Bruckner and Junkin actually began designing aircraft in 1919 with a flawed plan for a floating airplane that never flew. Meyers, too, had already designed an aircraft with Weaver and the pair approached Bruckner and Junkin, asking them to join their construction efforts on a parasol wing, plywood fuselage, single-seat monoplane named the “Cootie.”
Costing $1,200, unfortunately, Weaver crash-landed the Cootie during its first flight attempt in 1920 and suffered extensive injuries in the crash. It was rebuilt.
The “Model 1” designation was more symbolic as the ship was built before there was a Waco Company. Designed by Elwood J Junkin and Clayton J Brukner, the 1919 Baby Flying Boat had a mahogany veneer hull, demountable wheels for beaching, and a 6′ propeller.
Notably underpowered, with motor vibrations shaking the craft to an alarming degree, it would not unstick from the Lake Erie, so was retired to its room above a dance hall in Lorain OH, and none of the principals recalls its ultimate fate.
This effort led to the formation of DJB Aeroplane Co which was basis for Weaver Co the following year.
Weaver Aircraft Co Advanced Aircraft Co Waco Aircraft Co
Weaver Aircraft Co was formed by George “Buck” Weaver, Elwood “Sam” Junkin, Clayton “Clayt” Bruckner and Charles “Charlie” William Meyers at Loraine, Ohio, in 1919. Waco built Cootie parasol-wing aircraft.
Bruckner and Junkin actually began designing aircraft in 1919 with a flawed plan for a floating airplane that never flew. Meyers, too, had already designed an aircraft with Weaver and the pair approached Bruckner and Junkin, asking them to join their construction efforts on a single-seat monoplane named the “Cootie.” Unfortunately, Weaver crash-landed the Cootie during its first flight attempt and suffered extensive injuries in the crash.
The WACO partners persevered, designing a practical three-seat biplane, the WACO 4, and building it out of parts left over from the Cootie and other biplane efforts. The team continued to assemble airplanes from parts salvaged from surplus World War I Curtiss Jennys, continuously tinkering with their designs and making improvements. Eventually, they sold two WACO 5 biplanes.
From Medina, Ohio, in 1921, reorganized as Advance Aircraft Company in 1923 at Troy, Ohio, although the aircraft retained the WACO designation. The first Troy-built model, the WACO 6, was soon being marketed. Following Buck Weaver’s death in 1924, Clayton Bruckner and Sam Junkin reorganized the business and soon introduced the company’s popular Model 9 (or Nine) in 1925.
First really successful venture was three-seat Model 9 of 1924. Developed long and successful line of cabin biplanes, sporting, racing, and military airplanes. The Waco series of four-seat cabin biplanes were initiated in 1931 and were produced continuously in progressively refined models until 1939. WACO continued to refine the aircraft design and accessories on an annual basis, but retained the basic configuration to maintain quality and avoid the high costs of wholesale redesign; as a result, selling prices remained stable and affordable.
By 1936 was largest constructor of commercial aircraft in USA.
Production of WACO civil aircraft was suspended in 1942 after U.S. entry into World War II. The company contributed to the war effort by building assemblies for a variety of military aircraft and manufactured the well-known CG4-A troop-carrying gliders.
After war developed a new monoplane, the Aristocraft (see O’Neill), but abandoned it in 1947. Company went out of business. Waco production ceased and the company went into contract manufacturing.
Between 1919 and 1947, the company produced sixty-two different aircraft models and led all its competitors in number of aircraft registered.
In 1963 it became Waco Division of Allied Aero Industries (Franklin and Jacobs motors, Omega helicopters).
In 1969 rights sold to SIAI-Marchetti (Italy) for production of new Waco Meteor, Minerva, Sirius, Vega, and Vela.
Early Waco designs were given numbers to designate types but later models gained letter designations. The first letter denoted which engine was used, the second gave the wing design and the third the airframe model. From 1934, the first letter still gave the engine make and horsepower, the second gave the design and the third, the series.
Broadsmith won the 1924 Low-Powered Aeroplane Competition with his design and the second prize was won by L. J. Wackett with his Warbler aircraft, powered by the Wizard engine, also designed by Wackett.
