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| A U.S. Marine Corps Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 Canary (BuNo 1777) at Parris Island, South Carolina, in May 1942. The N3Ns were used to tow Schweizer LNS-1 gliders of the Marine glider program. |
The Naval Aircraft Factory N3N was an American tandem-seat, open cockpit, primary training biplane aircraft built by the Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the 1930s.
Built to replace the Consolidated NY-2 and NY-3, the N3N was successfully tested as both a conventional airplane and a seaplane. The seaplane used a single float under the fuselage and floats under the outer tips of the lower wing. The conventional airplane used a fixed landing gear. The prototype XN3N-1 was powered by a radial Wright designed Wright J-5 engine. An order for 179 production aircraft was received. Near the end of the first production run the engine was replaced with the Wright R-760-2 Whirlwind radial. The aircraft is completely metal using bolts and rivets rather than the more common welded steel tubing fuselages. Early production models used aluminum stringers formed for cancelled airship construction orders.
The NAF delivered 997 N3N aircraft beginning in 1935. They included 180 N3N-1s and 816 N3N-3s. Four N3N-3s were delivered to the United States Coast Guard in 1941. Production ended in January 1942 but the type remained in use through the rest of World War II. The N3N was the last biplane in US military service - the last (used by the U.S. Naval Academy for aviation familiarization) were retired in 1961. The N3N was also unique in that it was an aircraft designed and manufactured by an aviation firm wholly owned and operated by the U.S. government (the Navy, in this case) as opposed to private industry. For this purpose, the U.S. Navy bought the rights and the tooling for the Wright R-760 series engine and produced their own engines. These Navy built engines were installed on Navy built airframes.
Postwar, many surviving aircraft were sold on the US civil aircraft market and bought for operation by agricultural aerial spraying firms and private pilot owners. A number are still (2014) active in the USA.
Variants
XN3N-1: First prototype aircraft, Bureau of Aeronautics number 9991.
N3N-1: Two-seat primary trainer biplane, powered by a 220-hp (164-kW) Wright J-5 radial piston engine. 179 were built.
XN3N-2: One prototype only (Bureau number 0265) powered by a 240-hp (179-kW) Wright R-760-96 radial piston engine.
XN3N-3: One production N3N-1 (0020) was converted into a 'dash three' prototype.
N3N-3: Two-seat primary trainer biplane, powered by a 235-hp (175-kW) Wright R-760-2 Whirlwind 7 radial piston engine. 816 built.
Role: Training aircraft
National origin: United States
Manufacturer: Naval Aircraft Factory
First flight: August 1935
Introduction: 1936
Retired: 1961
Operators:
United States
United States Coast Guard
U.S. Marines
United States Navy
Paraguay
Paraguayan Naval Aviation
Two N3N-3s received by Lend-Lease Program.
Number built: 997
Crew: 2
Length: 25 ft 6 in (7.77 m)
Wingspan: 34 ft 0 in (10.36 m)
Height: 10 ft 10 in (3.3 m)
Wing area: 305 ft2 (28.3 m2)
Empty weight: 2,090 lb (948 kg)
Gross weight: 2,792 lb (1,266 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Wright R-760-2 Whirlwind radial, 235 hp (175 kW)
Maximum speed: 126 mph (203 km/h)
Range: 470 miles (756 km)
Service ceiling: 15,200 ft (4,635 m)
Rate of climb: 900 ft/min ( m/s)
Communications were done by the instructor through a speaking tube to the aft-seated student. Communications back were agreed-upon gestures.
