TheNorth American P-64 was the designation assigned by theUnited States Army Air Corps (USAAC) to theNorth American AviationNA-68 fighter, an upgraded variant of theNA-50 developed during the late 1930s.[3] It was designed as a low-cost fighter for the export market.[3] Seven NA-50s were purchased by thePeruvian Air Force, which nicknamed itTorito ("Little Bull").[4]
Six NA-68s ordered by theRoyal Thai Air Force were seized before export by the US government in 1941, after theFranco-Thai War and growing ties betweenThailand and theEmpire of Japan.[5] These aircraft were used by the USAAC as unarmed fighter trainers.
The North American AviationNA-50 was developed as a simple single-seat, low-wing, single-engined fighter for export. The design was developed from theNA-16/BT-9 basic training aircraft of 1935. The NA-16 evolved into a series of aircraft that were some of the most widely used advanced and basic training aircraft produced by any country, and provided the basic design for a single-engined fighter intended for small countries that needed a simple aircraft with modern capabilities and features.
The NA-50Torito (Spanish slang for "little bull"), built for Peru, was a single-seat fighter design based on the two-seat Basic Combat Demonstrator NA-44. The NA-50 was powered by an 840 hp (626 kW) Wright R-1820-G3 radial air-cooledengine that gave the NA-50 a top speed of 295 mph (475 km/h) at 9,500 ft (2,900 m). It was armed with two .30 in (7.62 mm)M1919 Browning machine guns. The aircraft were manufactured in May 1939, and test-flown at the factory.[1]
In 1940, theRoyal Thai Air Force ordered six aircraft similar to the NA-50 that were designatedNA-68. The changes in the NA-68 included a modified landing gear, new outer wings, heavier armament, and redesigned tail surfaces similar to those adopted on later production trainers. North American test pilot Lewis Waite flew the first NA-68 on 1 September 1940.[2]
Peru purchased seven aircraft for thePeruvian Air Force, with deliveries completed in May 1939. In Peruvian service, these aircraft were fitted with bomb racks under thefuselage for light bombs. The Peruvian NA-50s took part in theEcuadorian–Peruvian War of July 1941, supportingArmy of Peru ground forces.[6]
In 1940, the NA-68s (along with a parallel order forNA-69 two seaters) ordered by theRoyal Thai Air Force were en route toThailand when their export clearance was canceled and were returned to the United States where they were assigned the designation P-64, disarmed, and used for advanced fighter training by the USAAC, primarily at Luke Field in Arizona. They were later re-designated RP-64 ("R" for "Restricted").[7]
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NA-50XXI-41-4 (c/n 50-951). The sole surviving NA-50 is currently under restoration atLas Palmas Air Base,Lima,Peru, with it being planned that the aircraft be restored to flying by 2021. The aircraft remained in service until 1961 and was then displayed on a pedestal next to the Mausoleum of CaptainJosé Quiñones Gonzales, (a Peruvian national hero who died flying an NA-50), until 2018, when it was removed for restoration.[8]
NA-68A41-19085 (c/n 68-3061). One of the six intercepted Thailand-bound P-64s which survived being used for training and liaison was obtained by theExperimental Aircraft Association in the 1960s, and was used by EAA founder and presidentPaul Poberezny to perform an aerobatic display as part of the organization's annualfly-in. It was retired from flight after 1988 and placed on display at theEAA Aviation Museum.[9] This aircraft has since been restored to flying condition, with the engine running again in 2013, followed by its first flying appearance at the 2016EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow.
^"Peruvian NA-50 to fly for bicentennial".Aeroplane. Vol. 47, no. 10. October 2019. p. 12.ISSN0143-7240.
^"For many years, EAA founder Paul Poberezny flew aerobatic performances in the EAA Aviation Museum's 1940 North American P-64 at air shows around the country, spreading The Spirit of Aviation. The airplane was retired to static display in 1988 but returned to the skies at #OSH16 to help commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks. EAA (accessed 22 December 2022)
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