Broadsmith won the 1924 Low-Powered Aeroplane Competition with his design and the second prize was won by L. J. Wackett with his Warbler aircraft, powered by the Wizard engine, also designed by Wackett. Lawrence J. Wackett (later Sir Lawrence) started his career in the Australian Flying Corps in the First World War and saw service in Egypt; when the R.A.A.F. was formed in 1921 Wackett decided to move into aircraft design and development and, after a short professional training period, persuaded the then Defence Minister, R. K. Bowden, to set up a R.A.A.F. Experimental Aircraft Station at Randwick, in order to develop aircraft suitable for Australian conditions. The first design was the Widgeon 1, a flying boat, followed by a much larger amphibian, the Widgeon 11, powered by a 440 hp A.S. Jaguar engine. In 1927, the Widgeon 11 undertook a 9,000 mile flight around Australia. Two other aircraft were developed at Randwick to the prototype stage: Warrigal I (a trainer) and Warrigal II a single seat fighter. As a result of a government-sponsored report, the Randwick Station was closed in 1931: Wackett resigned from the R.A.A.F. and transferred, with some personnel and equipment to Cockatoo Dockyard. He continued working for the R.A.A.F. but also undertook several civilian projects including the Codock, a six passenger twin engined airliner, commissioned by Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith. In 1934, Wackett and some of his staff moved again, to the Tugan Aircraft Company at Mascot, where the Codock design was developed into the Gannett a six/seven passenger airliner, which provided service with the R.A.A.F. and with small airlines in N.S.W. Eight Gannetts were completed when the Tugan Company was taken over to form the nucleus of the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in Melbourne.
A 1928 five place low wing cabin monoplane powered by a 260hp Salmson “superposed radial”. First flown on 20 April 1928 as NC5246 c/n 51-C, the aircraft was put into storage in Oct 1920 at (Frank) O’Neal Aircraft Co, Vincennes IN, USA.
It was then acquired by O’Neal in a court sale on 2 October 1933 to satisfy a storage bill. It was sold on 15 October 1934 to Peter Soderling Jr, of Petersburg IN, who installed a 360hp Salmson and converted it to three place. The CAA cancelled the registration on 15 November 1937.
The Vultee P-66, P-48, V-48/-61 Vanguard (Models 48, 61) incorporated design elements from the Hughes H-1 racer and detachable outer wing panels for storage.
Vultee V-61 Prototype NX21755
Designed by Dick Palmer as a company demonstrator, the V-48 NX21755 c/n 142 first flew on 9 September 1939, piloted by Vance Breese. The V-48 was powered by a P&W R-1830-S Twin Wasp with an extended propshaft in an elongated low-drag cowling. The original proposal included two rear-firing guns aimed with mirrors. The prototype, NX21755 c/n 142, was later re-designated V-61, then P-48X.
The 1940 P-48X was a redesign of the V-61 with a conventional R-1830-S1 engine because of cooling problems. First flown on 11 February 1940, piloted by Vance Breese, and it crash-landed on May 9 after colliding with a camera plane.
Vultee P-48X NX21755
The 1940 V-48C was the V48-X rebuilt and repowered with a R-1830-S2 engine for export to Sweden’s Flygvapen as the J.10. First flown on 6 September 1940, it was re-registered NX19999 c/n 501, and followed by one production prototype, NX28300 c/n 502.
Vultee V-48C / P-48C NX28300
One-hundred and forty-four were built for Sweden (42-6832 to 42-6975), but diverted to the RCAF, who in turn released 129 of them after the outbreak of WW2 as Lend-Lease to China as P-66, and so marked with US insignia. Of the total about 50 were impressed for Army stateside assignment, and 12 transferred to 23 Fighter Group in China.
The prototype Vultee V-11 Army attack bomber NX14999 c/n 28 first flew on 17 September 1935, piloted by T C Van Stone. It crashed on take-off for its second flight the next day, killing Van Stone and project engineer Duald L Blue.
Vultee V-11 NX14999
The second V11 prototype, but with 1800hp P&W R-2800 Double Wasp and three-blade prop, NX/NR/NC14980 c/n 29, first flew on 9 October 1935 as a demonstrator for the South America market.
Vultee V-11A NR14980
The second V11 prototype, built first as a V-11A, it was later modified as the fixed-gear V-11T for Pratt & Whitney’s use in engine testing, first flying on 21 January 1940.
Vultee V-11T NC14980
Ultimately refitted with 2000hp R-2800, it was destroyed in a crash on 20 March 1945.
The V-11G and -11GB were versions with a 1000hp Wright SGR-1820-G2 Cyclone. The V-11G was a two-seater, and -11GB sat three (pilot, bombardier, gunner) with a retractable ventral gun position. One was built as a company test hack on wheels (NX/NR17327) and seven with a 1200hp P&W R-1830-17 went to the USAAC in 1939 for field testing as YA-19 (38-549 to 38-555).
Vultee V-11GB Ventral gun station
China ordered 30 two-seat Vultee V-11Gs in 1937-38 and then more Vultee V-12s (a more powerful variant) which they were planning to assemble from kits (25 were finished)
At the end of June 1935, information reached Moscow about the new American Vultee V-11 attack and bomber aircraft. In a report to Defense Commissar Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov on the acquisition of aircraft production licenses in the United States, the chief of staff of the VVS RKKA VK Lavrov placed special emphasis on the excellent characteristics of the V-11 in terms of speed and range. In fairness compared to the obsolete R-5Sh and R-5SSS the approach was valid.
