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Northrop T-38 Talon

🇺🇸 United States ·first flew 1959· advanced trainer

🎖️ military 2× jet ✓ still flying
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. T-38 (050415-F-0000S-002): Wikimedia Commons· Public domain
  2. 2. 20141026 T-38 Talon Alliance Air Show 2014-2: Balon Greyjoy· CC0
  3. 3. 2019 Fort Worth Alliance Air Show 144 (Northrop T-38 Talon): Michael Barera· CC BY-SA 4.0
  4. 4. 479ftg-t38cs: USAF· Public domain
  5. 5. Frontiers of Flight Museum December 2015 099 (Northrop T-38 Talon): Michael Barera· CC BY-SA 4.0
  6. 6. N999NA Northrop T-38 Talon: Naomi Persephone Amethyst· CC BY-SA 4.0
  7. 7. ROCAF T-38A(3842)教練機: 廢柴老闆· CC0
  8. 8. T-38: No machine-readable author provided. SoAres assumed (based on copyright claims).· CC BY-SA 2.5
  9. 9. T-38As Vance AFB 1997: Photographer's Name: Terry Wasson, Civilian, USAF· Public domain
  10. 10. T-38 051017-F-0000S-002: Chad Bellay for U.S. Air Force· Public domain
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
Northrop T-38 Talon, photo 1 of 10
1/10 Wikimedia Commons· Public domain

what is it?

The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Northrop Corporation. It was the world's first supersonic trainer as well as the most produced. The T-38 can be traced back to 1952 and Northrop's N-102 Fang and N-156 fighter aircraft projects.

How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 7.7 m wingspan

base stats

  • speed 1,382 km/htop speed
  • range 1,835 kmwithout refuelling
  • size 5,485 kgmax take-off weight
  • built 1,187made 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 67 years ago, in 1959.
  • Top speed is 10.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • Faster than sound: up to Mach 1.1 (sea-level speed of sound ≈ 1,235 km/h).
  • Range of 1,835 km: 10× Amsterdam to Brussels.
  • Can fly 1.7× 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
1959-03-10
introduced
1961
status
still flying
number built
1,187
role
advanced trainer
origin
🇺🇸 United States
makers
Northrop
engines
2× General Electric J85-5A
crew
2
length
14.1 m
wingspan
7.7 m
height
3.9 m
max take-off weight
5,485 kg
top speed
1,382 km/h
range
1,835 km
ceiling
15,240 m

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

Sources: Wikidata Q164523, Wikipedia: Northrop T-38 Talon (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.

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