It had an open cockpit and was powered by a single Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior radial engine.

[2] In 1952, the sole Samson, registered N52137, suffered a mid-air collision and crash landed, being destroyed in the resulting fire.

This aircraft was also destroyed in a mid-air collision in 2005, killing pilot Bobby Younkin and his airshow partner Jimmy Franklin.

The aircraft, referred to as "Samson II",[5] is of a modified design, with the fuselage being a foot shorter than the original and featuring ailerons on the top wing.

[7] The Samson Mite was debuted during the 2017 Sun 'n Fun airshow, and as of October 2018 the original Rotec engine was replaced with a 168 hp (125 kW) Verner Motor unit.