North American T-2

North American T-2 Buckeye
T-2C Buckeye taking off from Naval Air Station Patuxent River
Type:	two-seat training aircraft
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	North American Aviation
First flight:	January 31, 1958
Commissioning:	November 1959
Number of pieces:	529

The North American T-2 Buckeye is a two-seat training aircraft of the US Navy , which was developed and built by the US company North American Aviation .

history

In 1956 the US Navy was looking for a new training aircraft with which basic training could be carried out on jet-powered aircraft at low cost. North American Aviation then offered a new development based on its experience with the FJ-1 Fury (from which the wing was built) and the T-28 Trojan (cockpit layout and controls) and won the tender. The first flight of the prototype YT2J-1 (from 1962 YT-2A) took place on January 31, 1958. The first production version T2J-1 was put into service from November 1959 and renamed the T-2A in 1962. The last of 201 series machines of the first series was handed over to the Navy in April 1961. The first prototype, now with two engines from Pratt & Whitney and slightly modified on-board electronics, had its maiden flight on August 30, 1962; its first production aircraft followed in May 1965. On April 17, 1968, the prototype of the third production variant with General Electric J85 engines flew . In 1997 the model was temporarily taken out of service three times as a result of defects. It partially replaced the Lockheed T2V SeaStar and is to be replaced by the T-45 Goshawk from 2008 . The last aircraft carrier landing took place on July 23, 2003. A total of 529 machines of the different versions were built, which have now completed over 3.4 million flight hours.

Versions

YT-2A (before 1962 YT2J-1)

Six pre-production aircraft

T-2A (T2J-1)

With a Westinghouse J34 -WE-36 turbojet engine with 15.13 kN thrust. 201 pieces built.

YT-2B (YT2J-2))

A T-2A rebuilt with two J60 engines served as a T-2B prototype.

T-2B

Improved version with two more powerful Pratt & Whitney J60 P-1 engines with 13.3 kN thrust each. 97 pieces built.

DT-2B

Conversion of some T-2B into command aircraft for use with drones.

YT-2C

A prototype converted from the T-2B for the T-2C.

T-2C

Final production version for the US Navy with two General Electric J85-GE-4 engines with 13.1 kN thrust. 231 pieces built.

DT-2C

Conversion of some T-2C into command aircraft for use with drones.

T-2D

Export version of the T-2C, 12 pieces each for Venezuela and Morocco.

T-2E

Export version for Greece based on the T-2C. 40 pieces built.

construction

In the T-2, the seats are offset one behind the other, which was a novelty at the time, but is now standard for jet trainers. It enables the flight instructor sitting in the back to have similar visibility conditions as the student pilot. The machines are equipped with ejection seats of the type Rockwell LS-1, these work from altitude zero ( zero / zero seat ). The Buckeye is still flown as a trainer by the Greek Air Force. The air inlets and the drive turbines were arranged on the underside of the fuselage. A catch hook was provided for aircraft carrier exercises. The nose wheel landing gear was fully retractable. The machines could optionally (T-2D, E as standard) also carry weapons.

Military users

 Greece

• Greek Air Force

 Venezuela

• Venezuelan Air Force

 United States

• United States Navy

Technical specifications

Parameter	T-2C data
length	11.79 m
span	11.62 m
height	4.51 m
Wing area	23.7 m²
Empty mass	3,680 kg
Max. Takeoff weight	5,978 kg
drive	2 × General Electric J85 GE-4 turbo jets with 13.13 kN each
Top speed	840 km / h
Service ceiling	13,700 m
Rate of climb	31.5 m / s
Range	approx. 1,685 km

Web links

Commons : T-2 Buckeye  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Military Analysis Network: T-2 (English)
• Naval Historical Center: [2] (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Warbird Alley: T-2
2. ↑ FlugRevue October 2008, p. 14, Goodbye, Buckeye
3. ↑ Air Force Greece: [1]