The North American T-2 Buckeye was the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
's intermediate
training aircraft
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristic ...
, intended to introduce U.S. Navy and
U.S. Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...
student
naval aviator
Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases.
It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use.
Seaborne aviation encompas ...
s and student
naval flight officers to jets.
It entered service in 1959, beginning the replacement process of the
Lockheed T2V SeaStar
The Lockheed T2V SeaStar, later called the T-1 SeaStar, is a carrier-capable jet trainer for the United States Navy that entered service in May 1957. Developed from the Lockheed T-33 (itself derived from the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star), it ...
, and was itself replaced by the
McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk
The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) T-45 Goshawk is a highly modified version of the British BAE Systems Hawk land-based training jet aircraft. Manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) and British Aerospace (now BAE Systems), the T-45 is u ...
in 2008.
Design and development
In 1956, the US Navy issued a requirement for a jet-powered
basic trainer
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristic ...
to replace its
T-28 T28 may refer to:
Aircraft
* Enstrom T-28, an American helicopter
* North American T-28 Trojan, an American trainer
* Slingsby T.28, a British glider
Armoured land vehicles
* T-28 (medium tank), a Soviet tank
* T28 super-heavy tank, an ...
piston-engine
A reciprocating engine, more often known as a piston engine, is a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common features of all ...
d aircraft. (Primary training for the US Navy remained the responsibility of the piston-engined
Beechcraft T-34 Mentor
The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is an American propeller-driven, single-engined, military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Bonanza, Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. The earlier versions of the T-34, dating from around the late 1940s to the ...
while the jet-powered
Lockheed T2V SeaStar
The Lockheed T2V SeaStar, later called the T-1 SeaStar, is a carrier-capable jet trainer for the United States Navy that entered service in May 1957. Developed from the Lockheed T-33 (itself derived from the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star), it ...
provided more advanced training).
North American Aviation
North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F- ...
won the US Navy's competition for the new training aircraft in mid-1956 with its NA-241 design.
[''Air International'' October 1973, pp. 163–164.] North American's design, designated the T2J-1 by the US Navy, was a mid-winged
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
with trainee and instructor sitting in tandem on North American-built
ejection seat
In aircraft, an ejection seat or ejector seat is a system designed to rescue the aircraft pilot, pilot or other aircrew, crew of an aircraft (usually military) in an emergency. In most designs, the seat is propelled out of the aircraft by an exp ...
s, with the rear (instructor's) seat raised to give a good view over the trainee's head. The aircraft's unswept wing's structure was based on that of the
FJ-1 Fury
The North American FJ-1 Fury is an early turbojet-powered aircraft carrier, carrier-capable fighter aircraft used by the United States Navy (USN). Developed by North American Aviation (NAA) starting in 1945, , while its control system was based on the T-28C.
[''Air International'' October 1973, p. 164.] It was powered by a single
Westinghouse J34-WE-46/48 turbojet
The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
, rated at .
[''Air International'' October 1973, pp. 164, 166.] While it had no built-in armament, the T2J-1 could accommodate two .50-inch gun pods, practice bombs, or 2.75-inch rockets beneath the wings.
The T-2's performance was between that of the
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...
's
Cessna T-37 Tweet
The Cessna T-37 Tweet (designated Model 318 by Cessna) is a small, economical twin-engine jet trainer aircraft. It was flown for decades as a primary trainer of the United States Air Force (USAF) as well as in the air forces of several other nati ...
and the U.S. Navy's
TA-4J Skyhawk.
The first T2J-1 flew on 31 January 1958,
[''Air International'' October 1973, p. 165.] and the type entered service with Basic Training Group Seven, soon to become
VT-7
Training Squadron SEVEN (VT-7), known as the ''Eagles'', is one of four U.S. Navy Strike fighter, strike jet training squadrons and one of two based at Naval Air Station Meridian, Naval Air Station (NAS) Meridian. VT-7, along with VT-9, Training ...
at
Naval Air Station Meridian
Naval Air Station Meridian or NAS Meridian is a military airport located 11 miles northeast of Meridian, Mississippi in Lauderdale County and Kemper County, and is one of the Navy's two jet strike pilot training facilities.
History
On July 16 ...
in 1959. A second training group,
VT-9
The VT-9 Tigers is one of four U.S. Navy strike jet training squadrons and one of two based at Naval Air Station Meridian in Mississippi (The other two being based at Naval Air Station Kingsville in Texas).
History
Training Squadron NINE (VT-9) ...
formed at Meridian in 1961.
[''Air International'' October 1973, p. 167.]
The first version of the aircraft entered service in 1959 as the T2J-1. It was redesignated the T-2A in 1962 under the joint aircraft designation system. The aircraft was subsequently redesigned, and the single engine was replaced with two
Pratt & Whitney J60
The Pratt & Whitney JT12 (US military designation J60) is a small turbojet engine. The Pratt & Whitney T73 (Pratt & Whitney JFTD12) is a related turboshaft engine.
Design and development
The J60 conception and project design began in July 1957 ...
-P-6 turbojets in the T-2B. The T-2C was fitted with two thrust
General Electric J85
The General Electric J85 is a small single-shaft turbojet engine. Military versions produce up to of thrust dry; Afterburner, afterburning variants can reach up to . The engine, depending upon additional equipment and specific model, weighs fro ...
-GE-4 turbojets. The T-2D and T-2E were export versions for the
Venezuelan Air Force
Bolivarian Military Aviation of Venezuela (), is a professional armed body designed to defend Venezuela's sovereignty and airspace. It is a service component of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela.
Etymology
The organization is al ...
and
Hellenic Air Force
The Hellenic Air Force (HAF; , sometimes abbreviated as ΠΑ) is the air force of Greece (''Hellenic'' being the endonym for ''Greek'' in the Greek language). It is considered to be one of the largest air forces in NATO, and is globally placed 1 ...
, respectively. The T-2 Buckeye (along with the
TF-9J Cougar) replaced the
T2V-1/T-1A SeaStar, though the T-1 continued in some uses into the 1970s.

