Made during WWII, this promotional film from Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation showcases the AT-21 Gunner, an ill-fated design that failed to perform its original mission — to train bomber crews for combat service. The film starts out by mentioning the success of the Fairchild C-82 Packet cargo aircraft, and briefly shows that airplane at the 1:30 mark, before starting to focus on the Gunner. The film was directed by Robert Elwyn and produced by Gordon Knox and his Princeton Film Center. The film details the building of the plane using modern techniques including veneer sheets of wood as shown at 5:20, which are later coated with rubber and glue that is then autoclaved at 6:10.

The process, known as Duramold, is identical to that used with the famed H-4 Hercules “Spruce Goose” aircraft. Duramold is a composite material process developed by Virginius E. Clark. Birch plies are impregnated with phenolic resin, such as Haskelite and laminated together in a mold under heat (280 °F, 138 °C) and pressure for use as a lightweight structural material. Similar to plywood, Duramold and other lightweight composite materials were considered critical during periods of material shortage in World War II, replacing scarce materials like aluminum alloys and steel.

Metal working on the Ranger 12 engines is also shown, with many modern procedures utilized. At 13:30, aluminum fins are shown bonded to steel cylinder fins using the Alfin Process.

The Fairchild AT-21 was an American World War II specialized bomber crew trainer, intended to train crews in the use of power gun turrets or a gun on a flexible mount, as well as learn to function as a member of a crew. It had a brief career as a training aircraft before modified bombers took over this role.

The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) laid out a specification for a specialized bomber trainer, ordering two prototypes from Fairchild Aircraft. The XAT-13 powered by two 450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN-1 radial engines, emerged as a “scaled down” bomber with a single machine gun in the glazed nose and a top turret with twin machine guns and fitted with tricycle landing gear. The concept was to have a single type that was able to duplicate the bomber crew positions from piloting, navigation, bomb aiming/dropping to aerial gunnery.

The second prototype, designated the XAT-14 was similar in layout but was powered by two 520 hp (388 kW) Ranger V-770 inline inverted 12-cylinder vee-type engines. A further refinement to suit the aircraft for bombardier training with the nose gun and turret removed, led to a new designation, the XAT-14A. Both prototypes featured an unusual construction, being built from “Duramold” plastic-bonded plywood. At the end of the testing period, the USAAC ordered the inline version as the AT-21 Gunner, specialized for gunnery training. The AT-21 had a crew of five, pilot, co-pilot/gunnery instructor and three pupils.

Fairchild Aircraft Company built one aircraft in Hagerstown and 106 aircraft at their Burlington, North Carolina plant in 1943 and 1944, while Bellanca Aircraft built 39 at New Castle, Delaware, and McDonnell built 30 aircraft at their St. Louis plant. Both companies were enlisted to speed production and delivery to training units.

The AT-21 proved to be unsuitable for use as a trainer due to vibration and oscillation tendencies as well as an inherent instability caused by the short distance between the rudders and the gull wing resulting in unacceptable yaw even when slight rudder movements were made.

Not deemed suitable for its original purpose, The AT-21 was evaluated as an advanced pilot trainer. This did not work out well, due to poor single-engine performance and multiple landing gear problems. The aircraft was withdrawn from service in 1944 and was replaced by training examples of the actual aircraft in which the gunners would eventually serve. Many of the AT-21s were then relegated to target-tow duties.

A small number of AT-21s survived as civilian examples, with one (s/n 42-48053 owned by Craig Cantwell) still in existence in North Texas as a “basket case” awaiting restoration.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com