The AT-6 was a two-seat advanced trainer and close air support aircraft used by both the USAAF and the US Navy (called it the SNJ) during World War Two. It was used for carrier qualification, gunnery practice, instrument flight training, aerobatics, and air combat tactics. They were the last two-seat airplanes that flying cadets would be able to fly along with an instructor, before moving up to the singe seat WWII fighters.

The AT-6 is powered by a 550 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340 radial engine. It cruises at 150 mph, and consumes about 40 gallons of 100 octane fuel per hour. Its empty weight is 4158 lbs.

Bob Beckman's AT-6 served with the Army Air Force at Luke Field, Arizona during WWII. After the war, it was transferred to the Navy for a time, then sold along with about 90 others to the government of Spain. The Spanish installed underwing bomb racks and used the T-6s as attack aircraft in the war in Morocco. In the 1980s some Americans went to Spain and purchased the T-6s, shipped them back to the U.S., and restored them.

Bruce Cook's SNJ served in the U.S. Navy during WWII. After the war, it was purchased in a group by the government of South Africa. The South African Air Force used the T-6s as trainers until the mid-1990s, when the were finally replaced by jet trainers. 50 of the T-6s were offered for sale. Bruce made an offer on one, sight unseen, in South Africa. He was awarded the airplane, and it was disassembled, crated, and shipped to the U.S. along with 19 others. Bruce and Bob rebuilt the SNJ in a 1 1/2 car garage in Circleville, Ohio in just three months.

Both these airplanes are authentically restored to their WWII configurations. Bob and Bruce are commercial pilots with formation qualifications. For information about booking these AT-6s for your airshow, please contact Kathy Ridgeway of the Historical Aircraft Squadron.