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A year-by-year comparison of unit costs of major production USAAF aircraft of World War II. Values are US dollars for average models within a type and might not reflect military modifications or add-ons. | |||||
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A-20 A-26 AT-6 AT-7 B-17 B-24 B-25 B-26 B-29 BT-13 C-46 C-47 C-54 L-4 L-5 P-38 P-39 P-40 P-47 P-51 PT-13 PT-19 |
1939-41
136,813 224,498 29,423 76,827 301,221 379,162 180,031 261,062 25,035 341,831 128,761 516,553 134,280 77,159 60,562 113,246 10,002 9,710 |
1942
124,253 254,624 25,672 85,688 258,949 304,391 153,396 239,655 893,730 23,068 314,700 109,696 370,492 2,432 10,165 120,407 69,534 59,444 105,594 58,698 9,896 12,911 |
1943
110,324 192,457 68,441 151,894 212,932 259,268 92,417 400,831 2,437 105,567 50,666 49,449 104,258 58,824 11,000 |
1944
100,800 175,892 22,952 208,370 215,516 142,194 192,427 605,360 233,377 88,574 285,113 2,620 9,704 97,147 44,892 85,578 51,572 15,052 |
1945 187,742 116,752 509,465 221,550 85,035 259,816 2,701 8,323 83,001 50,985 |
The steady decrease in the cost of almost every type of plane was, of course, the result of volume production, and the decrease undoubtedly would have been greater had there been no changes in the various models between 1940 and 1945. Unit cost for the first year usually included the experimental and test models—understandably far more costly than production models that followed—and influenced the unit cost for the initial year. SOURCE: The AAF in WW2, Volume 7, Craven & Cate (Chicago Press 1955) | |||||