A T-28 making a landing on the carrier USS Lexington.

T-34s assigned to Training Air Wing Five.

A TF-9J Cougar assigned to VT-28 levels off just yards above the flight deck after a wave-off bythe LSO.

requirements — it was not equippedwith an arrest ing hook for carr ierlandings. To correct that problem, theNavy o rde red the T -28C. I t wasessentially the same aircraft except thatit had a tail hook and a shorter prop, andwas slightly heavier than the T-28B. TheT-28C first flew on December 23, 1954,and became operational on November 4,1955, with the same mission as the T-28B. The T-28s provided over 30 years ofservice in the training squadrons, atribute to their hardiness.

Shortly after the introduction of the T-28B, the Navy selected another trainerwhich was used by the Air Force. Thenew aircraft, the T-34B Mentor not onlymet the requirements as a Navy trainerbut conformed wi th the pol icy ofstandardiz ing the t ra in ing aircraf toperated by the Navy and Air Force. OnJune 17, 1954, the Navy submitted itsinitial order for the T-34B — a two-place,tandem, all-metal, low-wing, single-engine aircraft with fully retractabletricycle landing gear.

The T-34B was selected as a primaryand basic trainer to eventually phase outthe SNJ Texan. It was a lighter aircraft,less costly to produce and operate and,consequently, would provide an overallsavings for the Navy in comparison withthe SNJ. Ease of maintenance wasanother advantage. In the area ofoperational training, students soloed injust half the time it had previously takenin the SNJ and it was anticipated thatflying the easier-to-handle T-34B wouldr e s u l t i n f e w e r p r i m a r y t r a i n i n gaccidents.

The first T-348 was received by theNavy on December 17, 1954, and in thelatter half of 1955 the new primary flighttraining syllabus and the T-34B Mentorwere officially launched. The T-34B, incombination with the T-28B Trojan usedin advanced training, replaced the SNJand became the backbone of the Navy’sflight training program. Eventually, theT-28s bowed out of the Train ingCommand to make room for the T-34Cin primary flight training. The last T-28training flight was conducted by VT-28on February 13, 1984, and the last T-28left the Training Command on March 14,1984.

During the Mentor’s service in thetraining command, an old traditioncame to an end. Since the career of theNY-1 in the late 1920s the Navy hadpainted its primary trainers a brightyellow for recognition and safety. Theywere known as the Yellow Perils and

when the T-34s entered service, theyalso received the traditional yellow coat.In 1958, a new color combination ofwhite and day-glo red for better visibilityin the air was approved and the Mentorsbegan to shed their yellow coats in favorof the new color combinat ion. ByAugust 1982, the last T-34B had taxiedto the shop for its new colors, ending thelong tradition of the Yellow Peril i nprimary flight training.

After nearly 20 years of M e n t o rservice, the Navy began a program in1973 to upda te p r imary t ra in ingrequirements for the Mentor. Under acontract with the Navy, Beech AircraftCorporation modified the T-34B andinstalled a new turboprop engine andadded new landing gear, brakes andw ings . The new w ings pe rm i t t edinc reased fue l capac i t y . Ease o fhandling and maintenance, as well asthe same low flight costs, were retainedin the modifications, and the increasedcapabi l i t ies were attained withoutsacrificing quality of training.

The first modified T-34B, designatedYT-34C, flew on September 21, 1973,and the first T-34C Turbo-Mentors werede l i ve red in 1976 , fea tu r ing a i r -conditioned cockpits, instrumentation,commun ica t i on a n d n a v i g a t i o nequipment, a n d a q u i e t e r , m o r epowerful turboprop engine. Service usebegan in November 1977 when TrainingAir Wing 5 received its first T-34Cs atPensacola. This began the gradualphaseout of the T-28s.

Advances in jet aircraft continuedduring the fifties. With delivery of theNavy’s first swept-wing aircraft, the F9F-6 Cougar, to VF-32 in November 1952,the need for new training requirementsbecame apparent. A two-seat fightertrainer was developed by GrummanAircraft Engineering Corporation andon February 29, 1956, an F9F-8T Cougarconfigured for training made its maidenflight. The production model F9F-8Tfollowed with its first flight on July 5,1956. It had an additional cockpitinstalled forward of the original one andeach cockpit was fully equipped with allthe instruments and controls standard inthe F9F-8 fighter. The controls wereinterchangeable between the instructorand student pilot positions, with solocontrol operated from the forwardcockpit. The primary mission of the F9F-8T was training for swept-wing, all-weather operations, as well as carrierlanding, gunnery, instrument andnavigat ional t raining and in-f l ight

r e f u e l i n g t e c h n i q u e s o f o t h e roperational jet aircraft.

During the Vietnam conflict, F9F-8TCougars flew air-ground support forMarine Air Group 11’s Headquarters andMaintenance Squadron, and were alsoused fo r a rmed reconna issancemiss ions . The s t ra igh t -w ing F9FPanther , forerunner of the F9F-6Cougar, had served as a ground supportaircraft in the Korean War.

By September 1957, the swept-wingF9F-8T was being used for the first timein the Navy’s t ra in ing command,replacing the straight-wing F9F-2P a n t h e r s which had been par t o fadvanced flight training. The F9F-8Tswere also in the fleet replacementsquadrons responsible for refreshertraining and checkout of pilots foroperational squadrons. On February 2,1960, the last F9F-8T, also the last of theF9F-8 Cougar series, was delivered tothe Navy. This was the beginning of thee n d f o r t h e F 9 F - 8 T C o u g a r s(redesignated TF-9J in 1962) in thetraining command. The last TF-9Joperational training flight occurred inFebruary 1974, when a class of VT-4f l i gh t s tuden ts comp le ted ca r r i e rqualifications aboard John F. Kennedy.The TF-9J was replaced by the TA-4JS k y h a w k a l ready in the t ra in ingcommand. The last F9F-8T Cougars inthe training command departed onMarch 1,1974, for retirement at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.

Looking toward a replacement for itsaging TF-9Js, the Navy had, in 1964,revised its production contract for the A-4 E S k y h a w k to have the last two

product ion models conf igured astrainers. The TA-4E was a two-seaterversion of the A-4E and was derivedfrom the long-lived A-4 Skyhawk whichwas designed in the 1950-52 period. Thefirst A-4 flew in February 1954 and wasassigned to the fleet in October 1956.Two TA-4E prototypes were built,followed by the first production aircraft,TA-4Fs, which were delivered to fleetreplacement squadron VA-125 on May19, 1968. The TA-4F had its fuselageextended 28 inches to make it a tandem-seat aircraft with dual controls andinstruments. It incorporated nose wheelsteering for ease in taxiing, spoilers forimproved crosswind landings, anautomatic pilot and a new ejectionsystem capable of safely ejecting thepilot at zero altitude and speed. Allaspects of advanced jet t ra in ing,including weapons delivery, carrierl and ings , a n d o p e r a t i o n a l a n dinstrument flying could be performed bythe TA-4F.

The TA-4J training version followed,basically the same as the TA-4F butwithout the tactical air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons systems. It was alsofitted with a less powerful engine. Thechanges made it easier to maintain andless costly to operate. The first TA-4Js inthe advanced training command, fasterand more maneuverable than the TF-9Js, were received by VT-21 on June 6,1969, a n d w e r e i m m e d i a t e l yincorporated in the training program. Anumber of other units also flew TA-4Fand TA-4J Skyhawks: VA-45, VA-127,VF-126, RVAH-3, VF-43, VF-101 Det KeyWes t , VAQ-33 and seve ra l f l ee t

A TA-4J assigned to VT-21 practices touch and goes.

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