1940 Fairchild M62 PT-19

The Fairchild PT-19, which has the company designation of M62, was one of the primary training aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces, the Royal Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War ll. It is made with a fabric-covered steel fuselage and a plywood-sheathed center section and tail. The original M62 was fit with the 175 hp Ranger L-440-1 inverted six cylinder engine, with later models incorporating the more powerful 200 hp Ranger 6-440C-5 engine. By April of 1944 a total of 8,129 Fairchild Model 62s, in various forms, had been produced. After the war the planes were sold as surplus for as little as $750 dollars out of the crate. The PT-19 was nicknamed the “Cradle of Heroes” as it was one of the first steps in a cadet’s training to become a fighter pilot.

Gift of the North Cascades Vintage Aircraft Museum.