North American T-28 Trojan Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Operational history== [[File:T-28A West Virginia ANG c1957.jpg|thumb|[[West Virginia Air National Guard]] T-28A in 1957]] After becoming adopted as a primary trainer by the USAF, the United States Navy and Marine Corps adopted it as well. Although the Air Force phased out the aircraft from primary pilot training by the early 1960s, continuing use only for limited training of special operations aircrews and for primary training of select foreign military personnel, the aircraft continued to be used as a primary trainer by the Navy (and by default, the Marine Corps and Coast Guard) well into the early 1980s. The largest single concentration of this aircraft was employed by the U.S. Navy at [[Naval Air Station Whiting Field]] in [[Milton, Florida]], in the training of student naval aviators. The T-28's service career in the U.S. military ended with the completion of the phase-in of the [[Beechcraft T-34 Mentor|T-34C]] turboprop trainer. The last U.S. Navy training squadron to fly the T-28 was [[VT-27]] "Boomers", based at [[Naval Air Station Corpus Christi]], Texas, flying the last T-28 training flight in early 1984. The last T-28 in the Training Command, [[United States military aircraft serials#United States Navy and Marine Corps|BuNo]] 137796, departed for Naval District Washington on 14 March 1984 to be displayed permanently at [[Naval Support Facility Anacostia]], D.C.<ref>[http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-1910/PART11.PDF "T-28."] ''history.navy.mil''. Retrieved: 9 July 2010.</ref> ===Vietnam War combat=== [[File:USAF T-28 VNAF colours 1962.jpg|thumb|[[RVNAF]] T-28Cs over Vietnam]] In 1963, a [[Royal Lao Air Force]] T-28 piloted by Lieutenant Chert Saibory, a Thai national, defected to [[North Vietnam]]. Saibory was immediately imprisoned and his aircraft was impounded. Within six months the T-28 was refurbished and commissioned into the [[Vietnam People's Air Force|North Vietnamese Air Force]] as its first fighter aircraft.<ref>Toperczer 2001, pp. 8–9.</ref> Lt. Saibory later trained NVAF pilot Nguyen Van Ba in the operation of the T-28, where Nguyen flew the T-28 in its first successful interception against an SVNAF [[Fairchild C-123 Provider|C-123 Provider]] on 15 February, 1964, earning the NVAF its first-ever aerial victory.<ref>Toperczer 2015, pp. 18–19.</ref> T-28s were supplied to the [[Republic of Vietnam Air Force]] (RVNAF) in support of [[ARVN]] ground operations, seeing extensive service during the [[Vietnam War]] in RVNAF hands, as well as the [[Laotian Civil War|Secret War]] in [[Laos]]. A T-28 Trojan was the first US fixed wing attack aircraft (non-transport type) lost in South Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. Capt. Robert L. Simpson, USAF, Detachment 2A, [[1st Special Operations Wing|1st Air Commando Group]], and Lt. Hoa, RVNAF, were shot down by ground fire on August 28, 1962 while flying close air support. Neither crewman survived. The USAF lost 23 T-28s to all causes during the war, with the last two losses occurring in 1968.<ref>Hobson 2001, p. 12.</ref> ===Other combat uses=== T-28s were used by the [[CIA]] in the former [[Belgian Congo]] during the 1960s.<ref>Holm, Richard L. [https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/winter99-00/art2.html "A Plane Crash, Rescue, and Recovery - A Close Call in Africa".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524141902/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/winter99-00/art2.html |date=24 May 2011 }} ''Center for the Study of Intelligence, Historical Perspectives'', Washington, D.C., Winter 1999-2000.</ref> The T-28B and D were the primary ground attack aircraft of [[Khmer Air Force]] in [[Cambodia]] during the war there, largely provided from the U.S. Military Equipment Delivery Team and maintained by [[Air America (airline)|Air America]].<ref>Leeker, Dr Joe F. [https://library.utdallas.edu/specialcollections/hac/cataam/Leeker/aircraft/kt28.pdf "Khmer Air Force T-28s(maintained under the supervision of Air America’s LMAT, Phnom Penh)"]</ref> On the night of 21 January 1971, PAVN sappers managed to get close enough to destroy the majority at Pochentong airbase. Replacements were quickly shipped in. On 17 March 1973 a pilot of a T-28, said to be Capt. So Petra, a common-law husband of one of the daughters of the overthrown Prince [[Norodom Sihanouk]], machine gunned and bombed the palace of [[Lon Nol]] in an attempt to assassinate him, killing at least 20 and wounding 35, before defecting to Khmer Rouge held lands.<ref>New York Times. [https://www.nytimes.com/1973/03/18/archives/20-die-in-bombing-aimed-at-lon-nol-cambodian-leader-unhurt-as.html "20 DIE IN BOMBING AiMED AT LON NOL".]</ref> France's [[Armée de l'Air]] used locally re-manufactured Trojans, ''T-28S Fennec'', for close support missions in [[Algeria]].<ref name="T-28 FENNEC History"/> Nicaragua replaced its fleet of 30+ ex-Swedish P-51s with T-28s in the early 1960s,<ref>Hagedorn 1993, p. 41</ref> with more aircraft acquired in the 1970s and 1980s.<ref>Hagedorn 1993, pp. 42–43</ref> The [[Philippines]] utilized T-28s (colloquially known as "Tora-toras") during the [[1989 Philippine coup attempt]]. The aircraft were often deployed as [[dive bombers]] by rebel forces.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}} ===Civilian use=== [[AeroVironment]] modified and armored a T-28A to fly [[weather research]] for [[South Dakota School of Mines & Technology]], funded by the [[National Science Foundation]], and operated in this capacity from 1969 to 2005.<ref name=weath>Godfrey, Joe. [http://www.avweb.com/news/profiles/184369-1.html "Charlie Summers"] ''AVweb'', 16 April 2003. Retrieved: 22 July 2012.</ref><ref name=nsf>[http://www.ias.sdsmt.edu/institute/t28/index.htm "T-28 Instrumented Research Aircraft"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120101162641/http://www.ias.sdsmt.edu/institute/t28/index.htm |date=1 January 2012 }} ''[[South Dakota School of Mines & Technology]]''. Retrieved: 22 July 2012.</ref> SDSM&T was planning to replace it with another modified, but more modern, former military aircraft, specifically a [[Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II]].<ref>{{cite web |title= Next-generation Storm-penetrating Aircraft |publisher= South Dakota School of Mines and Technology |url= http://www.ias.sdsmt.edu/institute/t28/Next-Generation_files/Next-Generation.pdf |access-date= 14 December 2013 |archive-date= 12 November 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131112025601/http://www.ias.sdsmt.edu/institute/t28/Next-Generation_files/Next-Generation.pdf |url-status= dead }}</ref> This plan was found to carry too many risks associated with the costly modifications required and the program was cancelled in 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/24047/the-storm-chasing-a-10-thunderhog-program-is-officially-dead-jet-to-be-returned-to-usaf|title=The Storm Chasing A-10 Thunderhog Program Is Officially Dead, Jet To Be Returned To USAF|last=Rogoway|first=Tyler|work=The Drive|access-date=2018-10-13|language=en-US}}</ref> ===Aerobatics and warbird display=== Many retired T-28s were subsequently sold to private civil operators, and due to their reasonable operating costs are often found flying or displayed as [[warbird]]s today. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page