Soko G-2
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| G-2 Galeb | |
|---|---|
 Soko Galeb c.1962 |
|
| Type | Ground-attack and reconnaissance |
| Manufacturer | SOKO |
| Maiden flight | May 1961 |
| Primary user | SFR Yugoslav Air Force |
| Produced | 1964-1985 |
| Variants | J-21 Jastreb |
The SOKO G-2 Galeb (Serbian, Croatian Sea Gull) is a two-seat, single engine, advanced trainer, counter-insurgency, ground-attack and reconnaissance aircraft developed in Yugoslavia.
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[edit] Design
Yugoslavia's VTI (Aeronautical Technical Institute) began design work on the airplane, named Galeb, in 1957. The first flight was in May 1961. Soon, after one full-size wooden mockup, a second prototype Galeb 2 was built - establishing the G-2 type designation.
Galeb 1 had three rubber tanks in the fuselage, while Galeb 2 had two fuselage tanks holding 230 gallons (US) and two wingtip tanks holding 51 gallons (US) each.
The Galeb features a straight wing with tip tanks, Folland Type 1-B lightweight ejector seats, sideways hinging canopy transparencies and under-wing hard points for light bombs and rockets.
Powered by a license-built Rolls Royce Viper Mk 22-6 turbojet, the G2-A was the standard version for the Yugoslav Air Force. A G2-AE export variant became available from late 1974 and was built for Libya and Zambia.
The aircraft was very easy and forgiving in flight, with easy maintenance, so students and technicians loved it. They regularly achieved 5,000 hours in the air (the AF Museum G-2 had 6,200 hours in its logbook).
Production began in 1964, making it the first indigenous jet to enter mass production in Yugoslavia (the first jet-powered plane built by Yugoslavia was the Ikarus 451M in 1952 but it did not enter production). After the Soko 522 it was the second aircraft built at SOKO, Mostar.
[edit] Flight tests
A maximum speed of 812 km/h (440 kt) at 6,200 m (20,100 ft) was achieved using clean wing (no tip-tanks), with no paint and with polished airframe. Top diving speed was Mach 0.81, although after prolonged dive.
Without a pressurized cabin the practical ceiling is 9,000 m (29,000 ft), or 7,000 (22,800 ft) in a shorter period. The pressurized cabin would increase costs by up to 15% because all devices would need to be imported. The Air Force needed a trainer with secondary combat ability that could be used from grass runways. As an interesting note, the designers did not have any idea of the technical parameters for landing on grass runways and so the landing gear was designed for landing on aircraft carriers.
The wheels retract into the wings. This configuration suggests it was never intended to be used as anything other than a trainer. Its straight wing shows it was a subsonic aircraft. Retracting the wheels into the wing instead of the fuselage makes for a heavier wing, but it is more forgiving on landings, and the straight wing, which precludes supersonic flight, is less likely to stall on landing, making this a safer training aircraft. It was flown primarily by the Air Academy of Yugoslavia. Production ceased in 1985.
[edit] Variants
- G-2A Galeb (Seagull) : Two-seat basic / advanced jet trainer, light attack aircraft.
- G-2A-E : Two-seat export version for Libya and Zambia.
- G-3 Galeb 3 : Prototype.
- G-2š : Unarmed trainer version G-2A.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Current Operators
- Libyan Air Force - 116
- Technical Test Centre - TOC(ex-Flight test center - VOC) - Flight test sector (SLI) is operateing one G-2 Galeb aircraft.
[edit] Former Operators
- SFR Yugoslav Air Force - passed on to Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Republika Srpska and Republic of Serbian Krajina.
- Air Force of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia - Afther 1995, 12 Galebs were transferred from Republika Srpska to FRY. They were all destroyed at Podgorica airbase during the 1999.
- Croatian Air Force - 1 G-2 captured from Krajina Air Force.
[edit] Specifications (G-2A)
This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.
General characteristics
- Crew: 1 or 2
- Payload: 300 kg (661 lb)
- Length: 10.34 m (33 ft 11 in)
- Wingspan: 10.47 m / 11.62 m with wingtip tanks (34 ft 4½ in / 38 ft 1½ in)
- Height: 3.28 m (10 ft 9 in)
- Wing area: 19.43 m² (209.1 ft²)
- Empty weight: 2,620 kg (5,775 lb)
- Powerplant: 1× DMB (license-built Rolls Royce/Bristol Siddeley) Viper ASV.11 Mk 22-6 turbojet, 11.12 kN (2,500 lbf)
- * Internal fuel load: 780 kg (1,720 lb)
- External fuel load: Up to 340 kg (750 lb) in two wing-tip drop tanks
Performance
- Maximum speed: 439 kt at 6,200 m (812 km/h / 505 mph at 20,340 ft)
- Cruise speed: 393 kt at 6,000 m (730 km/h / 453 mph at 19,685 ft)
- Range: 670 nm with tip tanks (1,242 km / 772 mi)
- Service ceiling 12,000 m (39,400 ft)
- Rate of climb: 1,370 m/min (4,490 ft/min)
- Endurance: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Acceleration limits: -4 to +8 g (-40 to +80 m/s²)
Armament
- 2 × 12.7 mm (.50 cal) Colt-Browning M3 machine-guns in nose (80 rounds per gun)
- 4 × 57 mm rockets
- 4 × 115 kg (250 lb) bombs or 2 × 225 kg (500 lb) bombs
Avionics
- Targeting: Ferranti ISIS D-126R gyro sight
[edit] See also
Related development
Comparable aircraft
[edit] External links
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