NOTE: This is not an American aircraft (it was built by a Canadian company), but the type was used by the American military in WWII)
The UC-64A is a ten-place, single-engine utility transport manufactured by the Noorduyn Aviation, Ltd., Montreal, Canada. First flown in 1935, the Norseman was designed for rugged Canadian bush country operations and could be equipped with wheels, floats, or skis. Before WW II, 69 were delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force as trainers. After service testing seven YC-64s, the U.S. Army Air Forces adopted the aircraft in 1942 as a light transport. Noorduyn produced 762 Norseman for the USAAF before the war ended. Of these, 749 were UC-64As, including three that went to the Navy as JA-1s and six that were equipped with floats for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The last Norseman was produced in late 1959. Designed for and used in arctic areas, the Norseman also was employed in Europe and the Pacific as well as in the U.S. during the war. On Dec. 15, 1944, a UC-64A disappeared on a flight from England to France with bandleader Major Glenn Miller on board. The aircraft was never found. (It is believed that while over the Channel a returning flight of RAF bombers accidently knocked the low-flying Norseman out of the sky when it salvoed its bombload directly over the unsuspecting transport.)
(Text info provided by the WASP on the Web website.)
Additional information on this aircraft
can be found at Wikipedia
here.
(updated February 2009)
Noorduyn Norseman / UC-64
Type: utility transport aircraft Crew: 1, plus 9 passengers Armament: none Specifications: Length: 32' 0" (9.8 m) Height: 10' 3" (3.1 m) Wingspan: 51' 6" (15.7 m) Wing area: 325 sq. ft. (30.20 sq. m) Empty Weight: 4680 lb (2123 kg) Gross Weight: 7400 lb (3357 kg) max at takeoff Propulsion: No. of Engines: 1 Powerplant: Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN-1 Wasp radial Horsepower: 600 hp Performance: Range: 1550 miles (1851 km) Cruise Speed: 148 mph ( 238 km/h) Max Speed: 162 mph ( 261 km/h) Ceiling: 17,000 ft (5182 m)
(go to manufacturer's page)
If this page does not have a navigational frame on the left, click HERE to see the rest of the website.