North American T28 Trojan

 

(Click on photo for original version)
     

The North American T-28 Trojan began life in 1949 as the NA-159/XT-28.  There are nine variants that have been used by twenty-eight different countries.  It is a single engine trainer that was designed to replace the venerable T-6 Texan.  It was used by the USAF until the early 1960’s, and by the Navy (Marine Corps/Coast Guard) into the early 1980’s.  A T-28 was the first fixed wing attack aircraft lost in South Vietnam (a total of 23 were lost).

     While it is common knowledge that T-28’s were used in combat in Vietnam, it is not generally known that the T-28 was the first fighter aircraft employed by the North Vietnamese Air Force.  This happened after a Laotian T-28 pilot defected to North Vietnam in 1963.  The North Vietnamese refurbished the airplane and put it into service as a fighter.

The T-28A was equipped with an 800 hp engine, but the later versions were upgraded to the 1,425 hp engine.  One other unique conversion deserves attention:  a civilian conversion, the T-28R-2 transformed the two-seater into a five seat cabin for general aviation use.

The last T-28 training flight took place at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas in early 1984.  The T-28 was replaced by the T-34C turboprop.

 

  • Powerplant:  1 x Wright R-1820-86 Cyclone radial engine, 1,425 hp
  • Cruise Speed:  230 mph
  • Maximum Speed:  343-346 mph
  • Range:  1,060 miles
  • Service Ceiling:  37,000-39,000 feet
  • First Flight:  24 September 1949
  • Number Produced:  1,948 from 1950-1957. T-28B (489) and T-28C (266) for the US Navy
  • Armament:  2 X .50 cal. machine guns, plus 1,800 lbs of bombs or rockets.
For more information refer to the following sites from which information was taken for this article:  www.nationalmuseum.af.mil  or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_T-28_Trojan

 

Our T-28:

N70743

DSC_4949

(Click on photos for larger version)
  • Manufacturer:  North American
  • Model:  T-28A
  • Year built:  1949
  • Construction Number:  49-1646
  • Engine Manufacturer and Model:  Wright R-1300-1B
Above information from:  www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N70743.html
 

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