North American T-2C Buckeye

North American T-2C Buckeye. . , Training Jet Jocks For over four decades, aspiring Navy and Marine Corps pilots learned the art of operating jets from aircraft carriers in a T-2 Buckeye. Unglamorous and unsophisticated, the T-2 was designed for only one vitally important mission: the intermediate flight training of future Navy and Marine jet pilots. After being evaluated at NAS Patuxent River in 1959, T2Js (then single-engine aircraft, and redesignated as T-2s in 1962) were assigned to the Naval Air Training Command. Buckeyes remained in the Training Command until 2008, after they were replaced by the T-45 Goshawk. The T-2C before you is an example of the Buckeye's final U.S. Navy version. Buckeyes were also flown by Greece and Venezuela., Our Display Aircraft Bureau Number 158320 was accepted by the Navy on 23 June 1971. It served in the Training Command in the Training Command until July 2008, after which it was transferred to VX-20 at NAS Patuxent River. At VX-20, our T-2 was used as a chase aircraft for high-risk development tests of the E-2C, C-2, E-2D, and P-8. It also flew with the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. When retired on 30 September 2015, our T-2 had logged 13,956 hours, 42,673 field landings, 344 catapult launches, and 347 arrested landing. It also made the last flight of any Navy-operated T-2. The Buckeye joined the PRNAM flight line in 2016.,

. Primary Mission: Intermediate and advanced flight training , . Crew: One Pilot, one Student Naval Aviator , . U.S. Service Timeline (T-2 Series): 1959 - 2008 (some T-2s served as test aircraft until 2015) , . Max. Gross Wight: 14,000 lb , . Dimensions: 38.3 ft length, 381. ft wing span , . Propulsion: Two General Electric J85-GE-4 Turbojets , . Max. Operating Speed: 518 MPH (sea level) , . Armament: None

, The aircraft is on loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola, Florida. . This historical marker was erected by Patuxent River Naval Air Museum. It is in Lexington Park in St. Mary's County Maryland