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Beechcraft T-34 Mentor

Beechcraft T-34 Mentor Story

In the years following World War II, the T-34 Mentor series served the US Air Force and US Navy well, training generations of pilots. She lived productively in the inventory of several other foreign operators and has since become a favorite for civilian demonstration teams at national air shows. The base T-34A (United States Air Force) and T-34B (United States Navy) variants were improved on the turboprop T-34C, and a jet engine version was even proposed, although the latter was unsuccessful.

While the T-34 is still in service globally, its days in U.S. service are numbered as its replacement (the "Texas II") has emerged in large numbers.

T-34 Origins

The origin of the T-34 was the private business of American pilot Walter Beech of the Beech Aircraft Company. Walter Beech got his spurs as a combat pilot in World War I. Beechcraft was founded in 1932 by Walter and his wife Olive Ann Beech.

After multiple victories in the commercial competition with Beechcraft, the company's attention turned to the production contract known as World War II. Throughout the conflict, the company was responsible for producing approximately 7,400 aircraft for the American war effort.

Bombers and navigators were primarily trained on the Twin Beech AT-7/C-45 "Expeditor" series (Beechcraft Model 18).

The T-34 design itself was developed from the single-engine piston-driven Beechcraft Model 35 "Bonanza" and was designed under the project name "Beechcraft Model 45". So far, the U.S. Army has conducted aerial training on the 1930s North American T-6 Texan, a plane powered by a single radial piston engine with two seats and a low-set monoplane. A total of 15,495 T-6s were built and benefited commercially from the wartime American environment.

Beech tried to market his proposed Type 45 design as a low-cost replacement for the antiquated T-6.

The Type 73 "Jet Mentor" is a jet-powered trainer version of the T-34 propeller. In 1955, Beechcraft, as a private company, began modifying the base design. A single jet engine is mounted at the rear of the fuselage and draws air through two air intakes located at the root of the wing. The cockpit was moved further forward in the fuselage and redesigned to make it a viable jet cockpit.

The first flight took place on December 18, 1955, followed by an evaluation of the jet-powered system by the U.S. Air Force. The USAF declined to order the Jet Mentor, instead turning its attention to the Cessna T-37 "Tweet" series.

Likewise, the US Navy showed some interest in the Type 73, but chose to stick with the jet-powered Temco Aircraft TT "Pinto".

T-34 Operator

The T-34 series was widely exported to various US-friendly customers, mainly in Latin and South America. In military terms, these countries include Algeria, Argentina, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Gabon, Greece, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Taiwan and Spain Turkey, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Chile and Turkey (as well as the United States) became civilian operators of this premium aircraft.

Today's T-34

Although the T-34 originated in the 1950s, it is still used to train USN and USMC pilots. At the time of writing, their numbers are dwindling year after year, as their replacement - ironically, the Beechcraft/Raytheon T-6 "Texan II" - appears poised to take over. Notably, the U.S.

Army uses about six former U.S. Navy T-34C models as fighter jets. The civilian demonstration team also made good use of the T-34 airframe.

The Argentine Navy used light T-34s to attack Britain in the Falklands War.