PT-22 Recruit

Restored to flying condition

The PT-22 was originally developed from the civilian Ryan ST, or “Sport Trainer.” Easily recognized for its art deco styling and extensive number of flying wires and struts, the aircraft came about as a result of the Ryan School of Aeronautics. The school placed a particular emphasis on flying as a sport and T. Claude Ryan, its founder, sought an aircraft that could meet the requirements for it.

Subsequently, interest from foreign governments began to develop and the company developed a military version. In addition to limited numbers exported to South American countries, the Netherlands East Indies ordered 84 aircraft, some of which were equipped with floats. After the Japanese invaded in 1942, but before the colony fell in March, the Dutch were able to evacuate 36 of these aircraft to Australia, where all but two were used by the Royal Australian Air Force. Another order of 25 STM-3s was halted before delivery and transferred to the U.S. Army Air Forces as PT-22As.

In the meantime, the company was approached by the U.S. Army Air Forces with an eye toward purchasing the aircraft. Initially tested under the designation YPT-16, the Ryan, the first batch of production aircraft were designated PT-20s. The U.S. Navy followed the AAF’s lead and ordered 100 aircraft of their own and called it the NR-1.

Further changes resulted in the PT-22, which differed from the original ST in three significant ways. First, the landing gear was redesigned and the wheel pants were removed for ease of maintenance. Second, due to reliability issues, the inverted inline Menasco Pirate engines were replaced by Kinner R-540s at the military’s insistence. The latter, with their odd number of cylinders, produced a distinctive putt-putt sound when compared to larger radials. These new aircraft were known by the company as the ST-3KR, with the last two letters standing for Kinner radial. Third, to account for the change in center of gravity from the new engine, the wings were swept back a little over four degrees.

Unsurprisingly given their proximity to the Ryan factory in San Diego, the great majority of PT-22s were operated at bases in California and Arizona. However, it suffered from a high wing loading and the aforementioned swept back wing. The result was an airplane that tended to stall, and then spin, at low speeds. While not a problem if flown correctly, these characteristics made the PT-22 a risky proposition in the hands of an inexperienced pilot – exactly the type of individuals which were intended to use it. Despite instructions to maintain a high speed when landing, it gained a reputation as being prone to accidents.

The above, combined with their small numbers when compared to other primary trainers, led to their retirement and public sale in mid- to late-1944.

Military History

The airplane on display, 41-20995, was delivered to the military on 26 June 1942. The following February it was seriously damaged at King City, California when the cadet flying it, Walter O. McCaffree, did not see another disabled PT-22 on the landing mat in front of him and collided with it. 995 was then sent to Pacific Airmotive Corporation in Burbank, California for repairs.

Civil History

995 was sold into civilian ownership in January 1946 with only 134.5 hours of flying time. A second change of ownership occurred in March 1953, when it was traded for a Bolex camera. A series of six succeeding transfers saw the airplane shuttled around Houston, Texas before culminating in an accident on 16 May 1964, when it was again significantly damaged due to a stall during climbout.

995’s fifteen minutes of fame occurred in 1973, when it starred in the M*A*S*H episode 5 O’Clock Charlie. In the episode, an eponymous North Korean pilot repeatedly tries and fails to destroy an ammunition dump by dropping a single bomb by hand at the same time every day. For the scene, 995 was painted in faux North Korean colors and flown by its owner at the time, Don Burkett, who crouched down in the cockpit to be hidden from the cameras while the actor in the front seat hammed it up.

Following the show, 995 was damaged in a forced landing in February 1986 during the new owner’s first flight. The owner, Steve Freeman, the president of the Ryan Type Club, then restored the aircraft and flew it until it 2021. It was then briefly owned by one other individual before being sold to the Durkee family in November 2023.