North American T-2 Buckeye
T-2 Buckeye | |
---|---|
A T-2C Buckeye taking off from NAS Patuxent River | |
Role | Trainer aircraft |
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | North American Aviation |
First flight | 31 January 1958[1] |
Introduction | November 1959[2] |
Retired | United States Navy 2008[2] |
Status | Active service with Hellenic Air Force |
Primary users | United States Navy (historical) Hellenic Air Force Venezuelan Air Force (historical) |
Produced | 1958–1970 |
Number built | 529 |
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The North American T-2 Buckeye was the United States Navy's intermediate training aircraft, intended to introduce U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps Student Naval Aviators and Student Naval Flight Officers to jets.[1] It entered initial service in 1959, and was replaced by the McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk in 2008.[2]
Design and development
The first version of the aircraft entered service in 1959 as the T2J-1. It was redesignated the T-2A in 1962 under the joint aircraft designation system. The two-seat trainer was powered by one Westinghouse J34-WE-46/48 turbojet. The aircraft was subsequently redesigned, and the single engine was replaced with two Pratt & Whitney J60-P-6 turbojets in the T-2B. The T-2C was fitted with two much more powerful 2,950 lbf (13,100 N) thrust General Electric J85-GE-4 turbojets. The T-2D was an export version which was sold to the Venezuelan Air Force, while the T-2E was sold to the Hellenic Air Force. The T-2 Buckeye (along with the TF-9J) replaced the T2V-1/T-1A SeaStar, though the T-1 would continue in some uses into the 1970s.
The Buckeye was designed as a low-cost multi-stage trainer. Its straight wing was similar to that used in the original North American North American FJ-1 Fury and its cockpit controls were similar to the T-28C Trojan trainer. The T-2's performance was between that of the U.S. Air Force's Cessna T-37 Tweet, and the U.S. Navy's TA-4J Skyhawk. While it had no built-in armament, the T-2 had two underwing hardpoints for .50-inch gun pods, 100 lb (45 kg) practice bombs or 2.75-inch rockets.
All T-2 Buckeyes were manufactured by North American at Air Force Plant 85, located just south of Port Columbus Airport in Columbus, Ohio. 273 aircraft were built during its production run. The name Buckeye refers to the state tree of Ohio, as well as the mascot of the Ohio State University.
Every jet-qualified Naval Aviator and virtually every Naval Flight Officer from the late 1950s until 2004 received training in the T-2 Buckeye, a length of service spanning four decades. The aircraft first exited the Naval Aviator strike pipeline (where it saw its final carrier landings) in 2004,[3] and the Naval Flight Officer tactical jet pipeline in 2008. In the Naval Aviator strike pipeline syllabus and the Naval Flight Officer strike and strike fighter pipeline syllabi, the T-2 has been replaced by the near-sonic McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk (the U.S. Navy version of the BAE Systems Hawk), which is more comparable to other high performance subsonic trainers, or the supersonic U.S. Air Force Northrop T-38 Talon.[4] More recently, the T-2 has been used as a director aircraft for aerial drones. Several T-2 Buckeyes, although still retaining their Navy markings, are now registered as civilian-owned aircraft with FAA "N" numbers and regularly appear at airshows.
Variants
- T-2A
- Two-seat intermediate jet training aircraft, powered by a 3,400-lb (1542-kg) thrust Westinghouse J34-WE-46/48 turbojet. Original designation T2J-1 Buckeye. 217 built.
- YT-2B
- Two T-2As were converted into T-2B prototype aircraft.
- T-2B
- Improved version, powered by two 3,000-lb (1360-kg) thrust Pratt & Whitney J60-P-6 turbojets. 97 built.
- YT-2C
- One T-2B was converted into a T-2C prototype aircraft.
- T-2C
- Final production version for the U.S. Navy, powered by two 2,950-lbf thrust General Electric J85-GE-4 turbojets. 231 built.
- DT-2B and DT-2C
- Small numbers of T-2Bs and T-2Cs were converted into drone directors.
- T-2D
- Export version for Venezuela. 12 built.
- T-2E
- Export version for Greece. 40 built.
Operator
Specifications (T-2C Buckeye)
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77.[6]
General characteristics
- Crew: two
- Length: 38 ft 3 1⁄2 in (11.67 m)
- Wingspan: 38 ft 1 1⁄2 in[7] (11.62 m)
- Height: 14 ft 9 1⁄2 in (4.51 m)
- Wing area: 255 ft2 (23.69 m2)
- Empty weight: 8,115 lb (3,680 kg)
- Max. takeoff weight: 13,179 lb (5,977 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × General Electric J85-GE-4 turbojets, 2,950 lbf (13.12 kN) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 453 knots (522 mph, 840 km/h) at 25,000 feet (7,600 m)
- Range: 909 nmi (1,047 mi, 1,685 km)
- Service ceiling: 40,400 ft (12,315 m)
- Rate of climb: 6,200 ft/min (31.5 m/s)
See also
- Related development
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
References
- 1 2 "T-2 Buckeye". Boeing. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
- 1 2 3 https://web.archive.org/web/20080814074227/http://www.defensetech.org/archives/004362.html. Archived from the original on August 14, 2008. Retrieved August 13, 2008. Missing or empty
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(help) - ↑ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Navy_040409-N-1914G-002_Capt._Daniel_Ouimette,_Commodore,_Training_Air_Wing_One_(TW-1),_left,_and_Cmdr._Paul_Shankland,_Commanding_Officer,_Training_Squadron_Nine_(VT-9),_inspect_the_last_T-2C_Buckeye_training_jet_to_make_an.jpg
- ↑ http://www.history.navy.mil/nan/backissues/2000s/2003/nd03/buckeye.pdf
- ↑ FAA Record for N27WS
- ↑ Taylor 1976, pp. 368–369.
- ↑ over tip tanks
- Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1976. ISBN 0-354-00538-3.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to North American T-2 Buckeye. |
- T-2 Buckeye page on U.S. Navy History site
- T2J-l / T-2 Buckeye on GlobalSecurity.org
- Rockwell T-2 Buckeye page on AMARCExperience.com
- T-2C Buckeye Photo
- VT-4 Rubber Duck Hymnal
- Boeing T-2 History Page