Made to Order Trainers
History:
The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is a propeller-driven, single-engined, military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. The earlier versions of the T-34, dating from around the late 1940s to the 1950s, were piston-engined. These were eventually succeeded by the upgraded T-34C Turbo-Mentor, powered by a turboprop engine. The T-34 remains in service almost six decades after it was first designed.
The first flight of the Model 45 was on 2 December 1948, by Beechcraft test pilot Vern Carstens. In 1950 the USAF ordered three Model A45T test aircraft, which were given the military designation YT-34. A long competition followed to determine a new trainer, and in 1953 the Air Force put the Model 45 into service as the T-34A Mentor, while the USN followed in May 1955 with the T-34B. The US Air Force began to replace the T-34A at the beginning of the 1960s, while the U.S. Navy kept the T-34B operational until the early 1970s. As of 2007, Mentors are still used by several air forces and navies.
From 1978, the T-34C Turbo-Mentor was the Argentine Naval Aviation basic trainer used by the 1st Naval Aviation Force (Training), alongside 15 T-34C-1 light attack aircraft forming the Fourth Naval Air Attack Squadron. During the 1982 Falklands War, four T-34C-1s were deployed to Port Stanley on 25 April 1982, primarily to be employed in a reconnaissance role. The main encounter with British forces occurred on 1 May 1982 when three Turbo-Mentors attacked a Royal Navy Westland Sea King helicopter in the area of Berkeley Sound but were intercepted by RN Sea Harriers flown by Lts Watson and Ward, with one of the T-34Cs being damaged by cannon fire from Ward's aircraft. The four T-34C-1 Turbo-Mentors continued to operate, flying a few reconnaissance missions, but were redeployed to Borbon Station where they were ultimately destroyed by the SAS Raid on Pebble Island on 15 May 1982. Although all four hulks remained on the island for a considerable length of time, eventually, 0729/(1-A)411 was recovered on 10 June 1983 and stored for future display at the Fleet Air Arm Museum.
The first flight of the Model 45 was on 2 December 1948, by Beechcraft test pilot Vern Carstens. In 1950 the USAF ordered three Model A45T test aircraft, which were given the military designation YT-
From 1978, the T-