In the early 1950s the US Air Force was looking for a turbojet-powered trainer, and in 1953 Cessna was announced winner of this design competition, two prototypes being ordered under the designation XT-37. The company identified the type as the Cessna Model 318, and the first of these made its initial flight on 12 October 1954. It was a perfectly straightforward monoplane of all-metal construction, with pupil and instructor seated in what had long been considered to be an ideal side-by-side arrangement (contrary to the normal US tandem practice). Powerplant consisted of two Continental turbojets (Americanised versions of the French Turbomeca Marbore) mounted within the wing roots on each side of the fuselage. The tail-plane was mounted above the fuselage about one-third of the way up the fin to ensure that the airstream flowing past it was unaffected by the jet efflux.
The first production batch of 11 aircraft, which had the designation T-37A, was ordered during 1954, and the first of these flew on 27 September 1955. The T-37As, of which 534 were built under successive contracts, were slow in entering service as a result of the need for a number of changes and modifications before they were considered acceptable for training purposes.
When introduced into service, in 1957, the T-37s were used initially as basic trainers, the pupils transferring to these aircraft only after completing their primary training on Beech T-34 Mentors. In April 1961 all-through jet training was initiated, the pupil flying from the very beginning of his training on T-37 aircraft which had a speed range of 138-684km/h. No catastrophic accident rate resulted, as had been feared by many, but one point which had not been fully considered was the much higher training cost using jet aircraft. There is inevitably a varying pupil rejection rate at the end of primary training, and it was decided in 1964 to revert to light piston-engine trainers, which are much cheaper to operate, for this primary phase, so that T-37 pupils were those left after the first weeding-out.
The T-37B with more powerful engines and improved nav/com systems, was introduced into service in November 1959, and all surviving T-37 As were converted retrospectively to this standard. Final version was the T-37C with provision for armament and wingtip fuel tanks. When production ended in 1977 a total of 1,268 T-37s had been built for the USAF and for export. "During 1962 two Cessna T-37B trainers were evaluated by the USAF's Special Air Warfare Center to consider their suitability for deployment in the counter-insurgency (COIN) role. These were first tested with their original powerplant of two 465kg thrust Continental J69-T-25 turbojets, at a take-off weight of 3946kg, almost 33% above the normal maximum take-off weight. Subsequently the airframes were modified to accept two 1089kg thrust General Electric J85-GE-5 turbojets. This vast increase in power made it possible for the aircraft, then designated YAT-37D, to be flown at steadily increasing take-off weights until a safe upper limit of 6350kg was reached. There was, clearly, plenty of scope for the carriage of a worthwhile load of weapons.
This exercise was academic, until the need of the war in Vietnam made the USAF take a closer look at this armed version of what had proved to be an excellent trainer. Accordingly, Cessna were requested to convert 39 T-37B trainers to a light-strike configuration, a contract being awarded in 1966: this related to the conversion of new T-37B aircraft taken from the production line. The new model was based on the earlier experiments with the two YAT-37Ds, and equipped with eight underwing hard-points, provided with wingtip tanks to increase fuel capacity and powered by derated General Electric J85-GE-5 turbojets.
Delivery to the USAF began on 2 May 1967, and during the latter half of that year a squadron numbering 25 of these aircraft, designated A-37A and named Dragonfly, underwent a four-month operational evaluation in South Vietnam. Following this investigation they were transferred for operational duty with the 604th Air Commando Squadron at Bien Hoa; in 1970 they were assigned to the South Vietnamese air force.
During this period, Cessna had built the Model 318E prototype of a purpose-designated light-strike aircraft based on the T-37 and this flew for the first time in September 1967. Little time was lost in evaluation and the initial production batch of this A-37B was started quickly enough for the first deliveries to begin in May 1968.
The A-37B differed in construction from the prototype YAT-37D, its air-frame stressed for 6g loading, maximum internal fuel capacity increased to 1920 litres with the ability to carry four auxiliary tanks having a combined capacity of 1516 litres, and with provision for flight-refuelling.
Powerplant was changed to two General Electric J85-GE-17A turbojets. A GAU-2B/A 7.62mm Minigun was installed, and the eight underwing hardpoints could carry in excess of 2268kg of mixed stores. For the assessment of results both gun and strike cameras were carried, and some armour protection for the crew of two was provided by the inclusion of layered nylon flak-curtains installed around the cockpit.
By the time that production ended in 1967, a total of 577 A-37Bs has been built, and in addition to serving with the USAF the type was supplied in small numbers to friendly nations. Many were transferred to the US Air National Guard and to the South Vietnam air force.
