Fairchild PT-26

Fairchild PT-26 Cornell (M-62A)

Leading the Victory Day flypast over Kingsway, New Delhi in January 1946 were three Cornells, the then elementary training aircraft in service with the Royal Indian Air Force.
From amongst the various training types made available to the Allied Air Forces in the war, 40-odd Canadian built Cornells were received by the Indian Air Force at the No. 2 Elementary Flying Training School at Jodhpur late in 1943. At this establishment a 12-week basic flying and ground training course was conducted for I.A.F. officer cadets and a small number of R.A.F. pilots. 60 hours instruction on the Cornell were prescribed but the aircraft type had a short service life in India. The wooden spars of the Cornell were affected by the atmosphere; a month’s suspension was ordered in the middle of one course and the aircrafts were completely phased out by mid-1946.

Notes :

The Fairchild M-62, which first flew in March 1939, was a widely-employed primary trainer of the Second World War. Over 8000 aircraft were produced between February 1940 and May 1944, manufacturing facilities existing in Canada and Brazil besides the U.S.A. The Canadian-built PT-26 and PT-26A were designated the Cornell I and II respectively and used under the Empire Training Scheme mainly in Canada and Rhodesia. The production version of the PT-26(M-62A) was powered by a 200 h.p. Ranger L-440 engine.