Many trainer aircraft have been turned into war-planes. Few if any, however, have performed as well in that role, and in so many places, as the Air Force's T-28 Trojan. Its combat career began in the early 1960s in Vietnam. The good performance of the T-28 intrigued foreign governments, which used it for training, close air support, reconnaissance, and airborne patrol. Versions of the T-28 served with more than 20 air forces. They eventually saw combat on four continents.rnThe T-28A was designed to replace the obsolete World War II-eraT-6 Texan trainer. The early version was powered by a troublesome 800-horsepower Wright R-1300 engine. Nonetheless, the Trojan performed well enough to convince the Navy to buy the T-28B and T-28C with a larger Wright R-1820. USAF used the Trojan as a trainer through 1956, at which point it was replaced by the Beech T-34 andrnCessna T-37. The Air National Guard retained it for a few years. Then, in the early 1960s, the aircraft was revamped and given acompletely new purpose.
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