Beech AT-11 Kansan

Beech Aircraft first introduced the Model 18 light, twin-engine, twin-tail, tail-dragger to the
civilian market in late 1937. Originally a 6 to 11 place civilian executive transport, the
aircraft became one of the most popular utility / cargo planes before WW II and a staple of
civil transport after the war. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-985 nine-cylinder engines
that developed 450 hp each, the plane flew up to 212 mph over a range of 850 miles.

With the outbreak of World War II, the Army Air Forces ordered 11 Beech Model 18s.
Quickly realizing their full potential, the newly designated C-45 was ordered in large
quantities to provide the coming flood of new airmen with a suitable training aircraft.
Although still mostly used as a transport, the C-45 was also produced in several specialized
versions; the AT-7 navigation trainer, AT-11 weapons trainer, and the F-2 photo-
reconnaissance. After Sept. 30, 1943, the AT-11 version usually carried a Norden Bombsight
and a C-1 automatic pilot, which allowed the bombardier student to guide the aircraft
during the bombing run.

The museum’s AT-11 Kansan was one of the specialized Beech-18s equipped with a
transparent nose, a bomb bay, internal bomb, a Norden bomb sight, and flexible guns
positions. Designed to train bombardiers and aerial gunners’ 90 percent of the more than
45,000 USAAF bombardiers trained in AT-11s.
On loan to the March Field Air Museum from Richard Oldham of Quartzsite Arizona, the
aircraft is under restoration to its WW II configuration.