The plane that trained America's pilots

In the United States, one of the most widely used primary trainers of the Second World War period was the Boeing-Stearman Kaydet. Based on the original Stearman Kaydet design which was a derivative of the original Stearman, all were produced by the Boeing Company until February 1945. In all, 8,584 were produced, but enough spare parts were made to constitute a total of 10,346 aircraft built to meet the needs of the USAAF and USN. Several versions were completed, differing in their engines and equipment.

The PT-13 of 1935 utilized a Lycoming engine. The PT-17 of 1940 had a Continental engine; the PT-18 a Jacobs. Made for Canada, the PT-27 had different instrumentation and a closed cockpit. In the U.S. Navy, these aircraft were given the basic designation of N2S. The PT-17s, all varients of what Boeing designated as the Model 75, The Navy model on diplay is the N2S-2, utilizing a Lycoming rather than Continental engine. Some 125 of the N2S-2 were produced and delivered to the Navy from April to October 1941 making it a rare varient. The more common N2S-3 with a Continental engine saw a production run of 1,875 for the USN.