of Boeing was a twin-engined trainer for bomber crews. Designated X-120 by the company, two examples were ordered by the
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...
as the XAT-15. The AT-15 was a high-wing cantilever monoplane with two wing-mounted
Pratt & Whitney R-1340
The Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp is an aircraft engine of the reciprocating engine, reciprocating type that was widely used in United States, American aircraft from the 1920s onward. It was the Pratt & Whitney aircraft company's first engine, an ...
Wasp radial engines. It had a retractable tailwheel landing gear and an extended glazed fuselage nose for the trainee bomb-aimer. Due to shortage of materials, the aircraft was built of welded steel tube covered with plywood, with wooden wings and tail unit. The two aircraft were delivered to the USAAC, but after the country's entry into the war a change in priorities resulted in the planned order for more than 1,000 aircraft not being placed.
According to
Edward H. Phillips, "The aircraft's specific purpose would be to teach prospective bomber crews how to work together as a team before they were assigned to an operational unit." On 19 May 1941, Boeing signed a contract to build two of the aircraft. On 9 April 1942, the first flight occurred. In October 1942, the first XAT-15 was delivered. However, special schools for gunners, bombardiers, navigators, and pilots developed during the war, and the need for the XAT-15 disappeared. As a result, production was halted and materials salvaged.
Operator
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United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...
Specifications (XAT-15)
See also
References
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External links
Aerofiles
{{USAF trainer aircraft
1940s United States military trainer aircraft
AT-15 (X)
AT-15
Shoulder-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1942
Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear