Globe Swift

The Poor Man's P-51
Built in 1946, the Globe Swift was first produced to take advantage of the post-Second World War demand for personal aircraft with fighter performance. The original design, the Swift GC-1, was approved in 1942 but not put into production until after the war. It started as the "home-built" design of R.S. "Pop" Johnson of Fort Worth, Texas, first prototyped in 1940.

In 1946, Globe produced about 500 of its low-wing Swift design. The company reached the limit of its resources, and entered into a manufacturing agreement with TEMCO, the Texas Engineering and Manufacturing Corp., who produced a whopping 833 Swifts in just six months.

Aside from seeking a civilian market, the Globe Swift competed to become the first post-war piston-engined military trainer. After some consideration about the need for a piston trainer, the USAF decided that a high-performance transitional aircraft was necessary. The Swift lost out to the Beechcraft T-34 Mentor.

The original Swift was produced with a 85 horsepower Continental. It became clear more power was needed resulting in the use of the Continental O-300 engine, generating 145 horsepower, and a similar power Lycoming. With an empty weight of 1,375 pounds.

The Swift went out of major production in 1951 when the parts and plans were sold by TEMCO to Univar Aircraft. Univar eventually turned over its parts business for the Swifts in 1980 to the Swift Museum Foundation. While it did not become a primary trainer for the U.S. military, the Swift did see service in numerous European air forces ranging from Belgium to Spain.