Cessna A-37

Cessna A-37 Dragonfly
A Cessna A-37B "Dragonfly"
Type:	Light fighter aircraft
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Cessna
First flight:	October 23, 1963
Commissioning:	August 1967
Production time:	1966 to 1977
Number of pieces:	616 (with modifications)

The Cessna A-37 Dragonfly was developed from the jet trainer T-37 as a light twin- engine fighter aircraft .

history

The first flight of the first of two prototypes of this type (YAT-37D) built from T-37B / C cells took place on October 23, 1963. Much more powerful engines (in the prototypes and AT-37D GE J85-GE-5 with 10.86 kN thrust) were installed and underwing stations were installed after the airframe was reinforced. It was not until the end of 1966, however, that the need for light ground attack aircraft for the war in Vietnam became so great that 39 T-37s were quickly converted to AT-37Ds (later referred to as A-37A) and used from August 1967. The mission was so successful that in January 1967 Cessna received an order for a revised production version (now referred to as the A-37B). Compared to the T-37, it now had engines that were more than twice as powerful and also twice as high a maximum take-off mass. A device for air refueling made the small machine very flexible.

Three A-37Bs were modified for testing purposes and named NA-37Bs. About 120 machines were used as a flying fire control station under the designation OA-37B.

commitment

The A-37 was used by the United States Air Force in the Vietnam War. The last USAF A-37s were retired in 1992. The model was also exported to South America (to combat drug smuggling). With the defeat of South Vietnam in 1975, 95 machines fell into the hands of North Vietnam, which means that the machine was also used in various Eastern Bloc countries .

A-37B

A total of 577 A-37Bs had been built by 1977, plus 39 converted T-37 Tweet with the designation A-37A. Of these, the South Vietnamese Air Force received 254 machines and thus around half (44%).

production

301 A-37s were made available free of charge to South Vietnam (284 aircraft) and Thailand (17 aircraft) through a Military Aid - Service Funded (MASF). In addition to the aircraft listed below, 31 USAF aircraft were sold (27 to Korea, three to Ecuador and one to Thailand).

Approval of the A-37 by the USAF :

version	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	TOTAL	COMMENT
A-37A	38											38	were converted from current production of the T-37B
A-37A conversion	(14)											(14)	were converted from USAF stock
A-37B	1		110	96	33							240
A-37B MASF		47	23	17th	2	79		5	39	16		228
A-37B Chile									16	7th	11	34
A-37B Ecuador										12		12
A-37B Guatemala						4th	4th	2	3			13
A-37B Honduras									6th			6th
A-37B Peru									19th	5	12	36
A-37B Uruguay										8th		8th
TOTAL	39	47	133	113	35	83	4th	7th	83	48	23	615

The A-37 was or is still used by the following countries:

•  Chile : 44
•  Dominican Republic : 8
•  Ecuador : 27
•  El Salvador : 15
•  Guatemala : 12
•  Honduras : 17
•  Colombia : 32
•  Peru : 45 (including 8 retired from South Korea)
•  South Korea : 28 (8 retired in 2007 and delivered to Peru in 2010)
•  South Vietnam : 254
•  Thailand : 21
•  Uruguay ( Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya ): 14
•  United States : 362
•  Vietnam : approx. 95 captured aircraft of the South Vietnamese Air Force

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
Length:	8.62 m
Wingspan:	10.26 m (with wing end tanks 10.93 m)
Wing area:	17.09 m²
Height:	2.70 m
Wheelbase:	2.36 m
Gauge:	4.28 m
Empty weight:	2,817 kg
Maximum take-off weight:	6,350 kg (A-37A: 5,307 kg)
Fuel supply:	1,170 l internal 2 × 245 l in wing end tanks
Drive:	two General Electric J85 -GE-17A with 12.67 kN thrust each
Top speed:	816 km / h (at 4,875 m)
Marching speed:	787 km / h
Stall speed:	182 km / h
Maximum rate of climb:	35.5 m / s
Range:	1,630 km with additional tanks 740 km with maximum gun load
Service ceiling:	12,730 m
Take-off distance over a 15 m obstacle:	790 m
Landing distance over a 15 m obstacle:	1,065 m