Aircraft on Display
National Air and Space Museum, Udvar Hazy Center, Chantilly Virginia
National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola Florida
Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, Kalamazoo Michigan
USS Lexington Museum, Corpus Christi Texas
Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum, Hood River, Oregon
Warhawk Air Museum, Nampa, Idaho
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| This U.S. Navy Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 Canary was the first aircraft landing at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, on 7 September 1940. |
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| U.S. Navy N3N trainers awaiting engines and other parts at Naval Aircraft Factory, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 28 June 1937. |
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| Production of U.S. Navy N3N Canary trainers at the Naval Aircraft Factory, Philadelphia; c. 1930s. |
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| View of the assembly line of the N3N Yellow Peril at the U.S. Navy's Naval Aircraft Factory; c. 1937. The N3N made its first flight in August 1935. |
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| Three U.S. Navy N3N trainers flying over Naval Air Station Glenview, Illinois, in the early 1940s. |
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| N3N-1, BuNo 0984. |
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| N3N-1s on training flight. |
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| N3N-3, BuNo 1790, with N3N-1 landing gear. |
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| Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 Canary trainer (1787). |
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| Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-1. |
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| NAF XN3N-1 (9991) on wheels. |
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| Starting the engine of an N3N-1. |
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| Tail of N3N-3, BuNo 2590, at left, with another N3N-3 in background. |
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| N3N-3s on the flight line. |
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| A USMC pilot stands beside his N3N-3. Parris Island, South Carolina, c. May 1942. The N3N-3 was used to tow gliders. |
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| A USMC pilot checks the Wright Whirlwind radial piston engine of his N3N-3 Canary, Parris Island, South Carolina, c. May 1942. |
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| A USMC pilot stands beside his N3N-3. Parris Island, South Carolina, c. May 1942. |
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| A USMC pilot with an N3N-3. Parris Island, South Carolina, c. May 1942. |
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| A USMC pilot with an N3N-3. Parris Island, South Carolina, c. May 1942. |
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| A USMC N3N-3 Canary over Parris Island, South Carolina, c. May 1942. |
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| A U.S. Marine Corps NAF N3N-3 “Yellow Peril” towing three LNS-1 gliders at Parris Island, South Carolina; May 1942. |
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| A U.S. Marine Corps NAF N3N-3 “Yellow Peril” towing three LNS-1 gliders at Parris Island, South Carolina. May 1942. |
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| A U.S. Marine Corps NAF N3N-3 “Yellow Peril” towing three LNS-1 gliders at Parris Island, South Carolina. May 1942. |
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| Marine pilot trainees with NAF N3N-3 at Parris Island, South Carolina; May 1942. |
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| Marine pilot in NAF N3N-3 at Parris Island, South Carolina; May 1942. |
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| A U.S. Navy Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-1 (BuNo 0680) assigned to flight test duties at Naval Air Station Anacostia, Washington D.C. |
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| The single U.S. Navy Naval Aircraft Factory XN3N-2 Canary or Yellow Peril (BuNo 0265) training biplane in flight. Various handling and control problems of the N3N-1 were tried to correct with the XN3N-2 prototype which was ordered in October 1935. This aircraft was powered by the 240 hp (179 kW) Wright R-760-96 engine. In order to reduce the tail heaviness, the aircraft was equipped with new engine mounts and a longer engine cowling, some equipment was also moved forward. The XN3N-2 made its first flight at the NAF Mustin Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 11 August 1936. However, it was found that this aircraft did not adequately improve performance. Therefore, the N3N-1 BuNo 0020 was converted into the XN3N-3 prototype, which went into production. |
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| Aviation cadets check flight boards for last minute instructions at Naval Air Training Center Corpus Christi, Texas. In the background is a NAF N3N-3 (2828). |
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| A U.S. Coast Guard Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 Canary trainer (V196) in 1941. Four were acquired by the U.S. Coast Guard in December 1940 to expedite pilot training. The N3N was a two-place primary training biplane built by the Naval Aircraft Factory (N.A.F.) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The N3N was delivered both as a landplane and a seaplane. Four of the N3N-3 aircraft were delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard in 1941. |
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| A U.S. Navy Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 Yellow Peril (BuNo 2885) photographed in front of building 57, Naval Air Station Anacostia, Washington D.C. in 1940. A Grumman JRF-4 Goose (BuNo 3852), assigned to NAS Anacostia, is in the background. This aircraft was sold by the U.S. Navy on 31 July 1946. It later crashed on 3 December 1946 at the Llanganattes Range, Ecuador (civil registration HC-SBL). |
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| U.S. Navy Stearman N2S and Naval Aircraft Factory N3N training planes taxiing to the flight line at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, during flight training operations in 1942-1943. The plane in foreground is a Stearman N2S-3. |
