Naval Aircraft Factory N3N


The Naval Aircraft Factory N3N was an American tandem-seat, open cockpit, primary training biplane aircraft built by the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the 1930s and early 1940s.

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. 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 Wright J-5 radial engine. An order for 179 production aircraft was received. 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.

Operational history

The N.A.F. delivered 997 N3N aircraft beginning in. They included 180 N3N-1s and 816 N3N-3s. Four N3N-3s were delivered to the United States Coast Guard in. 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 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 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 active in the USA.

Variants

;XN3N-1
;N3N-1
;XN3N-2
;XN3N-3
;N3N-3

Operators

Communications were done by the instructor through a speaking tube to the student in the front cockpit. Communications back were agreed-upon gestures.

Citations