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Saga of a Thoroughbred
By FLIGHT LIEUTENANT J. A. WHITELAW (The Roundel Vol 17, No. 4 May 1965)
Page 1 of 3
The Harvard has been appropriately described as the aircraft which has defied the rules of obsolescence and ignored its own obituaries. But now, after almost 26 years of RCAF service, its days are drawing to a close. There are many serving and ex-RCAF members who will pause and reflect wistfully on past experiences and associations with this time-honoured trainer. Certainly no other aircraft in the history of the RCAF engenders the same nostalgic memories from so many thousands of fliers, from a wide variety of countries who, flew the "yellow peril" during their embryo pilot-days.
The artist's drawing illustrates how Harvardswere landed in the U.S. and pushed across
the international border into Canada.
Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War the RCAF had ordered 15 Harvard Mk I aircraft from the North American Aviation Company. These trainers were to play a vital role in the planned buildup of the RCAF. They were, in fact, the fore-runners of the vast numbers of training aircraft which were later to support the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP). Delivery of the first Mk I Harvard was made to Western Air Command on 19 July 1939. (This original aircraft flew, with minor mishaps, throughout the war but was eventually written off in an accident at No. 1 TTS Aylmer on 9 May '46.) Ninety additional Harvards were ordered from the USA during 1940. An interesting sidelight occurred during the delivery of these aircraft to Canada. To pre- serve the neutrality of the U.S. after Canada entered the war all Harvards purchased from the U.S. were flown to the international boundary at Coutts, Alberta and other points, and pushed or towed across the border into Canada. In November 1939, an officer of No. 111 Coast Artillery Co-operation Sqn., located at RCAF Stn. Vancouver, proceeded to Coutts to complete arrangements for the acceptance of these aircraft, which were then flown to their Canadian destinations.
With the beginning of the war and the commencement of the BCATP a massive buildup of training facilities took place across Canada. The Harvard was selected to be the prime advanced single-engine trainer and service flying training schools were established across Canada at such places as Camp Borden, Ottawa, Dunnville, Moncton, Summerside, St. Hubert, Kingston, Moose Jaw and Swift Current, to handle the vast influx of trainee pilots answering the call to the colours. In addition to the training of Canadian pilots, the Harvard was utilized to provide air instruction in Canada for pilots from almost every country allied against Germany during the war. RCAF Stn. Trenton, with one of the largest inventories of Harvard, became the home of Central Flying School and later No. 1 Flying Instructors' School where potential instructors received their training then went on to instruct other Harvard pilots.
In January 1940, 100 Mk II Harvards were ordered from the Noorduyn Company of Canada which was licensed to produce the aircraft in this country. This original Canadian order was increased to 210 aircraft in July of the same year and subsequently increased again, until by the end of the war almost 2,000 Harvards had been supplied by the Noorduyn Company to the RCAF.
The main difference between the Mk I and II aircraft was the change to an all-metal fuselage and squared wing tips. The power plant was the same in each and with the excep- tion of a few minor modifications, the Pratt and Whitney Wasp, rated at 550 Brake Horsepower, is still in use in Harvards today. This engine has established itself as a symbol of continuing reliability, a fact which would be readily confirmed by those who flew the Harvard during their training days and in later years.
The first Harvard to be delivered to Canadawas No. 1321 equipped with skis. After
almost seven years of service this
trainer was destroyed in an accident.
As the BCATP gained momentum the familiar throaty roar of the Harvard was heard the length and breadth of the populated areas of this country. Some 11,000 Canadians plus another 8,000 from allied countries received pilot training on the Harvard aircraft in Canada during the war years.
From the training point of view the Harvard was considered to be an excellent investment. With a fairly high wing loading (21.5 lbs per sq. ft.) and consequently a relatively high landing speed, the Harvard required from the pupil something of the same skill he would later require in handling operational aircraft. If was fully aerobatic, not too easily controlled and sufficiently rugged to endure the heavy loadings and rough landings frequently im- posed upon it by student pilots. Serviceability was uniformly high and at no time was there a serious shortage of airframe or engine spares. The record shows that Harvard equipped training schools had much less difficulty in fulfilling their training requirements than was experienced by schools equipped with other aircraft. The chief hazard in flying the Harvard was its undeniable tendency to ground-loop caused apparently by the design of the tail wheel and a high centre of gravity. Modifications to produce a partially steerable tail wheel have since been incorporated but the Harvard still tends to ground-loop unless carefully handled. A stern taskmaster, but a reliable and efficient trainer, the Harvard, because of this ground looping tendency, required the pilot to be constantly alert, particularly during the landing phase.
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