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serving both the U.S. Air Force and Navy as a basic trainer. The Navy accepted 18 T-34C trainers in 1975, to be followed during the next seven years by more than 330 airplanes. A final batch of 19 trainers were delivered in 1989.
The T34C had a maximum speed of 246 mph and possessed a service ceiling of more than 30,000 feet. It featured a wingspan of 33 feet 4 inches and a fuselage length of 28 feet 8.5 inches. In addition to the U.S. Air Force and Navy, the U.S. Army took delivery of six T-34C trainers in 1987 from Navy inventory. Three aircraft replaced the aging North American T-28 “Trojan” with their static, air-cooled radial engines that had been flown by the Army Aviation Engineering Flight Activity based at Edwards AFB, California. Another three were operated by the Army Airborne Special Operations Test Board located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.7
The factory also built an export version of the T-34C known as the T-34C-1, powered by a 550-shp PT6A engine. It was intended primarily as a basic trainer but could be equipped to operate as a light attack aircraft. The chief modification centered on four hard points under the wings that could accommodate up to 1,200 pounds of ordinance. In the late 1970s, the Ecuadorian Air Force took delivery of 14 airplanes, and Peru, Morocco, Argentina and Indonesia also ordered the T-34C-1.
Commercial and export versions of the Mentor received the company designation Model B45. Per factory records, 85 were delivered in 1953-1954, 47 in 1954-1955 and 21 in 1955-1956. Another 45 were delivered in 1956-1957 followed by 29 in 1957-1958 and 91 in 1958-1959 when production was terminated. In 1953, Chile ordered more than $1 million-worth of T-34A trainers after the Beechcraft proved superior to American, British and French competitors. Chile eventually operated a fleet of 65 Mentors. Japan soon followed by obtaining a license
DECEMBER 2016
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 29