am I right?
[Some years later, while I was in naval flight training in Pensacola, Florida, I noted some pithy advice in the manual for the SNJ, a single-engine propeller aircraft I was learning to fly: “If you are lost: climb, conserve, and confess.” ]

does this "SNJ" stand for"North American Aircraft Company ?"

Question

am I right?
[Some years later, while I was in naval flight training in Pensacola, Florida, I noted some pithy advice in the manual for the SNJ, a single-engine propeller aircraft I was learning to fly: “If you are lost: climb, conserve, and confess.” ]

does this "SNJ" stand for"North American Aircraft Company ?"

Answer

No. You are told what SNJ means, "a single-engine propeller aircraft ". It is a type of aircraft. It is a "designation" like Boeing has "787" for their new Dreamliner plane. Hope this helps.

Answer

You are half-right.
SNJ was a designation given by the U.S. armed forces to specify the type of aircraft and the manufacturer.  'SN' was the designation for a utility aircraft (usually training aircraft), while 'J' was the letter assigned North American Aviation Corp.
Also, you wouldn't call it an abbreviation - it would be a designation, since the letter 'J' is not part of 'North American Aviation Corp.'

Answer

The SNJ is a type of aircraft.  The phrase "a single-engine propeller aircraft I was learning to fly" actually tells us what an SNJ is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_T-6_Texan_variants#NJ.2FSNJ_Texan