NORTH AMERICAN T-2 BUCKEYE
By Richard Mason
A US Navy North American T2J-1 Buckeye of Basic Training Group (BTG) 9 pictured on the catapult on board the training carrier USS Antietam (CVS-36) in the Gulf of Mexico (US Navy)
intermediate training aircraft, intended to introduce Navy and Marine Corps Student Naval Aviators and Student Naval Flight Officers to jets
T North American first won the
contract to undertake design of the new jet in 1956. The requirement called for a wide envelope of training procedures to be encompassed including low and high-level flight, carrier operations, aerobatic training, radio and day and navigation. The first version of the aircraft entered service in 1959 as the T2J-1.
he North American T-2 Buckeye was the United States Navy's
Employing the proven mid- wing technology of their FJ-1 Fury, the aircraft was powered by a single Westinghouse J34-WE-46/48 turbojet and offered a tandem cockpit layout with LS-1 ejection seats for both student and instructor, the latter sitting in a rasised position to afford a good view of the student’s control panel. The escape system was the first time a ground-level ejection facility had been provided in a training aircraft, and the seats were designed to operate throughout the entire training envelope.
Six aircraft, designated YT2J-1 were constructed at the factory
in Columbus, Ohio, and the first flight took place on January 31st 1958. The NATC carried out initial acceptance tests for the Navy, including operations from the USS Antietam, and the Naval Air Basic Training Command received its first machines in July 1959. The first student pilots commenced training operations on the type with BTG-9 (later VT-4) in November 1959 at Pensacola with the fist qualifications in June 1960, again aboard USS Antietem.
The last machine was
delivered in April 1961, and the type was redesignated the T-2A in 1962 under the joint aircraft
designation system. 217 were built including the pre-production machines.
With the Navy keen to
investigate an upgraded version of the machine, North American converted two existing machines to prototypes, designated YT-2B, for what was to become the T- 2B. Two separate engine configurations were assessed and eventually the single engine was replaced with two Pratt & Whitney J60-P-6 turbojets.
A T-2C Buckeye enduring long term storage at Davis Monthan Air Force Base
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