Naval Aircraft Factory N3N
{{Short description|1935 trainer aircraft family by the Naval Aircraft Factory}}
{{Infobox aircraft
|name= N3N
|image= File:N3N USMC over Parris Island 1942.jpg
|caption= US Marine Corps N3N-3 over Parris Island, 1942
|type= Training aircraft
|national_origin= United States
|manufacturer= Naval Aircraft Factory
|designer=
|first_flight= August 1935Holmes, 2005. p. 98.
|introduction= 1936
|retired= 1961
|status=
|primary_user= United States Navy
|produced= 1935-1942
|number_built= 997
|developed_from=
|variants=
}}
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. The seaplane used a single large float under the fuselage and two smaller floats under the outer tips of the lower wings. The conventional airplane used a fixed landing gear. The prototype XN3N-1 was powered by a Wright J-5 radial engine. An order for 179 production aircraft was received. Near the end of the first production run the engine was replaced with the Wright R-760-2 Whirlwind radial. The aircraft is constructed using Alcoa's extruded aluminum, with bolts and rivets, rather than the more common welded steel tubing fuselages. Early production models used aluminum stringers formed for cancelled airship construction orders.{{cite journal|journal=Air Progress|title=A Dream of Wings|author=Gene Smith|date=February 1989}}{{cite web |title=Military Aircraft, Trainers |url=https://www.evergreenmuseum.org/military-aircrafts |publisher=Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum |access-date=25 October 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Bailey |first1=Stewart |title=N3N-3 Yellow Peril Joins the Museum Collection |url=http://www.jerryjan.com/midtermreunion/n3narticle.pdf |publisher=Evergreen Museum |access-date=25 October 2020 |date=2009}}
Operational history
File:NAF N3N-3 N6398T 2771 FLExec 16.04.72 edited-3.jpg
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.{{cite book |last1=Trimble |first1=William |title=Wings for the Navy: a history of the Naval Aircraft Factory, 1917-1956 |date=1990 |publisher=United States Naval Institute |location=Annapolis |isbn=9780870216633 |pages=127–139, 336–337}}
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."
Four N3N-3s were delivered to the United States Coast Guard in 1941.
Postwar, many surviving aircraft were sold on the US civil aircraft market and bought for operation by agricultural aerial spraying firms and private pilot owners. According to Robinet, "The front cockpit had been replaced with a huge metal hopper that loaded from the top and discharged dust from the bottom through a simple venturi type spreader. The airplane was originally powered by a 235 h.p. Wright Radial engine but for their purposes, these were replaced by 450 h.p. Pratt & Whitney radial engines. The engine, wheels and instruments were obtained from the Army BT-13 which was purchased for less than $350.00 each."{{cite book |last1=Robinet |first1=Bill |title=By The Skin of My Teeth: A Cropduster's Story |date=1997 |publisher=Billville Press |location=Veneta |isbn=9780965747301 |page=16}}
A number are still (as of 2014) active in the USA.
Variants
File:N3N production NAF 1937.JPG
;XN3N-1
:First prototype aircraft, Bureau of Aeronautics number 9991.
;N3N-1
:Two-seat primary trainer biplane, powered by a {{cvt|220|hp}} Wright R-790 Whirlwind (J-5) radial piston engine. 179 were built.
;XN3N-2
:One prototype only (Bureau number 0265) powered by a {{cvt|240|hp}} 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 {{cvt|235|hp}} Wright R-760-2 Whirlwind (J-6-7) radial piston engine. 816 built.
Operators
File: N3N-3 USMC at Parris Island 1942.jpg
File:2019 Fort Worth Alliance Air Show 142 (Naval Aircraft Factory N3N).jpg
;{{USA}}
- United States Coast Guard
- U.S. Marines
- United States Navy
- Chilean Naval Airforce 4 N3N-1 received by Lend-Lease Program
- Cuban Naval Airforce 5 N3N-1s received by Lend-Lease Program.
Surviving aircraft
File:20180328 N3N-3 Udvar-Hazy.jpg.]]
