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Cessna T-37 Tweet

1957 COLD WAR VIETNAM WAR

History

The Cessna T-37 grew out of a 1952 United States Air Force (USAF) need for a light, two-seat, jet-powered training platform under the project name "Trainer Experimental (TX)". Cessna threw its hat into the ring and developed its "Type 318," which placed the twin-turbojet propulsion scheme at the root of the wing, in a traditional single-tail layout, and placed two crew members side by side . The wings are low-mounted monoplanes constructed as straight appendages with truncated tips.

A three-wheeled chassis completes the modern equipment. In 1954, the U.S. Air Force advanced the Cessna 318 design as the "XT-37", ordering three airworthy prototypes.

XT-37A represents a complete prototype with two Continental YJ69-T-9 series turbojets. These engines are nothing more than locally licensed replicas of the French "Marbore" series Turbomeca engines - the same engines used to power the French-built "Magister" Fouga trainer aircraft (described in detail elsewhere on this website) . These units each provide 920 pounds of thrust and, combined with an aerodynamically improved airframe, give this nimble little aircraft good performance. Speeds reached 390 mph in testing and closer to 425 mph on later production aircraft.

The plan suffered a setback when the first prototype crashed in rotational motion, leading to fuselage and empennage modificationsthough rotational recovery remained a sticking point in the design throughout its career.

The T-37A "Tweet" was the first production model, with 534 built (with J69 T-9 engines). The U.S. Air Force began training with the T-37A in June 1956, and the aircraft was indeed tested but generally considered a good and powerful platform for pilots to fly. The cockpit was not pressurized because the aircraft was operating below the 25,000-foot altitude specified by the U.S. Air Force.

U.S. Air Force approval eventually led to the line being used as a trainer and light attack aircraft by other U.S. allied aviation services around the world.

The T-37B continued to be produced, but with J69-T-25 engines (1,025 lb thrust each) and received upgraded communications and navigation tweaks. These arrived in 1959. The T-37C had an inherent light attack capability via underwing pylons (one per wing), with 269 of the brand produced.

External transactions may be as high as ?500.

The XAT-37D is a counterinsurgency model with light attack capabilities. Two prototypes have been completed, but mass production has not yet taken place.

The YT-48A was a proposed T-37 development program intended to be equipped with a pair of Garrett F109-GA-100 engines, but this model was not adopted.

The USAF did not find a true successor to the T-37 until the arrival of the Beechcraft T-6 "Texan II" (detailed elsewhere on this page). The Texan II went against the turbojet and returned to piston-powered form. The last USAF T-37 was retired in July 2009 after 1,269 were built at Cessna. One of its most famous offshoots, the 577, was the 1963 A-37 Dragonfly (also known as the "Super Tweeter"), built to light ground attack aircraft specifications for use in several aircraft, including the U.S.

Air Force. Air Service Agency. These saw combat action in the Vietnam War (1955-1975).

Current operators of the T-37 route include Colombia, Ecuador and Pakistan. Former operators range from Bangladesh and Brazil to Turkey and Vietnam. Captured Vietnamese form from South Vietnam after the Vietnam War.