Page 35 - Volume 13 Number 6

When the fighting finally ended and the world again embraced peace, the city of Wichita could be proud of its contributions to the Allied victory. It is estimated that during the war the Wichita Division, Boeing Aircraft Company, Beech Aircraft Corporation, Cessna Aircraft Company and the Culver Aircraft Company had manufactured 25,865 aircraft, plus sufficient spares to build another 5,000. Boeing was the largest employer with 29,795 people on the payroll. The Wichita Division built 8,584 primary trainers, or about 44 percent of all primary training aircraft built during the war. These accomplishments were a testimony to the strong work ethic and patriotism exhibited by thousands of men and women of the Wichita Division of the Boeing Aircraft Company. For many of the employees, their service had begun in 1927 when they went to work for a native Kansan named Lloyd Carlton Stearman and the company that bore his name.
On Jan. 11, 1945, PT­13D (Serial No. 75­5963), Army Air Corps serial No. 42­17800 rolled of the final assembly line. After the war parent company Boeing applied a sign to the fuselage stating that the trainer was the last of 10,346 built by the Wichita Division. Years of research by aviation historian Kenneth Wilson, however, eventually disproved that claim when he verified that another PT­13D, serial No. 75­6026, Army Air Corps serial No. 42­17863, was the final aircraft produced.
As of 2018, the airplane is on static display at the United States Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.
Ed Phillips, now retired and living in the South, has researched and written eight books on the unique and rich aviation history that belongs to Wichita, Kan. His writings have focused on the evolution of the airplanes, companies and people that have made Wichita the “Air Capital of the World” for more than 80 years.
Lloyd C. Stearman observed a sign attached to a PT-13D mistakenly identified by the Wichita Division as the last of 10,346 primary trainers built. After the war it was donated to the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. (Wichita State University Libraries, Department of Special Collections)
De-icing Never Looked This Good
Ice Shield De-icing Systems offers wing boots, propeller boots, wire harnesses, and much more. Offering guaranteed 48-hour delivery and first class customer service.
Ice Shield is a Faster, Better Smarter way to protect your aircraft from icing conditions.
For more information please visit our website www.iceshield.com or 800.767.6899
JUNE 2019 KING AIR MAGAZINE • 33