ADF-SERIALS
Australian
& New Zealand Military Aircraft Serials & History
RAAF Vultee P-66 Vanguard Mk.I
One of the general types considered was the Vultee P-66 Vanguard Mk.I, mainly owing to the difficulty in obtaining stocks of P-40E Kittyhawks.
History
The Vultee Model 48 was an company-originated design evolved during the late 1930s by Richard Palmer, chief designer of the Vultee Aircraft Division of the Aviation Manufacturing Corporation. The aircraft was intended for the export market, and was pattered after the H-1B racer which Palmer had designed for Howard Hughes. In late 1938, Palmer and his team were busily working on their Model 48 project when the US Army announced a design competition for an advanced trainer. Since a substantial Army order was anticipated for the winner of the competition, the Vultee Aircraft Division decided to enter the contest. Palmer's team came up with the idea of using the work already done on the Model 48 as a basis for Vultee's trainer proposals including the BT-13 Valiant.
The P-48 was the fighter version. The designation "P-48" was a company designation, not to be confused with the USAAF's P-for-pursuit designation scheme. Vultee put work on the P-48 on the back burner while they concentrated on the trainer versions.The first prototype Model P-48 was given the civil registration NX21755, and was flown for the first time in September of 1939 by test pilot Vance Breese.
Sweden
On February 6, 1940, Vultee received an order from Sweden for 144 Vanguards, the production version being given the company designation Model 48C. The Flygvapen designation for the aircraft was J10. The first production prototype bore the civilian serial number NX28300 and flew for the first time on September 6, 1940. Before any production aircraft could be delivered to their Swedish customer, the US government placed an embargo on the export of military aircraft to Sweden, fearing that they might fall into Axis hands.
Britain
Although the British had earlier rejected the Vultee fighter for their own use, they agreed to take over 100 of these aircraft under Lend-Lease as Vanguard Is. RAF serials BW208 through BW307 were assigned to these aircraft. The Vanguard I was considered as being unsuitable for combat use by the RAF, but it was considered appropriate for advanced training use by units based in Canada.
China
In early 1941, Chiang Kai-Shek's Nationalist Chinese forces were being hard-pressed by Japanese air attacks, and were in desperate need of more combat aircraft. On May 19, 1941, the British government agreed to release its Vanguards for supply to Chiang Kai-Shek's Nationalist Chinese forces. The 144 Vanguards were given the USAAC designation P-66 and were assigned the serial numbers 42-6832 thru 42-6975.
USA
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, there was an expectation of follow up attacks on the west coast of the USA. In anticipation of a such an event, some forty to fifty P-66s originally intended for China were hastily impressed into USAAC service and issued to the 14th Pursuit Group for use in any emergency defence of southern California. Eventually, the US west coast was regarded as being sufficiently secure that the Vanguards were eventually released from USAAC service and were transferred to China as previously planned.
China
The first shipment of P-66s left for China in February of 1942, the last aircraft being delivered by August 1942 . They went first to Karachi (at that time in India) where they were assembled, tested, and ferried to China.
RAAF
In the RAAF context was still desperately short of modern types in 1942, and sought a diversion of Vanguard stocks still held in crate for supply to China.
Some 40 Vanguard aircraft were requested and the Australian War Supplies Procurement office in Washington sought urgent advice on the 8th of April 1942 from the Prime Ministers Department on approval to negotiate with Chinese and Russian authorities for these aircraft which were already crated for dispatch in exchange for a some of the P-40E's allocated to Australia for June 1942.
In the end, this was not to be as these aircraft went to to China as planned and the RAAF proceeded with the acquisition of an initial batch of Curtiss P-40E/E-1 Kittyhawks instead.