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| A U.S. Navy primary flight training planes at the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, 1943. The aircraft are either Naval Aircraft Factory N3N Canarys (with red fuselage band), or Stearman N2S Kaydets. Note the tetrahedron wind direction indicator in the upper right. |
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| U.S. Navy Naval Aircraft Factory N3N and Stearman N2S trainers on the flight line at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, 1941-1942. |
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| Dozens of so-called Yellow Perils—Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 primary trainers—fill the ramps, taxiways, and sky at Rodd Field, one of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi's auxiliary fields, in a 1942 watercolor by Vernon Howe Bailey. |
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| NAF N3N-1; Oakland. |
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| Naval Aircraft Factory XN3N-1 (9991). |
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| NAF XN3N-1 (9991) with greenhouse cockpit; Anacostia, 1944. |
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| A U.S. Navy Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-1 Canary (BuNo 0717) in flight; c. 1930s. |
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| NAF N3N-1 0692; Oakland, 1940. |
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| NAF N3N-3s over County Causeway, Palm and Star Islands, Miami Beach, Florida. |
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| A U.S. Coast Guard Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 at Floyd Bennett Field, New York, in 1943. The USCG operated four N3Ns from 1940 to 1945 (V193-V196). |
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| NAF N3N front cockpit. |
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| NAF N3N rear cockpit. |
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| NAF XN3N-1 (9991) on floats. |
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| NAF N3N-1s (0037 in foreground). |
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| A U.S. Navy Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-1 Canary trainer (BuNo 0081) taking off on 7 March 1944. |
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| Sailors standing in a hanger, between two aircraft, at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. The aircraft on the left is a Vought OS2U-3 Kingfisher, while the aircraft on the right is a Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3; September 1942. |
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| Mary Josephine Farley, who at 20 is considered a top notch mechanic, working on a Wright Whirlwind airplane motor which she rebuilt at a Naval Air Base. The aircraft is an N3N-3 floatplane; c. October 1942. |
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| A U.S. Navy Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-1 trainer at the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas; August 1942. |
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| A U.S. Navy Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-1 (BuNo 0041) training biplane with floats on the beach at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. An instructor demonstrates handling to a student. |
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| A U.S. Navy Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 trainer (BuNo 2920) assigned to VN-7D8 (Training Squadron 7, Eighth Naval District) is craned out of the water at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida; c. 1944. |
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| A U.S. Navy Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 Canary (BuNo 2736) on floats, used for primary seaplane training. The aircraft paint color was all-yellow with silver floats and this picture was taken on 7 January 1942 at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida. |
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| A U.S. Navy Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 trainer in flight near Naval Air Station Anacostia, Washington D.C. |
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| Flight's over—an N3N training plane is safe on the dolly and pilot and instructor go back to the hangar. After fulfilling their service schedules, planes at the Corpus Christi, Texas, naval air base are completely reconditioned by civil service mechanics attached to the base. U.S. Navy Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 trainers at the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas; August 1942. |
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| A U.S. Navy Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 trainer (BuNo 1759) in flight over the Pennsylvania countryside. |
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| A U.S. Navy Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-1 Canary trainer on a seaplane ramp at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida; c. 1942. The plane has panels removed for maintenance just aft of the engine. This N3N is BuNo 0265. This airplane is the only N3N-2 that was ever built. It was made to help correct some flight characteristics by raising the location of the horizontal elevator in relation to the lower wing. This is 0265 with a -1 rudder fitted as the -2 rudder was a different design all together. You can see the differences in tail design by looking at any picture of the -1 version. |
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| An early U.S. Navy Consolidated PBY Catalina taxiing at low speed. Note the crewman on wing between the engines. There is a Naval Aircraft Factory N3N Yellow Peril in flight in front of and overhead; c. 1940. |
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| N3N-1, BuNo 1978. |
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| N3N-1. |
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| A U.S. Marine Corps Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 Canary towing three Schweizer LNS-1 gliders of the Marine glider program at Parris Island, South Carolina. May 1942. |
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| U.S. Marine Corps Schweizer LNS-1 gliders being towed by N3N-3 Canary over Parris Island, South Carolina. May 1942. |
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| N3N-3. |
