The Curtiss T-32 Condor II was a 1930s

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

biplane

airliner An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ai ...

and

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...

aircraft built by the

Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909 – 1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in its first decade ...

. It was used by the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

as an executive transport.

Development

The Condor II was a 1933 two-bay

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...

of mixed construction with a single

vertical stabilizer A vertical stabilizer or tail fin is the static part of the vertical tail of an aircraft. The term is commonly applied to the assembly of both this fixed surface and one or more movable rudders hinged to it. Their role is to provide control, sta ...

and

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

, and retractable

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Mart ...

. It was powered by two Wright Cyclone

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...

s. The first aircraft was flown on 30 January 1933 and a production batch of 21 aircraft was then built. The production aircraft were fitted out as 12-passenger luxury night sleeper transports. They entered service with Eastern Air Transport and American Airways, forerunners of

Eastern Air Lines Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major United States airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. E ...

and

American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passeng ...

on regular night services for the next three years. The June 15, 1934 American Airlines system timetable marketed its Condors as being "The World's First Complete Sleeper-Planes" with these 12-passenger aircraft being equipped with sleeper berths and also being capable of cruising at 190 miles per hour. An example of the Condor services operated by American were daily overnight flights between Dallas and Los Angeles during the mid 1930s with a routing of Dallas–Ft. Worth–Abilene–Big Spring, TX–El Paso–Douglas, AZ–Tucson–Phoenix–Los Angeles.http://www.timetableimages.com, June 1, 1934 American Airlines system timetable The Colombian Air Force operated three BT-32 equipped with floats in the Colombia-Peru War in 1933. Two modified T-32s were bought by the United States Army Air Corps (designated YC-30) for use as executive transports. One Condor was converted with extra fuel tanks and used by the 1939–1941 United States Antarctic Service Expedition, and, unique for a Condor, had a fixed undercarriage to allow use on floats or skis. Some aircraft were later modified to AT-32 standard with variable-pitch propellers and improved engine

nacelle A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attache ...

s. The AT-32D variant could be converted from sleeper configuration to daytime use with 15 seats. Four T-32s operating in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

were pressed into service with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Eight bomber variants (BT-32) were built with manually operated machine gun turrets in the nose and above the rear fuselage. All these aircraft were exported. A military cargo version (CT-32) was also built for

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

. It had a large loading door on the starboard side of the fuselage.

Variants

;T-32 :Production luxury night sleeper, 21 built including two as YC-30s ;T-32C :Ten T-32s modified to AT-32 standard. ;AT-32A :Variant with variable-pitch propellers and 710 hp (529 kW) Wright SGR-1820-F3 Cyclone engines, three built. ;AT-32B :An AT-32 variant with 720 hp (537 kW) Wright SGR-1820-F2 Cyclone engines, three built. ;AT-32C :An AT-32 variant, one built for

Swissair Swissair AG/ S.A. (German: Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; French: S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne) was the national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and bankruptcy in 2002. It was formed from a merger between Bal ...

. ;AT-32D :An AT-32 variant with 720 hp (537 kW) Wright SGR-1820-F3 Cyclone engines, one built. ;AT-32E :AT-32 variant for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as the R4C-1, two built. ;BT-32 :Bomber variant, eight built. ;CT-32 :Military cargo variant with large cargo door, three built. ;YC-30 :United States Army Air Corps designation for two T-32s. EL-2002-00547

;R4C-1 :United States Navy designation for two AT-32Es (one for United States Marine Corps) both later to the

United States Antarctic Survey United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

Operators

Civil operators

; * LAN-Chile operated three former

aircraft ; * China National Aviation Corporation operated six AT-32E freighters ; * SACO/AVIANCA operated 2 ; *

; * International Air Freight,

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an exten ...

operated four T-32s. ; * American Airways (subsequently renamed

) * Eastern Air Transport (subsequently renamed

)

Military operators

; *

Argentine Naval Aviation ) Gulf War , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = , commander1 = President , commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief , commander2 ...

operated three aircraft of the CT-32 variant, one as a crew trainer and two as freighters. ; *

Chinese Nationalist Air Force Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...

operated BT-32 variant. ; * Colombian Air Force operated three BT-32 variants on floats. ; * Honduran Air Force ; * Peruvian Air Force operated BT-32 variant. ; *

– Four T-32 variants impressed from International Air Freight. Not used in service and scrapped at No 30 Maintenance Unit. RAF Sealand. ; *

operated two YC-30 aircraft. *

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

received one R4C-1 aircraft. *

received one R4C-1 aircraft.

Specifications (AT-32C Condor II)

Accidents and incidents

*On 27 July 1934,

Condor CH-170 broke up in mid-air and crashed at

Tuttlingen Tuttlingen ( Alemannic: ''Duttlinga'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, capital of the district Tuttlingen. Nendingen, ''Möhringen'' and ''Eßlingen'' are three former municipalities that belong to Tuttlingen. Tuttlingen is located in Swabia ea ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

killing all 12 passengers and crew.

References

Sources

* Andrade, John M. ''U.S.Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909''. Earl Shilton, Leicester, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979. . (Page 63 and 214) * Bowers, Peter M. ''Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947''. London: Putnam & CompanyLtd., 1979. . * * Taylor, H.A. "The Uncompetitive Condor" ''AirEnthusiast Six, March–June 1978''. Bromley, Kent, UK: Pilot Press Ltd., 1978. * ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft'' (Part Work 1982–1985). Orbis Publishing, 1985.

External links

USAF Museum C-30 factsheet

USAF Museum YC-30 factsheet

{{USN transports T-32 Condor II 1930s United States airliners 1930s United States military transport aircraft 1930s United States bomber aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1933 Biplanes Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft