Naval Aircraft Factory N3N

N3N
US Marine Corps N3N-3 over Parris Island, 1942
Role	Training aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Naval Aircraft Factory
First flight	August 1935[1]
Introduction	1936
Retired	1961
Primary user	United States Navy
Number built	997

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

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.^[1] The seaplane used a single float under the fuselage and floats under the outer tips of the lower wing. The conventional airplane used a fixed landing gear. The prototype XN3N-1 was powered by a radial Wright designed Wright J-5 engine. An order for 179 production aircraft was received.^[1] Near the end of the first production run the engine was replaced with the Wright R-760-2 Whirlwind radial. The aircraft is constructed of metal using bolts and rivets rather than the more common welded steel tubing fuselages. Early production models used aluminum stringers formed for cancelled airship construction orders.^[2]

Operational history

NAF N3N-3 flown privately in Florida in 1972

The N.A.F. delivered 997 N3N aircraft beginning in 1935. They included 180 N3N-1s and 816 N3N-3s. Four N3N-3s were delivered to the United States Coast Guard in 1941. Production ended in January 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 1961. 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.

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

Variants

N3N production in 1937

XN3N-1

First prototype aircraft, Bureau of Aeronautics number 9991.

N3N-1

Two-seat primary trainer biplane, powered by a 220-hp (164-kW) Wright J-5 radial piston engine. 179 were built.

XN3N-2

One prototype only (Bureau number 0265) powered by a 240-hp (179-kW) Wright R-760-96 radial piston engine.

XN3N-3

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

N3N-3

Two-seat primary trainer biplane, powered by a 235-hp (175-kW) Wright R-760-2 Whirlwind 7 radial piston engine. 816 built.^[1]

Operators

US Marine Corps N3N-3, 1942.

 United States

• United States Coast Guard
• U.S. Marines
• United States Navy

 Paraguay

• Paraguayan Naval Aviation Two N3N-3s received by Lend-Lease Program.

Aircraft on display

• 1918 - On display at the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa, Idaho.^[3][4]
• 2582 - On display at the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon.^[5][6]
• 2621 - On display at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.^[7][8]
• 2693 - On display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida.^[9][10]
• 2782 - On display at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, Pennsylvania.^[11][12]
• 2827 - On display at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.^[13][14]
• 2831 - On display at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.^[15][16]
• 2892 - On display at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia.^[17][18]
• 2951 - On display at the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum in Kalamazoo, Michigan.^[19][20]
• 2959 - On display at the USS Lexington Museum in Corpus Christi, Texas.^[21][22]
• 3022 - On display at the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.^[23][24]
• 3046 - On display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida.^[25][26]
• 4480 - On display at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.^[27][28]
• 4497 - On display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.^[29][30]

Specifications (N3N-3)

US Navy N3N-1 floatplane.

N3N on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation

Data from Holmes, 2005. p. 96.

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Length: 25 ft 6 in (7.77 m)
• Wingspan: 34 ft 0 in (10.36 m)
• Height: 10 ft 10 in (3.3 m)
• Wing area: 305 ft² (28.3 m²)
• Empty weight: 2,090 lb (948 kg)
• Gross weight: 2,792 lb (1,266 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Wright R-760-2 Whirlwind radial, 235 hp (175 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 126 mph (203 km/h)
• Range: 470 miles (756 km)
• Service ceiling: 15,200 ft (4,635 m)
• Rate of climb: 900 ft/min ( m/s)

Communications were done by the instructor through a speaking tube to the aft-seated student. Communications back were agreed-upon gestures.^[31]

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Avro Cadet
• Avro Tutor
• Boeing-Stearman Kaydet
• Breda Ba.25
• Focke-Wulf Fw 44
• Polikarpov U-2
• Yokosuka K5Y

References

Citations

1. Holmes, 2005. p. 98.
2. Gene Smith (February 1989). "A Dream of Wings". Air Progress.
3. ""YELLOW PERIL"". Warhawk Air Museum. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
4. "Airframe Dossier - Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3, s/n 1918 USN, c/r N45305". Aerial Visuals. AerialVisuals.ca. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
5. "Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3". Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum. WAAAM. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
6. "Airframe Dossier - Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3, c/n 2582, c/r N45042". Aerial Visuals. AerialVisuals.ca. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
7. "Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3". Yanks Air Museum. Yanks Air Museum. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
8. "Airframe Dossier - Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3, c/r N44757". Aerial Visuals. AerialVisuals.ca. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
9. "N3N "YELLOW PERIL" (FLOATPLANE)". National Naval Aviation Museum. Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
10. "Airframe Dossier - Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3, s/n 2693 USN". Aerial Visuals. AerialVisuals.ca. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
11. Rambow, Bill. "Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 "Yellow Peril"". Mid-Atlantic Air Museum. Avialantic. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
12. "Airframe Dossier - Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3, s/n 02782 USN, c/r N44718". Aerial Visuals. AerialVisuals.ca. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
13. "Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3". Yanks Air Museum. Yanks Air Museum. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
14. "Airframe Dossier - Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3, s/n 02827 USN, c/r N45280". Aerial Visuals. AerialVisuals.ca. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
15. "Military Aircraft". Evergreen Museum Campus. Evergreen Museum. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
16. "Airframe Dossier - Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3, s/n 02831 USN, c/r N3NN". Aerial Visuals. AerialVisuals.ca. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
17. "Navy Hangar". Military Aviation Museum. Military Aviation Museum. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
18. "Airframe Dossier - Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3, s/n 02892 USN, c/r N120BH". Aerial Visuals. AerialVisuals.ca. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
19. "Naval Aircraft Factory Yellow Peril". Air Zoo. Air Zoo. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
20. "Airframe Dossier - Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3, s/n 2951 USN, c/r N9308Z". Aerial Visuals. AerialVisuals.ca. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
21. "N3N YELLOW PERIL". USS Lexington. USS LEXINGTON Museum On The Bay. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
22. "Airframe Dossier - Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3, s/n 02959 USN, c/r N6358T". Aerial Visuals. AerialVisuals.ca. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
23. "Naval Aircraft Factory N3N". Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
24. "Airframe Dossier - Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3, s/n 03022 USN". Aerial Visuals. AerialVisuals.ca. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
25. "N3N "YELLOW PERIL" (CONVENTIONAL GEAR)". National Naval Aviation Museum. Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
26. "Airframe Dossier - Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3, s/n 3046 USN". Aerial Visuals. AerialVisuals.ca. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
27. "Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3". Yanks Air Museum. Yanks Air Museum. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
28. "Airframe Dossier - Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3, s/n 04480 USN, c/r N695M". Aerial Visuals. AerialVisuals.ca. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
29. "YELLOW PERIL". Pima Air & Space Museum. Pimaair.org. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
30. "Airframe Dossier - Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3, s/n 04497 USN, c/r N45084". Aerial Visuals. AerialVisuals.ca. Retrieved 13 August 2016.

Bibliography

• Holmes, Tony (2005). Jane's Vintage Aircraft Recognition Guide. London: Harper Collins. ISBN 0-00-719292-4.

External links

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