North American T-39 Sabreliner
by Tom Hildreth
The first of 143 T-39A Sabreliners was delivered to the Air Force on 4 June 1961. Designed to meet USAF's requests for proposals for a utility trainer experimental under the "UTX" program, the prototype flew for the first time on 16 September 1958. The prototype was powered by General Electric J-85 engines, but production versions of the T-39 were powered by Pratt & Whitney J-60 turbojets. Many Air Force commands used the T-39, and it saw extensive service in Southeast Asia on "Scatback" missions. |
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T-39A 61-0635 was assigned to HQ 8th AF at Westover AFB, MA 19 Oct 1963 |
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