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The Naval Aircraft Factory N3N is an American tandem-seat, open cockpit, primary training biplane aircraft built by the Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the 1930s and early 1940s.

Development and design

Built to replace the Consolidated NY-2 and NY-3, the N3N was successfully tested as both a conventional airplane and a seaplane.

Operational history

thumb|right|NAF N3N-3 flown privately in Florida in 1972

The N.A.F. built 997 N3N aircraft beginning in 1935. They included 179 N3N-1s and 816 N3N-3s, plus their prototypes. Production ended in 1942, but the type remained in use through the rest of World War II. The N3N was the last biplane in US military service - the last (used by the U.S. Naval Academy for aviation familiarization) were retired in 1959. The N3N was also unique in that it was an aircraft designed and manufactured by an aviation firm wholly owned and operated by the U.S. government (the Navy, in this case) as opposed to private industry. For this purpose, the U.S. Navy bought the rights and the tooling for the Wright R-760 series engine and produced their own engines. These Navy-built engines were installed on Navy-built airframes.

According to Trimble, "The N3N-3, sometimes known as the Yellow Bird for its distinctive, high-visibility paint scheme, or less kindly, Yellow Peril for the jeopardy in which student aviators often found themselves, showed itself to be rugged, reliable, and generally forgiving to student pilots."

A number are still (as of 2014) active in the USA.

Variants

thumb|N3N production in 1937

;XN3N-1

:First prototype aircraft, Bureau of Aeronautics number 9991.

;N3N-1

:Two-seat primary trainer biplane, powered by a Wright R-790 Whirlwind (J-5) radial piston engine. 179 were built.

;XN3N-2

:One prototype only (Bureau number 0265) powered by a Wright R-760-96 Whirlwind (J-6-7) radial piston engine.

;XN3N-3

:One production N3N-1 (0020) converted into a 'dash three' prototype.

;N3N-3

:Two-seat primary trainer biplane, powered by a Wright R-760-2 Whirlwind (J-6-7) radial piston engine. 816 built.

  • 1920 - Airworthy & privately owned by retired Navy Pilot located at 2W6 close to NAS Patuxent River Patuxent River, Maryland.
  • 1991 - Airworthy, owned and operated by a private owner. Located on Long Island, NY.
  • 1996--On display at Chattahoochee Technical College Aviation Training Academy, Paulding County Airport, GA.
  • 2582 – On display at the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon.
  • 2621 – On display at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.
  • 2693 – On display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida.
  • 2733 – Airworthy with the High Sierra Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force in Reno, Nevada.
  • 2781 - Airworthy with the Houston Wing of the Commemorative Air Force in Houston, Texas
  • 2782 – On display at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, Pennsylvania.
  • 2827 – On display at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.
  • 2831 – On display at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.
  • 2892 – On display at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
  • 2951 – On display at the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
  • 2959 – On display at the USS Lexington Museum in Corpus Christi, Texas.
  • 3022 – On display at the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.
  • 3033 – Airworthy with Ag Air Squadron Three, LLC in Grant Park, Illinois.
  • 3046 – On display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida.
  • 4383 - Airworthy, Owned and Operated by the City of Foley, Alabama as part of their WWII Heritage City commemoration initiatives.
  • 4402 - Airworthy with Joe McBryan (Buffalo Airways) in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
  • 4406 – Airworthy with Birnie Air Services in Sandown, Isle of Wight.
  • 4480 – On display at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.
  • 4497 – On display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.

Specifications (N3N-3)

frameless|right|3-view line drawing of the Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3

Communications were done by the instructor through a speaking tube to the student in the front cockpit. Communications back were agreed-upon gestures.

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography

  • "NAVAL AIRCRAFT FACTORY N3N YELLOW PERIL", by Jack McKillop, provides a detailed description of the N3N and its development.