As a consequence, the Vultee V-11 was part of the purchase of production licenses approved by the Labor and Defense Committee (STO) on April 11, 1935.
On September 7, 1936, the Soviet foreign trade company “ Amtorg ” signed a contract with the American firm “ Airplane Development Corporation”, to which Vultee belonged at that time . The content of the negotiation stipulated the granting of a license to the Main Directorate of the Aeronautical Industry (GUAP) of the People’s Committee for Heavy Industry (NKTP) for the construction of the V-11 in two variants: V-11G as attack aircraft and V-11GB as a light bomber. This latest version incorporated a third member of the crew serving as navigator-bomber.
In 1937 two examples were received in flight condition and another two unarmed, which were thoroughly studied by the TsAGI and the NII VVS. The four -11GB were NR17328-17329 and 2 unregistered, along with some EDO sets to transform them into -11GBS seaplane and -11GBF floatplane attack bombers.
In the USSR in 1937
The North American counterpart delivered the plans with detailed engineering, the specifications, instructions and description of the processes, documentation on the jobs and the technological processes, as well as the technical data of the ground and flight tests of the model, as well as the obtained in tests in wind tunnels; resistance calculations and more than 300 photographs of details and aggregates. The purchase of several copies, parts and pieces was also considered to facilitate the start of series production. An interesting detail was the request from the USSR to modify all the schematics and plans of the model under the international metric system.
The Vultee firm delivered two fully assembled examples to be used as a basis for comparison, both with a Wright SR-1820-G2 engine and full armament and without a radio. The first, with number “ 32 ”, left the production workshops on December 22 , 1936 . It was planned to be sent to the USSR in January 1937, but the appearance of small defects delayed the decision. This first example took flight on January 31, 1937 and was tested by pilot SA Levanievsky on February 2 with the mechanic Chiechin. Levanievsky rated the aircraft positively in terms of maneuverability, stability and ease of flight.
The tests were carried out until mid-February 1937 and the chief of technical supply of the VVS Bazienkov and the director of the TsAGI Jarlamov participated as observers. It was flown from the Vultee factory airfield and from the military base in Long Beach. Tests were carried out over the ocean of weapons firing and bomb drops. The “ 32 ” was tested as an attack aircraft version and as a light bomber. A second specimen with number ” 33 ” flew for the first time on February 26. The Soviet delegation received the first issue in March and the second in April. Two other copies ” 34 ” and ” 35″ were delivered” in parts and without engine.
Upon arrival in the USSR the planes were studied in depth. The “ 33 ” plane was sent directly to the NII VVS to carry out the state tests, keeping the American equipment and weapons. In the first half of 1937 the V-11GB was studied in detail at the TsAGI and the NII VVS. The test pilot designated to lead the tests was Captain AK Dolgov, but the plane was flown by a large number of pilots, including the head of the institute NN Bazhenkov and the experienced test pilots Stefanovski, Fedrov, Niuxtikov.
The tests of the ” 33 ” contemplated the complete range, including its air combat simulation, completing a total of 70 flight hours. Test results were conflicting. On the one hand, the NII VVS concluded that due to its weapons and equipment capacity, the V-11 could be used as an attack and bomber aircraft. However, due to its speed and turnaround time, it was already obsolete. With a similarly underpowered engine, the Nieman R-10 bested the V-11 by 30 km/h and reached 5000 meters 5.6 minutes earlier. In the parameters of takeoff and landing characteristics, the R-10 was also superior.
The V-11’s armament was also considered obsolete. The rear firing point had a poor operating angle and did not guarantee the protection of the plane against the attack of the fighters. The absence of a lower turret (which was removed from the aircraft delivered to the USSR ) left all that area exposed to enemy attack. During simulated combats with I-16 Type 4 it was demonstrated that the V-11 was unable to escape before the attack of the fighters and to defend against their attack. Another conclusion established the absence of capacity to carry containers of chemical weapons (at that time in the USSR great importance was given to this type of armament). The bomb racks were not designed to allow the attachment of Soviet containers. Finally the Vultee V-11 was not prepared to work in the harsh Russian winter.
On the other hand, the Vultee V-11 showed the Soviet builders many new aspects. The construction technology, the materials used, many construction details and technological solutions were carefully studied and documented in order to introduce them into the productive process of the Soviet aeronautical industry.
High value was given to the comfort of the cockpit and the excellent visibility, the effective amortization system of the landing gear and brakes. The retraction system of the landing gear units was studied in detail. The measures taken to reduce the vibrations transmitted by the engine to the fuselage structure were highly valued.
