WASP Museum Aircraft To Join AirVenture Warbirds Lineup

The National WASP WWII Museum will bring its BT-13 Valiant and AT-6 Texan to Oshkosh in July.

[Credit: EAA]
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Key Takeaways:

  • The National WASP WWII Museum will bring its 1943 Vultee BT-13 Valiant and North American AT-6 Texan training aircraft to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2026.
  • These World War II-era aircraft will be part of the warbirds lineup, recognizing the contributions of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).
  • Both the BT-13 and AT-6 were vital to the WASP training progression, used for basic and advanced single-engine military flight training respectively.
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The National WASP WWII Museum in Sweetwater, Texas, will bring two World War II-era training aircraft to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2026. The museum’s 1943 Vultee BT-13 Valiant and North American AT-6 Texan will be included in the warbirds lineup at Wittman Regional Airport during the July fly-in.

“As EAA AirVenture 2026 celebrates more than a century of American aviation innovation during our nation’s 250th anniversary, it is fitting that the WASP are recognized for their contributions beside the B-29 and other historic aircraft at the largest annual warbirds gathering in the world,” said Rick Larsen, EAA’s vice president of communities and member programs. “The appearance of these aircraft on Boeing Plaza at Oshkosh highlights the museum’s ongoing mission to preserve living history through aviation.”

Both aircraft are tied to the training progression used by the Women Airforce Service Pilots at Avenger Field, where the National WASP WWII Museum is located. The BT-13 was used for basic training and the AT-6 represented a later stage of single-engine military flight training, including aerobatics, formation flying, navigation and instrument work. WASP pilots went on to fly a wide range of Army Air Forces aircraft on ferrying, cargo, target-towing and test-flight missions during the war, including bombers such as the B-25, B-17 and B-29.

Matt Ryan

Matt is AVweb's lead editor. His eyes have been turned to the sky for as long as he can remember. Now a fixed-wing pilot, instructor and aviation writer, Matt also leads and teaches a high school aviation program in the Dallas area. Beyond his lifelong obsession with aviation, Matt loves to travel and has lived in Greece, Czechia and Germany for studies and for work.
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