<p>US involvement in World War II, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, was to highlight the unprepared state of the USAAF. This was in no way due to the lack of foresight or enthusiasm of its higher-ranking policy-forming staff officers, but to a national administration which, traditionally, had followed a policy of isolation from the world's squabbles. Although some preparations had been made before the 'day of infamy' on 7 December, they were too little and too late. After the event, manufacturers could not produce aircraft fast enough to meet the demands of the nation's armed forces, and the requirement for training aircraft was insatiable.
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<p>This helps to explain why Fleetwings Inc., of Bristol, Pennsylvania, a specialist in the fabrication of stainless steel, and a manufacturer of components and assemblies in this material for the US aviation manufacturers, came to build a basic trainer for the USAAF under the designation BT-12.
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<p>Identified by the company as the Model 23, the aircraft was in appearance a fairly conventional low-wing monoplane, with fixed tailwheel-type landing gear and the powerplant consisting of one Pratt & Whitney R-985 radial engine. Accommodation was provided for instructor and pupil in separate fully duplicated cockpits with a continuous transparent canopy covering both.
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<p>The unconventional feature of the BT-12 lay in its construction which (with the exception of 65 per cent of the wing skin, ailerons, flaps, part of the fuselage skin, rudder and elevators, which were fabric-covered) was entirely of stainless-steel construction. Fabrication was almost entirely of spot or seam welding.
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<p>A single XBT-12 prototype (39-719) was flown and evaluated, and a contract for an additional 24 BT-12 aircraft was awarded, these being produced and delivered in the period 1942-43.
<item><hi format=bold>Powerplant:</hi> one 450-hp (336-kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985-25 Wasp Junior radial piston engine
<item><hi format=bold>Performance:</hi> maximum speed 195 mph (314 km/h); cruising speed 175 mph (282 km/h); service ceiling 23,800 ft (7,255 m); range 550 miles (885 km)
<item><hi format=bold>Weights:</hi> empty 3,173 lb (1,439 kg); maximum takeoff 4,410 lb (2,000 kg)
<item><hi format=bold>Dimensions:</hi> span 40 ft 0 in (12.19 m); length 29 ft 2 in (8.89 m); height 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m); wing area 240.4 sq ft (22.33 m<su>2</su>)
