NAVAL AIRCRAFT FACTORY N3N-3

In 1935, the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia began design of the N3N primary trainer. The government-owned company finally began production in April 1940 and produced a total of 816 two-seaters before production ceased in 1942. The tandem biplane, nicknamed the "Yellow Peril," was built both as a landplane and floatplane; many of the latter were used at Annapolis until retired in 1959. The original Yellow Peril was powered by a 235-hp seven-cylinder Wright Whirlwind radial engine although many of the trainers that found themselves in civilian hands were fitted with other engines such as the 459-hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior, the 600-hp Wasp, or smaller Continental engines of 220 to 250 hp. Almost 150 N3N biplanes are active today, many of them serving faithfully as agricultural aircraft.