Designed by Fairchild Aircraft, it was a contemporary of the Kaydet biplane trainer, and was used by the USAAF during Primary Flying Training.

Puckett, "Still U.S. pilots were receiving their primary flight training in biplanes, although the low wing advance trainer was in use.

Fairchild felt this urgency and set his organization at work on such a low wing trainer with the proposal that the new proven Ranger be used as the power plant for the new airplane to be known as the M-62.

According to Puckett, "Moisture became the arch enemy of the Fairchild PT and was responsible for the relatively small survival rate of the airplanes built.

[2] Maintenance officers at the USAAF overhaul depots had been forced to order replacement of the wooden wing sections after only two to three months' active service because of wood rot and ply separation issues.

[2] Subsequent to this incident, the USAAF incorporated a demand for all-metal wing sections on all future fixed-wing training aircraft.

The Canadian-built versions of these were designated the Cornell for use by the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan which was centered in Canada.

[citation needed] Compared to the earlier biplane trainers, the Fairchild PT-19 provided a more advanced type of aircraft.

Speeds were higher and wing loading more closely approximated that of combat aircraft, with flight characteristics demanding more precision and care.

[citation needed] Thousands of the PT-19 series were rapidly integrated into the United States and Commonwealth training programs, serving throughout World War II and beyond.

Even after their retirement in the late 1940s, a substantial number found their way onto the United States and other civil registers, being flown by private pilot owners.