Beechcraft Model 18

Beechcraft Model 18 Twin Beech
Beechcraft 18 / C-45 in the USAF National Museum
Type:	Multipurpose aircraft
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Beech Aircraft
First flight:	January 15, 1937
Production time:	1937-1970
Number of pieces:	more than 9,000

The Beechcraft Model 18 Twin Beech , Beech 18 for short , is a twin-engine low - wing aircraft manufactured by the US manufacturer Beech Aircraft , which was built from 1937 to 1970. In addition to two pilots, between six and eleven people could be carried, depending on the version.

For the numerous versions of the Beech 18, more than two hundred additional type approvals have been issued by the FAA , more than for any other aircraft.

history

In the late 1930s, the outbreak of war in Europe became more and more likely. Beechcraft then decided to expand production capacity and develop a new multi-purpose transport aircraft. The Model 18 was an all-metal aircraft and had two radial engines and a double tail unit. The first machines had Jacobs L-6 engines with 225 kW or 260 kW Wright R-760E engines. In the end, the decision was made in favor of the 295 kW Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior engine. The prototype made its first flight on January 15, 1937.

Even later, numerous changes were made to the drive system and the airframe in order to increase the payload and the speed. In the meantime, the model received the 450 kW Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engine. The associated increase in weight made an almost complete redesign of the cell necessary.

Some changes made by outside companies have been adopted by Beechcraft for the production models. In the last versions, the manufacturer replaced the piston engines with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprops with Hartzell propellers.

The Beechcraft Model 18 was built until 1970. The last customer was Japan Airlines . In total, over 9,000 aircraft were built in 32 versions.

Beechcraft 18 with floats.

Beechcraft 18 in flight

use

Only 39 machines had been sold by World War II. At the beginning of the war, a version was developed that could be used to train pilots, bombardiers and navigators. The result was the army version AT-7 Navigator and the naval version SNB-2 . Later the AT-11 Kansan and SNB-1 as well as the military transporter C-45 Expeditor followed . In addition, there was an XA-38 experimental aircraft that had a cannon installed in the bow but never went into production.

These machines had an estimated flight time of 20 million hours. The USAF used the Beechcraft Model 18 (AT-11 Kansan, C-45 Expeditor, F-2 Expeditor and UC-45 Expeditor) from 1946 to 1951. The C-45 was in service with the Air Force until 1963. The Strategic Air Command also used some C-45s. The Navy decommissioned its last SNB in ​​1972, while the army version of the C-45 remained in service until 1976.

The use also included agricultural spraying, exposing fish spawn, distributing dry ice to generate rain, fire extinguishing operations, dropping airmail, patient transport, film productions, parachute jumps, smuggling transports, engine test flights or the towing of banners.

Occasionally the Beech 18 was used as a passenger aircraft. It was the first airplane for Philippine Airlines , Asia's oldest airline. Today numerous copies are in private hands.

Production for USAAF

Acceptance of the Beech 18 by the USAAF:

version	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	TOTAL
C-45	19th	41		60	1,060	591	1,771
AT-7, AT-11		191	1.105	1,370	738		3,404
F-2	13				20th	22nd	55
TOTAL	32	232	1.105	1,430	1,818	613	5,230

Military users

•  Argentina
•  Bolivia
•  Brazil
•  Costa Rica
•  Dominican Republic
•  Ecuador
•  El Salvador
•  Ivory Coast
•  France
•  Guatemala
•  Honduras
•  Indonesia
•  Italy
•  Canada
•  Colombia
•  Mexico
•  Nicaragua
•  Niger
•  Nigeria
•  Peru
•  Philippines
•  Portugal
•  Sweden
•  Somalia
•  Spain
•  Sri Lanka
•  South Africa
•  Taiwan
•  Thailand
•  Turkey
•  Uruguay
•  Venezuela
•  United States : US Army , US Army Air Corps , US Army Air Forces , US Air Force , US Marine Corps , US Navy
•  United Kingdom : Royal Air Force , Royal Navy
• Zaire

Technical specifications

Parameter	UC-45 data
crew	2
Passengers	6th
length	10.41 m
span	14.53 m
height	2.95 m
Wing area	32.4 m²
Takeoff mass	3,959 kg
Top speed	360 km / h
Service ceiling	7,930 m
Range	1,900 km
Engines	two Pratt & Whitney R-985 -AN-1 Wasp Junior radial engines with 336 kW each

See also

• List of aircraft types
• Airspeed Oxford
• Avro Anson
• Barkley-Grow T8P-1
• Bristol Blenheim
• De Havilland DH.104 Dove
• Lockheed Electra
• Siebel Si 204

Web links

Commons : Beechcraft Model 18  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Bush planes

Individual evidence

1. ↑ beechcraft.com ( Memento from June 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) - Company history
2. ↑ Some C-45s were also used in Strategic Air Command
3. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1946, p. 100 ff.