Stinson AT-19

The Reliant goes to war

- BUDD DAVISSON

For every WW II, gun-toting combat bird, be it fighter or bomber, there were dozens of trainers, liaison grasshoppers, transports, and utility craft that history has largely forgotten. One of those is the Stinson Reliant that, when dressed in camo and wearing roundels or stars, labored in the background performing mundane squadron hack duties or, more importantly, providing training for fledgling navigators, photographers, etc. as the UC-81/AT-19. The Reliant was a child of the 1930s, the Golden Age for aviation in all its guises, military, civilian and commercial alike. The 1920s had proven that the airplane wasn't just a passing fad and the 1930s was when every aspect of the airplane was explored for possible alternate uses. Those ranged from carrying moose carcasses in the Arctic to pampering airline passengers who wanted to go somewhere in a hurry. Among those airline passengers were corporate executives and high-dollar sportsmen who discovered that even smaller airplanes were a way to travel without the restrictions of those pesky airline schedules.

At the time (the early 1930s), producing light aircraft for the high-roller market was parallel to the market for luxury automobiles: legends such as the Beechcraft Staggerwing, WACO cabin ships, and Stinson Reliants were nothing more than three-dimensional versions of the hulking Packard and Cadillac limousines seen at movie premieres.

As WW II rolled over the horizon, the Reliant was adopted into the USAAC as the UC-81 and AT-19 and 500 were built specifically for the RAF as part of Lend Lease. Upon delivery, the RAF dispersed its Reliants throughout The Empire where it did photography, trained navigators, and generally did anything that was asked of it. One of those AT-19s was Serial Number 77-337, which was produced midway through the production run and delivered via ship to the RAF in England.