The
North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engined advanced
trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF),
United States Navy,
Royal Air Force and other
air forces of the
British Commonwealth during
World War II and into the 1970s. Designed by
North American Aviation, the T-6 is known by a variety of designations depending on the model and operating air force. The
United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) and USAAF designated it as the
AT-6, the
United States Navy the
SNJ, and
British Commonwealth air forces, the
Harvard, the name it is best known by outside of the US. After 1962, US forces designated it the
T-6. It remains a popular
warbird aircraft used for
airshow demonstrations and static displays. It has also been used many times to simulate the Japanese
Mitsubishi Zero in movies depicting
World War II in the Pacific.