Armament

Pipe weapon installed in the bow

• 1 × 7.62 mm revolver machine gun "Minigun" General Electric GAU-2B / A with 1500 rounds of ammunition

Disposable weapons at external load stations

Armament up to 2575 kg at eight external load stations under the two wings

Air-to-air guided missile

• 4 × LAU-100 launch rails for 1 × Ford / Raytheon AIM-9B (GAR-8) "Sidewinder" - infrared-controlled short-range air-to-air guided missile

Unguided air-to-surface missiles

• 6 × LAU-10A rocket tube launch container for 4 × unguided Zuni air-to-ground missiles each ; Caliber 127 mm / 5 inches
• 8 × rocket tube launch container LAU-59 / A for 7 × unguided Mk 4 / Mk 40 FFAR air-to-surface missiles; Caliber 70 mm / 2.75 inch
• 8 × rocket tube launch container LAU-32B / A for 7 × unguided Mk 4 / Mk 40 FFAR air-to-surface missiles each ; Caliber 70 mm / 2.75 inch
• 8 × LAU-3 / A rocket tube launch containers for 19 × unguided FFAR air-to-ground missiles each ; Caliber 70 mm / 2.75 inch
• 8 × AERO-6A rocket tube launch containers for 7 × unguided Mighti Mouse air-to-surface missiles each ; Caliber 70 mm / 2.75 inch

Unguided bombs

• 4 × M117A1 General-purpose bomb (GP) (340 kg / 750 lb free-fall bomb )
• 8 × Mark 82 Low Drag General-purpose bomb (LDGP) (227 kg / 500 lb free-fall bomb )
• 6 × Mark 82 "Snakeeye 1" (227 kg / 500 lb free-fall bomb with air brakes)
• 8 × Mark 81 Low Drag General-purpose bomb (LDGP) (127 kg / 250 lb free-fall bomb)
• 8 × AN-M47A WP / PWP incendiary / smoke bomb with white phosphor
• 6 × BLU-27 / B (340 kg / 750 lb napalm firebomb)
• 8 × BLU-1C / B (340 kg / 750 lb napalm incendiary bomb)
• 6 × BLU-23 / B (225 kg / 500 lb napalm incendiary bomb)
• 6 × BLU-32 / B (225 kg / 500 lb napalm incendiary bomb)
• 6 × BLU-52 / B (320 kg / 700 lb napalm incendiary bomb)
• 8 × CBU-14A / A cluster bomb containers with 132 × BLU-3 pineapples each
• 8 × CBU-22A / A cluster bomb containers
• 8 × CBU-25A / A cluster bomb containers
• 4 × CBU-24A / B cluster bomb containers
• 8 × CBU-30 / A cluster bomb containers
• 8 × CBU-19 / A cluster bomb containers

Additional container

• 8 × luminous flame thrower SUU-25 / A for 8 × LUU-1 target marker flares or 8 × LUU-2 flares
• 4 × drop-off additional tanks for 378 liters (100 US Gal.) Kerosene
• 8 × machine gun containers SUU-11 / A , each with a six-barrel 7.62 mm Gatling machine gun General Electric M134 with 1500 rounds of ammunition each
• 4 × SUU-12 / A machine gun containers, each with a 12.7 mm M2 machine gun with 750 rounds of ammunition each

See also

• List of aircraft types

Web links

Commons : Cessna A-37  - collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

• Air International. Key Publishing Ltd., Feb. 2007.

swell

• FlugRevue Oktober 2008, pp. 59–62, aircraft down to the smallest detail - Cessna T-37.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1976, p. 120 f.
2. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1977, pp. 90 ff.
3. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1967, p. 122 f., P. 162 ff .; 1968, p. 132 f., P. 170 ff .; 1969, p. 111 f .; 1970, p. 107 f .; 1971, p. 102 f .; 1972, p. 154 f .; 1973, p. 52 f .; 1974, p. 48 f .; 1975, p. 52 f .; 1976, p. 80 f .; 1977, p. 55 f.