- 0719 – On display at the Museo Nacional Aeronáutico y del Espacio in Santiago.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}
- 1918 – On display at the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa, Idaho.{{cite web|title="YELLOW PERIL"|url=http://warhawkairmuseum.org/planes/yellow-peril|website=Warhawk Air Museum|access-date=13 August 2016}}
- 1920 - Airworthy with Carolina Warbirds LLC out of Patuxent River, Maryland.{{cite web|title=Flightaware|url=https://www.flightaware.com/resources/registration/N3NY|website=Flightaware|access-date=8 December 2024}}
- 1991 - Airworthy, owned and operated by a private owner. Located on Long Island, NY.
- 2582 – On display at the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon.{{cite web|title=Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3|url=http://www.waaamuseum.org/collections/airplanes/233-Naval-Aircraft-Factory-N3N-3|website=Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum|publisher=WAAAM|access-date=13 August 2016}}
- 2621 – On display at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.{{cite web|title=Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3|url=http://yanksair.com/Products/115/106/Naval-Aircraft-Factory-N3N-3-18|website=Yanks Air Museum|publisher=Yanks Air Museum|access-date=13 August 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629113254/https://yanksair.com/Products/115/106/Naval-Aircraft-Factory-N3N-3-18/|archive-date=29 June 2016}}
- 2693 – On display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida.{{cite web|title=N3N "YELLOW PERIL" (FLOATPLANE)|url=http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/attractions/aircraft-exhibits/item/?item=n3n|website=National Naval Aviation Museum|publisher=Naval Aviation Museum Foundation|access-date=13 August 2016}}
- 2733 – Airworthy with the High Sierra Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force in Reno, Nevada.{{cite web |title=N3N High Sierra Squadron |url=http://commemorativeairforce.org/aircraft/83 |website=Commemorative Air Force |access-date=28 September 2022}}{{cite web |title=FAA Registry [N4009A] |url=http://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N4009A |website=Federal Aviation Administration |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation |access-date=28 September 2022}}
- 2781 - Airworthy with the Houston Wing of the Commemorative Air Force in Houston, Texas{{cite web |title=N3N Canary |url=https://www.houstonwing.org/n3n-canary/ |publisher=Houston Wing Commemorative Air Force |access-date=23 September 2024}}{{cite web |title=N44741 Aircraft Registration |url=https://www.flightaware.com/resources/registration/N44741 |publisher=FlightAware |access-date=23 September 2024}}
- 2782 – On display at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, Pennsylvania.{{cite web|last1=Rambow|first1=Bill|title=Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 "Yellow Peril"|url=http://www.maam.org/aircraft/n3n.html|website=Mid-Atlantic Air Museum|publisher=Avialantic|access-date=13 August 2016}}
- 2827 – On display at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.{{cite web|title=Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3|url=http://yanksair.com/Products/123/106/Naval-Aircraft-Factory-N3N-3-26|website=Yanks Air Museum|publisher=Yanks Air Museum|access-date=13 August 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629113415/https://yanksair.com/Products/123/106/Naval-Aircraft-Factory-N3N-3-26/|archive-date=29 June 2016}}
- 2831 – On display at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.{{cite web|title=Military Aircraft|url=http://www.evergreenmuseum.org/military-aircrafts|website=Evergreen Museum Campus|publisher=Evergreen Museum|access-date=13 August 2016}}
- 2892 – On display at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia.{{cite web|title=Navy Hangar|url=http://www.militaryaviationmuseum.org/navy-hangar.html|website=Military Aviation Museum|publisher=Military Aviation Museum|access-date=13 August 2016}}
- 2951 – On display at the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum in Kalamazoo, Michigan.{{cite web|title=Naval Aircraft Factory Yellow Peril|url=http://www.airzoo.org/page.php?page_id=146|website=Air Zoo|publisher=Air Zoo|access-date=13 August 2016}}
- 2959 – On display at the USS Lexington Museum in Corpus Christi, Texas.{{cite web|title=N3N YELLOW PERIL|url=http://www.usslexington.com/aircraft/n3n-yellow-peril|website=USS Lexington|publisher=USS LEXINGTON Museum On The Bay|access-date=13 August 2016}}