All T-2 Buckeyes were manufactured by
North American
North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...
at
Air Force Plant 85, located just south of
Port Columbus Airport in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
. A total of 609 aircraft were built during the production run. The name Buckeye refers to the
state tree of Ohio, as well as the
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...
of
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
.
Every jet-qualified Naval Aviator and virtually every Naval Flight Officer from the late 1950s until 2004 received training in the T-2 Buckeye, a length of service spanning over four decades. The aircraft first exited the Naval Aviator strike pipeline (where it saw its final carrier landings) in 2004, and the Naval Flight Officer tactical jet pipeline in 2008. In the Naval Aviator strike pipeline syllabus and the Naval Flight Officer strike and strike fighter pipeline syllabi, the T-2 has been replaced by the near-sonic
McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk
The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) T-45 Goshawk is a highly modified version of the British BAE Systems Hawk land-based training jet aircraft. Manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) and British Aerospace (now BAE Systems), the T-45 is u ...
(the U.S. Navy version of the
BAE Systems Hawk
The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, subsonic, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. Its aluminum alloy fuselage is of conventional string-frame construction. It was first known as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk, and subsequently produc ...
), which is more comparable to other high-performance, subsonic trainers, or the supersonic U.S. Air Force
Northrop T-38 Talon
The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet Supersonic aircraft, 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. ...
. More recently, the T-2 has been used as a director aircraft for aerial drones. Several T-2 Buckeyes, although still retaining their USN markings, are now registered as civilian-owned aircraft with FAA "N" numbers; they regularly appear at airshows.
Variants

;T-2A
:Two-seat intermediate jet training aircraft, powered by a 3,400-lb (1542-kg) thrust
Westinghouse J34-WE-46/48 turbojet, original designation T2J-1 Buckeye, 217 built
;YT-2B
:Two T-2As were converted into T-2B prototype aircraft.
;T-2B
:Improved version, it was powered by two 3,000-lb (1360-kg) thrust
Pratt & Whitney J60-P-6 turbojets; 97 were built.
;YT-2C
:One T-2B was converted into a T-2C prototype aircraft.
;T-2C
:Final production version for the U.S. Navy, it was powered by two 2,950-lbf thrust
General Electric J85-GE-4 turbojets; 231 were built.
;DT-2B and DT-2C
:Small numbers of T-2Bs and T-2Cs were converted into drone directors.
;T-2D
:Export version for Venezuela, 12 built
;T-2E
:Export version for Greece, 40 built
Operators

*
Hellenic Air Force
The Hellenic Air Force (HAF; , sometimes abbreviated as ΠΑ) is the air force of Greece (''Hellenic'' being the endonym for ''Greek'' in the Greek language). It is considered to be one of the largest air forces in NATO, and is globally placed 1 ...
*
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
*
Bolivarian Military Aviation
Aircraft on display
* T-2A Bu.147474 North American Buckeye at
Planes of Fame Air Museum
Planes of Fame Air Museum is an aviation museum at Chino Airport in Chino, California.
History
The Air Museum was founded by Edward T. Maloney on January 12, 1957, in Claremont, California, to save historically important aircraft. in Chino Ca.
* T-2A Bu.156697 North American Buckeye on board
USS Midway Museum
The USS ''Midway'' Museum is a historical naval aircraft carrier museum in San Diego, California, United States, located at Navy Pier. The museum consists of the aircraft carrier . The ship houses an extensive collection of aircraft, many of ...
in San Diego Ca.
* T-2C Bu.157050 North American Buckeye at
Pima Air & Space Museum
The Pima Air & Space Museum is an aerospace museum in Tucson, Arizona, US. It features a display of nearly 400 aircraft spread out over on a campus occupying . It has also been the home to the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame since 1991.
Overv ...
in Tucson Az.
* T-2C Bu.158327 North American Buckeye at
National Naval Aviation Museum
The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.
Founded in 1962 and moved to its cur ...
in Pensacola Fl.
*

Bu. 158599 North American Buckeye - on static display at the
Texas Air Museum
The Texas Air Museum is an aviation museum run by volunteers in two locations—Stinson Municipal Airport in San Antonio and City of Slaton/Larry T. Neal Memorial Airport near Lubbock, Texas. Texas Air Museum was founded in 1985 by John Houston i ...
in
Slaton, Texas
Slaton is a city in Lubbock County, Texas, Lubbock County, Texas, United States. Founded by German immigrants, Slaton was the westernmost German settlement in Texas The population was 5,858 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Sla ...
on loan from the
National Naval Aviation Museum
The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.
Founded in 1962 and moved to its cur ...
.
Specifications (T-2C Buckeye)
See also
References
* "Rockwell Buckeye: Success the second time round for the T-2". ''
Air Enthusiast
''Air Enthusiast'' was a British, bi-monthly, aviation magazine, published by the Key Publishing group. Initially begun in 1974 as ''Air Enthusiast Quarterly'', the magazine was conceived as a historical adjunct to ''Air International'' magaz ...
'', October 1973, Volume 5 Number 4, pp. 163–169.
*
Taylor, John W. R. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77''. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1976. .
External links
T-2 Buckeye page on U.S. Navy History siteBoeing T-2 History Page(archived on 21 May 2013)
{{Authority control
Carrier-based aircraft
1950s United States military trainer aircraft
T-02 Buckeye
Twinjets
Aircraft first flown in 1958
Mid-wing aircraft
Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear