Northrop YC-125 Raider

YC-125 Raider

The aircraft on display in the National Museum of the USAF. Painted to represent the YC-125B used for cold weather tests, Wright-Patterson AFB, 1950.
Role	Transport aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Northrop Corporation
First flight	1 August 1949
Introduction	1950
Retired	1955
Primary user	United States Air Force
Produced	1949–1950
Number built	23

The Northrop YC-125 Raider was a 1940s American three-engined STOL utility transport built by Northrop Corporation, Hawthorne, California.

Design and development

Northrop's first postwar civil design was a three-engined STOL passenger and cargo transport named the Northrop N-23 Pioneer. The Pioneer could carry 36 passengers or five tons of cargo and first flew on 21 December 1946. The aircraft had good performance, but there was little interest due to the availability of cheap war surplus aircraft. The Pioneer was lost in a fatal crash on 19 February 1948 when it lost a new tailfin design in flight.^[1] In 1948, the United States Air Force expressed interest in an aircraft of the same configuration and placed an order with Northrop for 23 aircraft, 13 troop transports designated the C-125A Raider and 10 for Arctic rescue work designated the C-125B. With the company designation N-32 Raider the first aircraft flew on 1 August 1949.

The aircraft was powered by three 1,200 hp (890 kW) Wright R-1820-99 Cyclone radial engines. The aircraft could also be fitted with JATO rockets that enabled it to take off in less than 500 feet (150 m). The 13 troop transporters were designated YC-125A in-service and the Arctic rescue version the YC-125B.

The Canadian company Canadair considered building the N-23 under licence but did not proceed.

Operational history

Deliveries of the YC-125 to the USAF began in 1950. These aircraft did not serve long as they were underpowered and they were soon sent to Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas and relegated to be ground instructional trainers until retired in 1955 and declared surplus.

Most of the surplus aircraft were purchased by Frank Ambrose and sold to bush operators in South and Central America.^[2]

Variants

A YC-125 performs a JATO takeoff

N-23 Pioneer: Prototype three-engined STOL transport, one built.
N-32 Raider: Company designation of military version of the N-23.
YC-125A Raider: N-32 with seats for thirty troops, 13 built (serials 48-628/640).
YC-125B Raider: Arctic rescue version of the N-32 with twenty stretchers and provision for a ski undercarriage. Ten built (serials 48-618/627).
CL-3: Proposed Canadair licensed produced variant from 1949, with 3 x Canadian Pratt & Whitney R-1820 engines. Was redesignated CL-12 in the same year. Project was dropped sometime around early 1950.

Survivors

YC-125A (XB-GEY, former 48-636) is on display at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona
YC-125B (Serial 48-626, painted as 48-622) is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio

Operators

United States: United States Air Force

Specifications (YC-125B)

YC-125B

Data from National Museum of the US Air Force YC-125B Factsheet^[3]

General characteristics

Crew: four
Length: 67 ft 1 in (20.45 m)
Wingspan: 86 ft 6 in (26.37 m)
Height: 23 ft 1 in (7.04 m)
Max. takeoff weight: 41,900 lb (19,006 kg)
Powerplant: 3 × Wright R-1820-99 Cyclone radial, 1200 hp (895 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 207 mph (478 kmh)
Cruise speed: 171 mph (275 kmh)
Range: 1,856 miles (2,987 km)
Service ceiling: 12,200 ft (3,719 m)

References

Notes

↑ Associated Press, "Test Pilot Dies; Crew Bails Out", San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Friday 20 February 1948, Volume LIV, Number 149, page 1.
↑ "Northrop YC-125 Raider." Pima Air and Space Museum. Retrieved: 12 September 2012.
↑ "Factsheets: Northrop YC-125B Raider." Museum of the United States Air Force. Retrieved: 16 July 2017.

Bibliography

Andrade, John M. U.S Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Leicestershire, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979. ISBN 0-904597-22-9.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1986.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Northrop C-125.

