MILITARY · HISTORICAL MARKER

Beech AT-11 "Kansan"

New Orleans, Louisiana
· 1941-1945
Military
6
The Beech AT-11 "Kansan" was a twin-engine trainer weighing 9,300 pounds, armed with two .30 caliber machine guns for gunnery training, and powered by two Pratt and Whitney R985 radial engines producing 450 horsepower each. It had a maximum speed of 215 miles per hour, a range of 745 miles, a service ceiling of 20,000 feet, a crew of 2-3, and 1,582 were built. The AT-11 was the standard twin-engine trainer for thousands of navigators, pilots, and bombardiers during World War II and Korea. Student bombardiers were required to meet a proficiency standard of 22 percent hit accuracy while dropping 100 pound sand-filled practice bombs using the Norden Bombsight. In 1941, an AT-11 cost $67,000. Three were assigned to the 122nd Bomb Squadron as advance trainers for pilots transitioning from single-engine to multiengine Douglas A-26 aircraft. In 1995, this plane, serial number 44951, was found at Beale Air Force Base in California and was restored by members of the 122nd Restoration Group in 1998.
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New Orleans, Louisiana · United States
New Orleans, Louisiana
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