The North American Aviation T-28 was a basic trainer that was ordered in three advanced versions, the T-28A for the U.S Air Force and T-28B and T-28C, by the U.S. Navy, with the latter version designed for carrier operation. It was the first trainer designed to transition pilots to using jet aircraft.
Originally, it was powered by a Wright R-1300 engine with a rating of 800 horsepower, a top speed of 285 mph (459 kph) and a service ceiling of 29,000 feet (8839 meters). New versions carried a Wright R-1820 engine with a rating of 1,425 horsepower, a top speed of more than 345 mph (555 kph) and a 37,000-foot (11,278-meter) ceiling.
The T-28B and T-28C could handle accessory kits providing for bombs, rockets and machine guns.
1,194 T-28As were delivered to the U.S. Air Force and the Navy ordered 792 T-28s, 299 of which were T-28Cs that included an arrester hook for carrier landings. Some versions of the T-28 were adapted to more extensive military operations by other countries.