The United States Navy

T-2C Buckeye

Description: The T-2C Buckeye is a tandem-seat, carrier-capable, all-purpose jet trainer.

Mission: Train Navy and Marine Corps pilots and Naval Flight Officers.

Features: The T-2C is used for intermediate and advanced training for Navy and Marine Corps pilots and Naval Flight Officers in training for jet carrier aviation and tactical strike missions. Designed in the mid 1950s to use proven technologies wherever possible, it shares its wing with the FJ-1 Fury, one of the Navy's earliest jet fighters. The tandem cockpit arrangement and slightly elevated rear cockpit gives the instructor good forward visibility over the student. Both cockpits are equipped with zero-level ejection seats. For armament training, the aircraft is equipped with underwing strong points to carry bombs, rockets or gun pods, as well as an arresting hook for carrier landings. Originally designed with a single engine, the T-2C variant, which entered fleet service in 1968, has two. Most T-2Cs have been replaced by the T-45 Goshawk. Some, however, remain in service around the fleet in various roles, as well as at the Naval Test Pilots School at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland.

Point of Contact:
Naval Air Systems Command
Public Affairs Department
47123 Buse Road, Unit IPT
Bldg. 2272, Suite 075
Patuxent River, MD 20670-5440
(301)757-1487

General Characteristics

Primary Function: All-purpose jet trainer.
Contractor: Rockwell International Corp.
Propulsion: Two General Electric 085-GE-4 turbojets (2,950 lbs thrust ea.)
Wingspan: 38 feet 2 inches (10.3 meters)
Length: 38 feet 8 inches (11 meters)
Height: 14 feet 9 inches (4.7 meters)
Weight: Take-off maximum gross, 13,180 pounds (5,931 kg); empty 8,115 pounds (3,652 kg)
Speed: 521 miles per hour (834 km per hour)
Ceiling: 44,400 feet
Range: 910 miles (1,456 km)
Armament: Provision for gun pods, bombs or rockets under wings.
Crew: Two (instructor pilot, student pilot)
Date Deployed:First flight, January 1958; Operational, July 1959; First flight of T-2C, April 1968.