The Curtiss T-32 Condor II was a 1930s American biplane

airliner An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest ...

and

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

aircraft built by the

Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909–1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Curtiss, Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in ...

. It was used 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 an executive transport.

Development

The Condor II was a 1933 two-bay

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

of mixed construction with a single

vertical stabilizer A vertical stabilizer or tail fin is the static part of the vertical tail of an aircraft. The term is commonly applied to the assembly of both this fixed surface and one or more movable rudders hinged to it. Their role is to provide control, sta ...

and

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

, and retractable

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...

. It was powered by two

Wright Cyclone Wright Cyclone was the name given to a family of air-cooled radial piston engines designed by the Wright Aeronautical Corporation and used in numerous American aircraft in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Background The Wright Aeronautical Corporatio ...

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...

s. The first aircraft was flown on 30 January 1933 and a production batch of 21 aircraft was then built. The production aircraft were fitted out as 12-passenger luxury night sleeper transports. They entered service with Eastern Air Transport and American Airways, forerunners of

Eastern Air Lines Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade ...

and

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

, respectively, on regular night services for the next three years. The June 15, 1934, American Airlines system timetable marketed its Condors as being "The World's First Complete Sleeper-Planes" with these 12-passenger aircraft being equipped with sleeper berths and also being capable of cruising at 190 miles per hour. An example of the Condor services operated by American were daily overnight flights between Dallas and Los Angeles during the mid-1930s with a routing of Dallas–Ft. Worth–Abilene–Big Spring, TX–El Paso–Douglas, AZ–Tucson–Phoenix–Los Angeles.http://www.timetableimages.com, June 1, 1934 American Airlines system timetable The

Colombian Air Force The Colombian Aerospace Force (FAC, ) is the air force of the Republic of Colombia. The Colombian Aerospace Force is one of the three institutions of the Military Forces of Colombia charged, according to the 1991 Constitution, with working to exe ...

operated three BT-32s equipped with floats in the Colombia-Peru War in 1933. Two modified T-32s were bought by the United States Army Air Corps (designated YC-30) for use as executive transports. One Condor was converted with extra fuel tanks and used by the 1939–1941 United States Antarctic Service Expedition, and unique for a Condor, had a fixed undercarriage to allow use on floats or skis. Some aircraft were later modified to AT-32 standard with variable-pitch propellers and improved engine

nacelle A nacelle ( ) is a streamlined container for aircraft parts such as Aircraft engine, engines, fuel or equipment. When attached entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached with a Hardpoint#Pylon, pylo ...

s. The AT-32D variant could be converted from sleeper configuration to daytime use with 15 seats. Four T-32s operating in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

were pressed into service with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Eight bomber variants (BT-32) were built with manually operated machine-gun turrets in the nose and above the rear fuselage. All these aircraft were exported. A military cargo version (CT-32) was also built for

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. It had a large loading door on the starboard side of the fuselage.

Variants

;T-32 :Production luxury night sleeper, 21 built including two as YC-30s ;T-32C :Ten T-32s modified to AT-32 standard. ;AT-32A :Variant with variable-pitch propellers and 710 hp (529 kW) Wright SGR-1820-F3 Cyclone engines, three built. ;AT-32B :An AT-32 variant with 720 hp (537 kW) Wright SGR-1820-F2 Cyclone engines, three built. ;AT-32C :An AT-32 variant, one built for

Swissair Swissair (German language, German: Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; French language, French: S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne, stylised as swissair) was the Flag carrier, national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and ban ...

. ;AT-32D :An AT-32 variant with 720 hp (537 kW) Wright SGR-1820-F3 Cyclone engines, one built. ;AT-32E :AT-32 variant for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as the R4C-1, two built. ;BT-32 :Bomber variant, eight built. ;CT-32 :Military cargo variant with large cargo door, three built. ;YC-30 :United States Army Air Corps designation for two T-32s. EL-2002-00547

;R4C-1 :United States Navy designation for two AT-32Es (one for United States Marine Corps) both later to the

United States Antarctic Service The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has a presence in the ...

Operators

Civil operators

; * LAN-Chile operated three former

aircraft ; * China National Aviation Corporation operated six AT-32E freighters ; * SACO/

Avianca Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias de Colombia S.A.'', "Airways of Colombia", and stylized as avianca since October 2023) is the largest airline in Colombia. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it ...

operated 2 ; TACA International Airlines ; *

; * International Air Freight,

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

operated four T-32s. ; * American Airways (subsequently renamed

) * Eastern Air Transport (subsequently renamed

)

Military operators

; *

Argentine Naval Aviation The Argentine Naval Aviation (', COAN) is the naval aviation branch of the Argentine Navy and one of its four operational commands. Argentina, along with Brazilian Navy, Brazil is one of two South American countries to have operated two aircraft c ...

operated three aircraft of the CT-32 variant, one as a crew trainer and two as freighters. ; * Chinese Nationalist Air Force operated BT-32 variant. ; *

operated three BT-32 variants on floats. ; * Honduran Air Force ; *

Peruvian Air Force The Peruvian Air Force (, FAP) is the branch of the Peruvian Military of Peru, Armed Forces tasked with defending the nation and its interests through the use of aerial warfare, air power. Additional missions include assistance in safeguarding i ...

operated BT-32 variant. ; *

– Four T-32 variants impressed from International Air Freight. Not used in service and scrapped at No 30 Maintenance Unit. RAF Sealand. ; *

operated two YC-30 aircraft. *

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

received one R4C-1 aircraft. *

received one R4C-1 aircraft.

Accidents and incidents

*On 27 July 1934,

Condor CH-170 broke up in mid-air and crashed at Tuttlingen,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

killing all 12 passengers and crew.

Specifications (T-32 Condor II ATC-501)

References

Sources

* Andrade, John M. ''U.S.Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909''. Earl Shilton, Leicester, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979. . (Page 63 and 214) * Bowers, Peter M. ''Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947''. London: Putnam & CompanyLtd., 1979. . * * * ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft'' (Part Work 1982–1985). Orbis Publishing, 1985.

External links

USAF Museum C-30 factsheet

USAF Museum YC-30 factsheet

{{USN transports T-32 Condor II 1930s United States airliners 1930s United States military transport aircraft 1930s United States bomber aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1933 Biplanes Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear