Having found its way to rest near the cornfields of Iowa, NA-64 3456 has been waiting patiently for her time to return to the skies again.  When restored she will be returned to her original dual-control configuration as delivered to the Royal Canadian Airforce.

History of North American NA-64 Yale 3456

64-2221 was built in the North American Aviation Plant in Inglewood, CA as part of the first 200-plane French Contract.  Was delivered to RCAF.

May 10, 1940 – It was taken on strength with the RCAF as 3456 at the No. 3 Service Flight Training School in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

March 28, 1941 - Transferred to the the No.6 Service Flight Training School, Dunnville, Ontario, Canada.

February 4, 1942 - While under the control of C.D. Wilson, NA-64 3456 had to make a forced landing in Dunnville, Ontario on rough ground.  One of the main wheels struck a furrow causing the aircraft to ground loop causing category C-1 damage.

April 29,1943 - Converted to Wireless Trainer at the No.6 Repair Depot, Trenton, Ontario, Canada.

February 2, 1944 - Served with the No.2 Wireless Training School in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

June 20, 1944 – 3456 was moved into storage reserve at the No.2 Training Command.

August 8, 1944 – Transferred to No.1 Training Command for storage reserve.

January 15, 1945 – Transferred to the No.1 Air Command for storage reserve.

July 25, 1945 – Transferred for storage to the No.4 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Unit at Brantford, Ontario.

September 25, 1946 - Struck off, to War Assets for sale.  Had 1752.00 total time on airframe.

Was purchased for scrap by Amsco Ltd. of Hamilton, Ontario who again offered 3456 for sale.

North American NA-64-2221 was then purchased by the late Ernie Simmons and became part of his collection that was parked on his farm for decades in Cortland, Ontario.

North American NA-64-2221 was auctioned off by Dan Murray Auctions in the “Ernie Simmons Collection” auction on September 5, 1970 to Tom Dietrich, Waterloo, Ontario.



It was sold in 1986 as a project to the Westrum's in Norwalk, Iowa who offered it back for sale in early 2009.

It was purchased by John Vasil of Ontario, Canada in early 2010 and picked up by Legend Of Aces Aviation for restoration.

North American NA-64 Yale

With hostilities on the horizon, France went to North American for a version of the BT-9 called the NA-57.  These proved very popular, so, just before the war, they ordered a further 230 updated machines.  This incarnation was called the NA-64, later to be called the YALE 1.  It was a hodge-podge machine, featuring the Harvard canopy, the fixed landing gear and the Wright R-975-E3 Whirlwind engine.  It did, however, have the semi-monocoque rear fuselage rather than the earlier fabric structure as the BT-9.

The Yale is a fixed undercarriage, lower powered, lighter weight version of the well-known Harvard.  Both the Yale and Harvard evolved from the North American Aviation NA-16, which was first flown in 1935.  It was originally designed to fill the middle role in the American's three tier training program, in which pilots advanced through primary, basic, and advanced phases.

Early in 1939, 230 Yale's were ordered by the Government of France and assembly began in North American's California facility.  Just over one hundred had been delivered when France fell to Germany in 1940.  One hundred and eleven of these had just been delivered when France fell.   The Germans were happy to press them into service in the Luftwaffe, many still in their packing crates, as they too had a shortage of trainers.  The Luftwaffe made use of these Yale's until lack of spare parts forced their grounding.  The remainder of the order, with their French stenciling and plates and instruments calibrated in metric measurements, was shipped to Canada whose Air Force was moving quickly to build its training program under the Canadian Air Training Plan.

Initially the Yale's served as advanced trainers in the Canadian Air Training Plan’s two phase flying training system.  When sufficient numbers of the higher performance Harvard's became available the Yale's were relegated to the role of wireless operator training.  This conversion involved gutting the rear cockpit and fitting it with radio equipment of the type used on operational fighters and bombers.  In total, 119 Yale's served with the RCAF, the last one being retired in 1946.

North American NA-64, 3456 will be one of only 13 Yale's flying in the world when finished. Of the 11 NA64 Yale's that are still flying today, most if not all, came from the collection of the late eccentric Ernie Simmons.

Engine:	Wright R-975-E3; 9 cylinder supercharged radial
Wing Span:	40 feet, 1-7/16 inch (12.25 m)
Length:	28 feet, 4-5-16 inches (8.64 m)
Height:	9 feet, 1-1/2 inches (2.77 m)
Weight (empty):	3163 pounds (1436 kg)
Weight (gross):	4291 pounds (1900 kg)
Maximum Speed:	170 miles per hour (274 km/h)
Range:	700 miles (1127 km)