Mission
The "Valiant" was the basic trainer most widely used by the USAAF during WW II. It represented the second of the three stages of pilot training--primary, basic and advanced. Compared with the primary trainers in use at the time, it was considerably more complex. The BT-13 not only had a more powerful engine, it was also faster and heavier. In addition, it required the student pilot to use two-way radio communications with the ground, operate landing flaps and a two-position variable pitch propeller.
Nicknamed the "Vibrator" by the pilots who flew it, the BT-13 was powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-985 engine. But to counter the shortage of these engines early in the BT-13 production program, 1,693 Valiants were produced in 1941-2 with a Wright R-975 engine and were designated as BT-15s. By the end of WW II, 10,375 BT-13s and BT-15s had been accepted by the AAF.