Northrop aircraft

Manufacturer
designations

'Greek' series	Alpha Beta Gamma Delta
'N' series	Note: Northrop company designations include a wide variety of technologies. Only aircraft, aero engines, and missiles are linked here. N-1 N-2 N-3 N-4 N-5 N-6 N-7 N-8 N-9 N-10 N-12 N-14 N-15 N-16 N-18 N-19 N-20 N-21 N-23 N-24 N-25A N-25B N-26 N-29 N-31 N-32 N-34 N-35 N-36 N-37 N-38 N-39 N-40 N-41 N-45 N-46 N-47 N-48 N-49 N-50 N-51 N-52 N-54 N-55 N-59 N-60 N-63 N-65 N-67 N-68 N-69 N-71 N-72 N-73 N-74 N-81 N-82 N-84 N-86 N-87 N-94 N-96 N-102 N-103 N-105 N-110 N-111 N-112 N-117 N-124 N-132 N-133 N-134 N-135 N-138 N-141 N-144 N-149 N-150 N-151 N-155 N-156 N-165 N-204 N-205 N-250 N-267 N-285 N-300 N-301 N-302 N-303 N-304 N-305 N-306 N-307 N-311 N-320 N-321 N-322 N-330 N-370
'P' series	P530 P600 P610 P630

By role

Attack	YA-13 XA-16 A-17 Nomad YA-9
Bombers	YB-35 YB-49 B-62 BT B2T B-2
Drones	Q-4
Fighters	3A XP-56 P-61 XP-79 F-89 XFT F2T F-5/CF-5/CF-116 YF-17 F-18L F-20 YF-23
Reconnaissance	F-15 RF-61 RF-5 N-165 N-204
Trainers	T-38
Transports	Alpha Beta Gamma Delta C-19 C-100 YC-125 RT
Experimental	N-1M N-9M JB-1 MX-324 MX-334 M2-F2 M2-F3 HL-10 Tacit Blue X-4 X-21

Names

See also: TR-3

United States military transport aircraft designations, Army/Air Force and Tri-Service systems
Army/Air Force sequence (1925-1962)	C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-6 C-7 C-8 C-9 C-10 C-11 C-12 C-13¹ C-14 C-15 C-16 C-17 C-18 C-19 C-20 C-21 C-22 C-23 C-24 C-25 C-26 C-27 C-28 C-29 C-30 C-31 C-32 C-33 C-34 C-35 C-36 C-37 C-38 C-39 C-40 C-41/A C-42 C-43 C-44 C-45 C-46 C-47/T C-48 C-49 C-50 C-51 C-52 C-53 C-54 C-55 C-56 C-57 C-58 C-59 C-60 C-61 C-62 C-63 C-64 C-65 C-66 C-67 C-68 C-69 C-70/A/B/C/D C-71 C-72 C-73 C-74 C-75 C-76 C-77/B-D C-78 C-79 C-80 C-81 C-82 C-83 C-84 C-85 C-86 C-87 C-88 C-89 C-90 C-91 C-92 C-93 C-94 C-95 C-96 C-97/KC-97 C-98 C-99 C-100 C-101 C-102 C-103 C-104 C-105 C-106 C-107 C-108 C-109 C-110 C-111 C-112 C-113 C-114 C-115 C-116 C-117 C-118 C-119 C-120 C-121/F C-122 C-123/A C-124 C-125 C-126 C-127 (I) C-127 (II) C-128 C-129 C-130/J C-131 C-132 C-133 C-134 C-135/KC-135 C-136 C-137 C-138¹ C-139¹ C-140 C-141 C-142
Tri-service sequence (1962-present)	C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-6 C-7/B C-8 C-9 C-10 C-11 C-12 C-13¹ C-14 C-15 C-16¹ C-17 C-18 C-19 C-20A-D/F-H C-21 C-22 C-23 C-24 C-25 C-26 C-27/J C-28 C-29 C-30¹ C-31 C-32 C-33 C-34¹ C-35 C-36 C-37A/B C-38 C-39¹ C-40 C-41 C-42¹ C-43¹ C-44¹ C-45 C-46
Revived original sequence (2005-present)	C-143 C-144 C-145 C-146
Non-sequential designations	C-767 C-880
¹ Not assigned See also: AC-47 • AC-119 • AC-130 • DC-130 • EC-130 • HC-130 • KC-130 • LC-130 • MC-130 • WC-130 • CT-39 • CT-43

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