Cessna Model 318 / T-37 / A-37 Dragonfly on YOUTUBE
I worked on the A-37B as a munitions loader /maintenance tech, 1972-77, at Youngstown Air Reserve Base, Vienna, Ohio. 910SOG. Got to fly right seat on a few deployments to Grissom for weapons range training. What a thrill ride for a non-pilot!
I flew the tweet in 1958-59 with class 61A after my time in the t34 Great times as an Air Force Cadet. one of the last classes through Bainbridge Loved performing the spins, always kept my barf bag close at hand. Unfortunately The T37 was my last jet ride as I got washed out on a medical just before graduation
I was both a student and IP in T-37s at Laredo AFB. I loved to do spins and recovery from them. I remember a colonel telling our group, that in recovering from a spin, abrupt forward movement of the stick was essential. The HSI was our target. "If you break the HSI," he told us, "I'll buy you a keg of beer." So while I was at Randolph AFB in IP School in 1971, two pilots doing spin rides tried to break the HSI during a spin recovery. They failed, of course, but did manage to break the control stick from its base. Nobody died, but it grounded the whole T-37 fleet for about a week. It adds a new layer of meaning to saying, "I've got the stick."
I loved flying this airplane. I flew it at Graham AB in 1959 Class 60 Golf. It was a real cool ride but the spin was something else. Kick opposite rudder and "Pop" the stick forward........I think, LOL
Because of several accidents while practicing spins, Air Training Command required each T-37 Instructor to go through spin qualification /certification.
I became Stan Board's spin qualification Instructor for our Squadron. Entries into erect, inverted and accelerated spins were practiced and demonstrated. Rudder and aleron only recoveries were demonstrated and practiced.
Many Instructors were intimadated by the spin. After our qualification program they were much more confident.
However, it was later determined that some of the older T-37's were so "out of rig" that they were unrecoverable from a spin, so any spinning was untimately prohibited.
I flew the T-37 as a student and instructor. You have an error in your description of the the T-37. The T-37 was never a Basic Trainer. It was used in primary training only. In the late 50's and early 60's the T-33 and later the T-38 were used in Basic Training.
Flew the 6000 pound dog-whistle at Webb on 1968. Went on to Nam in 1970 as a FAC. The VNAF saved my butt several times over a 'country-to-the-west'. Memorable about the bird was when they kept blowing tires on takeoff. It seems that when you held the brakes and powered up the J-85s, the tires would rotate on the hubs and go flat. They ended up drilling holes in the hubs adn screwing the tires to the hubs. Kept them inflated.
I flew 341 missions in Vietnam with the 604th and 8th SOS in 69-70. I was the active duty AF Advisor to the 917th Tac Ftr Group (AF Reserve) from 76 to 79. The A-37 was the easiest and best fighter I ever flew and the FACs loved us because we could stay on target and deliver low and slow and accurately. We carried as big a load as the F-100 (which I flew right out of pilot training). The side by side seating was great for us IPs.
I was the Egress Shop Chief with the 110thTASGp ANG Battle Creek, MI for 10 years on the A-37B. The dragonfly ended up with a rocket assisted Ejection Seat in the mid eighties. In some cases it was a bitch to work on but at least you didn't need a ladder! It was fast and fun to ride in.
Nice little 1st jet trainer. Spins were a real trip. Went through Reese class 70-07. The 6,000 pound dog whistle. Later while living on base at Williams AFB we dreaded the night flights because while taxiing it totally drowned out the TV.
As a former IP in the T-37 for a number of years and having over 500 combat missions in the A-37 in 'Nam, I thought both aircraft were great for their missions. In 'Nam, I feel almost all, if not all, the FACs and the troops on the ground loved us as with the great little bird we could get down to where the action was, accurately hit the targets (especially when troops in contact and we helped save many lives), and we could stay around for a couple of hours, often flying on just one engine to save fuel. Think the only other bird in the 'Nam war that was better for close air support as the A-1 which we replaced as there wasn't that many of them left. If you were associated with the A-37 in any way, why not check out the website to learn about the A-37 'Dragonfly' Association which is open to 'Anyone who flew, worked on, worked with, or just has a high admiration for the great little fighter.'
This was the first jet I was crew cheif on, at Webb Air Force Base Texas. Which they closed and part of it is a prison. It is a great plane to work on and to taxi. I love this little jet. We never had one not return from training.
Flew the 37's in 1965-66 as a student pilot at Webb AFB, Texas and after flying the F-4's I returned as a T-37 Instructor from 1967-1970 at Vance AFB, OK. I believe the most outstanding characteristic of the Tweet was that it was very "forgiving". It's artificial stall indiction system and duel engines made it about as safe a trainer as could be built. It was a great plane to prepare pilots for the T-38 and subsequent aircraft. I guess they were phased out because of the number of landings on the individual frames and the cost compared to the props. Loved that Tweeter Robert J. Petersen Webb-Class 66F
