Aircrafttotal Encyclopedia


A T-38A from Edwards Air Force Base
Role	Advanced trainer
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Northrop Corporation
First flight	10 April 1959
Introduction	17 March 1961
Status	Operational
Primary users	United States Air Force United States Navy NASA Turkish Air Force
Produced	1961–1972
Number built	1,189
Developed from	Northrop N-156
Variants	Northrop F-5

The USAF is the largest operator of the T-38. Additional operators of the T-38 include NASA and the United States Navy. U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland, is the principal US Navy operator. Other T-38s were previously used by the US Navy for dissimilar air combat training until replaced by the similar Northrop F-5 Tiger II. Pilots of other NATO nations have commonly flown the T-38 during joint training programs with American pilots. The T-38 remains in service as of 2023 with several air forces. As of 2023, the T-38 has been in service for over 60 years with the USAF, its original operator. In September 2018, USAF announced the replacement of the Talon by the Boeing–Saab T-7 Red Hawk with phaseout to begin in 2023

The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Northrop Corporation. It was the world's first supersonic trainer as well as the most produced.

Development

Air-to-air right side view of a USAF T-38 Talon aircraft from 560th Flying Training Squadron, Randolph AFB, Texas as his lead performs a left pitchout

A T-38 in Portuguese Air Force colours at Air Base No. 11 (BA11 – Beja)

In 1952, Northrop began work on a fighter project, the N-102 Fang, with shoulder-mounted delta wing and a single engine. The proposed General Electric J79 engine, weighing nearly two tons, meant the resulting aircraft would be large and expensive. During 1953, representatives from General Electric Aviation's newly created Small Aircraft Engine Department showed Northrop a relatively compact engine, around 400 lb installed weight, capable of 2,500 lb of thrust. Upon seeing the engine, Northrop VP-Engineering Edgar Schmued saw the possibility of reversing the trend toward the large fighters.

Northrop Corporation

Northrop Corporation
Northrop T-38 supersonic jet trainer

General Info

Crew: 2 Length: 46 ft 4.5 in (14.135 m) Wingspan: 25 ft 3 in (7.70 m) Height: 12 ft 10.5 in (3.924 m) Wing area: 170 sq ft (16 m²)

Powerplant

- Empty weight: (3,266 kg)
- Gross weight: (5,361 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: (5,485 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × General Electric J85-5A afterburning turbojet engines, 2,680 lbf (11.9 kN) thrust each dry, 3,850 lbf (17.1 kN) with afterburner

Performance

Maximum speed: 746 kn (858 mph, 1,382 km/h)
Maximum speed: Mach 1.3
Range: 991 nmi (1,140 mi, 1,835 km)
Service ceiling:(15,000 m)
Rate of climb: 33,600 ft/min
Wing loading: 69.53 lb/sq ft (339.5 kg/m²)

Armament

Special LinksNorthrop T-38 supersonic jet trainer

Links to Youtube & Others

In 1970, Northrop won the International Fighter Aircraft (IFA) competition to replace the F-5A, with better air-to-air performance against aircraft like the Soviet MiG-21.

Northrop T-38 supersonic jet trainer

The F-5E experienced numerous upgrades in its service life.

Youtube Link

documentary about TheNorthrop F 5 Freedom Fighter in HD

Northrop
T-38A Talon Trainer