The Fuji T-1 was

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

's first jet-powered

trainer aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristi ...

. Its first flight was in January 1958. A total of 66 T-1 planes were built.Simpson 2001, p.246 It was retired in March 2006.

Design and development

After World War II, Japanese aircraft industry was banned from research as well as the destruction of materials and equipment related to aircraft. In 1952, a partial ban on aircraft research was lifted, making it possible to develop Japan's own domestic jet aircraft. In the spring of 1954, the Defense Agency's plan to develop a training jet aircraft emerged, which later lead to the development of the T-1 training plane. The T-1 was the first indigenously designed Japanese jet aircraft to be developed since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was Japan's first mass-produced jet and the first aircraft to apply a

swept wing A swept wing is a wing that angles either backward or occasionally forward from its root rather than in a straight sideways direction. Swept wings have been flown since the pioneer days of aviation. Wing sweep at high speeds was first investigate ...

. The development of a domestic jet engine was not completed in time, so the T-1A was powered by the British-designed

Bristol Siddeley Orpheus The Bristol Siddeley Orpheus was a single-spool turbojet developed by Bristol Siddeley for various light fighter/trainer applications such as the Folland Gnat and the Fiat G.91. Later, the Orpheus formed the core of the first Bristol Pegasus ve ...

turbojet and made its first flight on May 17, 1960. The T-1B was powered by the Ishikawajima-Harima J3 turbojet and 20 were produced between June 1962 and June 1963. Fuji was the successor to the Nakajima Aircraft Company (famous for building several aircraft such as

Nakajima Ki-43 The Nakajima Ki-43 ''Hayabusa'' (, "Peregrine falcon", "Army Type 1 Fighter" ) is a single-engine land-based tactical fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service in World War II. The Allied reporting name was "Oscar", but it was o ...

and

Nakajima Ki-84 The is a single-seat fighter flown by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service in the last two years of World War II. The Allied reporting name was "Frank"; the Japanese Army designation was . The Ki-84 is generally considered the best Japanese fi ...

during WW2). The first aircraft of Fuji's own design was the T-1 jet trainer. More than 200 T-1s were to be produced, but with the introduction of the

Lockheed F-104 The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fig ...

J/DJ fighters, the education system changed and the

Lockheed T-33A The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

, which was in large numbers, took on the same role, and only 66 T-1s were introduced. With the entry into service of its successor, the

Kawasaki T-4 The Kawasaki T-4 is a Japanese subsonic intermediate jet trainer aircraft developed and manufactured by the commercial conglomerate Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Its sole operator is the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), in part due to historic ...

, flight training with the T-1 was completed in December 2000. The last T-1 was retired on March 3, 2006.

Variants

''Data from'': Simpson 2001, p. 246 ;T1F1: powered by a Nippon J3 engine. ;T1F2: Two prototypes, powered by

Bristol BOr.1 Orpheus The Bristol Siddeley Orpheus was a single-spool turbojet developed by Bristol Siddeley for various light fighter/trainer applications such as the Folland Gnat and the Fiat G.91. Later, the Orpheus formed the core of the first Rolls-Royce Pegasu ...

engines. ;T1F3: Initial designation for the production T-1A, powered by

Bristol BOr.4 Orpheus The Bristol Siddeley Orpheus was a single-spool turbojet developed by Bristol Siddeley for various light fighter/trainer applications such as the Folland Gnat and the Fiat G.91. Later, the Orpheus formed the core of the first Bristol Pegasus ...

engines. ;T-1A: Powered by a 17.79 kN (4,000 lbf)

Mk 805 turbojet engine. The original designation was T1F3. 46 built. ;T-1B:Powered by an 11.77 kN (2,645 lbf) Ishikawajima-Harima J3-IHI-3 turbojet engine. 20 built. ;T-1C : Converted to 13.72 kN (3,085 lbf) Ishikawajima-Harima J3-IHI-7 engines.

Operators

; *

Japan Air Self Defense Force The , , also informally referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the air and space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and electronic warfare. ...

Aircraft on display

* T-1B ''25-5856'' at

Tokorozawa Aviation Museum The is a museum located in the city of Tokorozawa, Saitama dedicated to the history of aviation in Japan. It contains aircraft and other displays (many of which are interactive) and an IMAX theatre. Located on the site of Japan's first airfield w ...

Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...

* T-1B ''35-5870'' at Saitama Subaru Sakitama Garden,

Gyōda is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,236 in 40,482 households and a population density of 1200 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Gyōda is located in north-centr ...

Thompson, Pau
J-HangarSpace - Aviation Museums
Retrieved September 8, 2016 * T-1B ''05-5810'' at

Kakamigahara Air and Space Museum Kakamigahara Air and Space Museum is an aviation museum located in Kakamigahara in Gifu Prefecture in Japan. It is at Gifu Air Field of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force The , , also informally referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the ai ...

Specifications (T-1A)

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * Donald, David and Jon Lake. ''Encyclopedia of World Military Aircraft''. London:Aerospace Publishing, 1996, Single Volume Edition. . * * Taylor, John W. R. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1965-66''. London:Sampson Low, Marston, 1965.

External links

{{JSDF aircraft designations T-001 1950s Japanese military trainer aircraft Single-engined jet aircraft Low-wing aircraft F-86 Sabre Aircraft first flown in 1958