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Cessna A-37 Dragonfly

🇺🇸 United States ·first flew 1963· light ground-attack aircraft

🎖️ military 2× jet retired
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. OA-37B-1: TSGT KEN HAMMOND· Public domain
  2. 2. 18-15-231-A37: Dsdugan· CC0
  3. 3. A-37B Minigun: Wikimedia Commons· Public domain
  4. 4. A-37 HAF: TSGT KEN HAMMOND· Public domain
  5. 5. A37 Dragonfly on display at the Military Museum, Bogota: Acad Ronin ( talk ) 20:17, 4 June 2009 (UTC)· CC BY-SA 3.0
  6. 6. AT-37 Dragonfly: Mdb10us· Public domain
  7. 7. Cessna A-37 Dragonfly, El Salvador - Air Force JP6008311: André Du-pont (Mexico Air Spotters)· GFDL 1.2
  8. 8. Uruguayan Air Force Cessna OA-37B Dragonfly (318E) Lofting: Chris Lofting· GFDL 1.2
  9. 9. A-37 de la FAS equipado con misiles aire-aire AIM-9 Sidewinder: Andy757· CC BY 4.0
  10. 10. A-37 Dragonfly at Downunder Shellharbour 2024: Daniel Z97· CC BY 4.0
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
Cessna A-37 Dragonfly, photo 1 of 10
1/10 TSGT KEN HAMMOND· Public domain

what is it?

The Cessna A-37 Dragonfly, or Super Tweet, is a jet-powered, light attack aircraft that was designed and produced by American aircraft manufacturer Cessna. It was developed during the Vietnam War in response to military interest in new counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft to replace aging types such as the Douglas A-1 Skyraider. A formal United States Air Force (USAF) evaluation of the T-37 Tweet basic trainer for the COIN mission was conducted in late 1962, after which the USAF concluded that it could be modified to effectively perform the role.

How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 10.9 m wingspan

base stats

  • speed 816 km/htop speed
  • range 1,482 kmwithout refuelling
  • seats 2passengers
  • size 6,350 kgmax take-off weight
  • built 577made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

  • First flew 63 years ago, in 1963.
  • Top speed is 6.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • Wingspan of 10.9 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
  • Range of 1,482 km: 8× Amsterdam to Brussels.
  • Can fly 1.4× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight
1963
introduced
1967
retired
1992
status
retired
number built
577
role
light ground-attack aircraft
origin
🇺🇸 United States
makers
Cessna
engines
2× General Electric J85-GE-17A / J85
crew
2
passengers
2
length
8.6 m
wingspan
10.9 m
height
2.7 m
max take-off weight
6,350 kg
top speed
816 km/h
cruise speed
787 km/h
range
1,482 km
ceiling
12,730 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q488204, Wikipedia: Cessna A-37 Dragonfly (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.

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