- 3022 – On display at the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.{{cite web|title=Naval Aircraft Factory N3N|url=http://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/naval-aircraft-factory-n3n|website=Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum|access-date=13 August 2016}}
- 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.{{cite web|title=N3N "YELLOW PERIL" (CONVENTIONAL GEAR)|url=http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/attractions/aircraft-exhibits/item/?item=n3n_conventional|website=National Naval Aviation Museum|publisher=Naval Aviation Museum Foundation|access-date=13 August 2016}}
- 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.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}
- 4406 – Airworthy with Birnie Air Services in Sandown, Isle of Wight.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}
- 4480 – On display at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.{{cite web|title=Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3|url=http://yanksair.com/Products/125/106/Naval-Aircraft-Factory-N3N-3-28|website=Yanks Air Museum|publisher=Yanks Air Museum|access-date=13 August 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629113459/https://yanksair.com/Products/125/106/Naval-Aircraft-Factory-N3N-3-28/|archive-date=29 June 2016}}
- 4497 – On display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.{{cite web|title=YELLOW PERIL|url=http://www.pimaair.org/aircraft-by-name/item/naval-aircraft-factory-n3n-yellow-peril|website=Pima Air & Space Museum|publisher=Pimaair.org|access-date=13 August 2016}}
Specifications (N3N-3)
File:Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 3-view line drawing.png
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Holmes, 2005. p. 96.
|prime units? = imp
|crew=2
|length m=7.77
|length ft=25
|length in=6
|span m=10.36
|span ft=34
|span in=0
|height m=3.3
|height ft=10
|height in=10
|wing area sqm=28.3
|wing area sqft=305
|empty weight kg=948
|empty weight lb=2,090
|gross weight kg=1,266
|gross weight lb=2,792
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Wright R-760-2 Whirlwind radial
|eng1 kw=175
|eng1 hp=235
|max speed kmh=203
|max speed mph=126
|range km=756
|range miles=470
|ceiling m=4,635
|ceiling ft=15,200
|climb rate ftmin=900
}}
Communications were done by the instructor through a speaking tube to the student in the front cockpit. Communications back were agreed-upon gestures.{{cite web |url=http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/ExhibitsAndCollections/Online-Exhibits/Centennial-Milestones/Centennial-Milestone--The-Yellow-Peril,-February-9.aspx |title=National Naval Aviation Museum - Online Exhibits |access-date=2011-07-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002143124/http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/ExhibitsAndCollections/Online-Exhibits/Centennial-Milestones/Centennial-Milestone--The-Yellow-Peril,-February-9.aspx |archive-date=2011-10-02 }}
See also
{{aircontent
|see also=
|related=
|similar aircraft=
- Avro Cadet
- Avro Tutor
- Boeing-Stearman Kaydet
- Breda Ba.25
- Focke-Wulf Fw 44
- Polikarpov U-2
- Yokosuka K5Y
|lists=
}}
References
=Citations=
{{Reflist}}
=Bibliography=
- {{cite journal |last1=Ford|first1=Daniel|title=Sought After Classic: N3N-3 Canary — Often Misidentified, Always Loved! |journal=Air Enthusiast |date=September–October 1999|issue=83|pages=68–71 |issn=0143-5450}}
- {{cite book |last= Holmes |first= Tony |title=Jane's Vintage Aircraft Recognition Guide |year=2005 |publisher=Harper Collins |location=London |isbn = 0-00-719292-4 }}
- {{cite journal |last1=Sapienza|first1=Antonio Luis|title=L'aviation militare paraguayenne durant la seconde guerre mondiale |journal=Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire |trans-title=Paraguayan Military Aviation During the Second World War|date=May 2001 |issue=98 |pages=30–33 |language=fr |issn=1243-8650}}
External links
{{Commons category|Naval Aircraft Factory N3N}}
- [http://www.microworks.net/PACIFIC/aviation/n3n_yellow_peril.htm "NAVAL AIRCRAFT FACTORY N3N YELLOW PERIL"], by Jack McKillop, provides a detailed description of the N3N and its development.
{{Naval Aircraft Factory aircraft}}
{{USN trainer aircraft}}
Category:1930s United States military trainer aircraft
Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft
Category:Carrier-based aircraft
Category:Aircraft first flown in 1935