The aircraft was easy to assemble and disassemble, and the designers provided easy access to all vital mechanisms and accessories for maintenance and repairs.
From the point of view of the flight, the stability in flight, the excellent work of all the mechanisms and the reliability of the engine were highly valued.
After evaluating the positive and negative aspects of the V-11G, it was decided to proceed to mass production of the model under the name BSh-1, its production being assigned to the OKB-1 led by S. A Kochierigin. In the issued documents it is clear that the fundamental reason was not to assess the possibilities of the model, but the possibility of becoming familiar with the new technological processes used in the construction of this aircraft. The production of the V-11G was considered to be the first step towards the development of a modern and effective bomber and attack aircraft for Soviet aviation.
Forty -11GB went to Turkey redesignated -11GBT, and 26 -11GB to Brazil in 1938-39 as -11GB2, the last of which was modified with EDO floats as 11GB2F for the Brazilian Navy, as also was prototype NX21719 in hopes of civil sales, which didn’t occur.
Vultee V-11GB2F
The three-place A-19 attack bomber from the V-11GB was all-metal except for the tail control surfaces. The YA-19 (Model V-11GB) first flew on 27 January 1939 and of the seven, three were converted from V-11G and repowered as XA-19 series.
Out of the five Vultee YA-19 (Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp R-1830-17 radials) three-seat attack bombers delivered to the USAAF in 1939, three underwent engine changes to become the XA-19A (Lycoming); XA-19B (P&W Double Wasp R-2800-1) and XA-19C (P&W Twin Wasp R-1839-51).
The XA-19A served as a flying testbed for the 12-cylinder, liquid cooled XO-1230-1, with 1200 hp for take-off. To compensate for the increased side area and fuselage length (increased by 5in to 38ft 3in) the Gerald Vultee fin was altered to give more area. Despite the improved frontal area streamlining, the XA-19A improved the maximum speed by only 2 mph, to 232 mph. The span was 50 ft.
Vultee YA-19
The 1940 XA-19A (Model V-11) featured an enlarged, triangular fin and 1200hp Lycoming O-1230-1 engine. The one was converted from a YA-19 and first flew on 22 May 1940. It later became a XA-19C.
Vultee XA-19A
YA-19 38-550 was converted to the XA-19B in 1939, powered by an 1800hp P&W R-2800-1 engine.
Vultee XA-19C 38-555
Converted from XA-19A 38-555, the 1939 XA-19C 1939 was powered by a 1200hp P&W R-1830-1/-51.
The aircraft had limited combat success with the Chinese, and a Brazilian Vultee V-11 made an attack on a submarine, damaging itself in the process. Later developments would have a rear facing gunner at the back of the cockpit plus a rear-facing ventral gun position protruding from the bottom. Most were later used as high speed liaison and transport aircraft.
The 1933 Vultee V-1 was designed by Gerard Vultee and Vance Breese as an eight-passenger monoplane. Built in backer E L Cord’s Glendale hangar, it is sometimes seen as Cord-Vultee V-1, the prototype first flew on 19 February 1933, piloted by Marshall Headle.
Vultee V-1 Prototype NX12293
The V-1 prototype, as V-1A, went to American Airways/Airlines registered NX12293. It was sold to Spain in 1937 and registered F-AQAP. The French registration was political camouflage.
Sixteen V1-A and V1-AD were built as V1A-A from 1934 (ATC 545) priced at $35,000; NC4249, NC13764-NC13774, NC16000, NC16099, NC17326, and C-FAWQ, included 10 to American Airlines, and 8 as six-place V-1AD “deluxe” executive models with 850hp SR-1820-G2 engines (NC14248 – NC14256).
Vultee V-1A NC14251
NC16099 was repowered with a 1000hp SR-1820-G5 as the six-place V-1AD Special for Hearst newspapers. NC13770 was used in setting a transcontinental speed record on 1/14-15 January 1935, piloted by James Doolittle, and a record first round-trip transatlantic flight was made in September 1936 as Lady Peace, piloted by Dick Merrill.
Vultee V-1A NC16099
Fifteen V-1As were acquired from American Airlines and others in 1937 and went to Spain where they were converted as bombers and recon aircraft.
Vultee V-1A American Airlines
The 1936 V-1AS Special (ATC 2-539) was a twin-EDO float version built for the Soviet government for a 10,000-mile Santa Monica-Moscow flight, via Alaska and Siberia, in Aug-Sep 1936. Registered URSS-N208, the aircraft was piloted by Sigismund Levanevski and Victor Levchenko. It featured added fuel tanks in the cabin, enlarged tail group, and special cold-weather cowl. Additionally, manufacturing rights were sold to the USSR in October 1936, but none were produced there.
All Aero 