The Fuji T-1 Hatsutaka[1] was Japan's first jet-powered trainer aircraft. Its first flight was in January 1958. A total of 66 T-1 planes were built.[2] It was retired in March 2006.[citation needed]
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.[3]
The T-1 was the first indigenously designed Japanese jet aircraft to be developed since World War II. It was Japan's first mass-produced jet and the first aircraft to apply a swept wing.[3] 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 turbojet[4] and made its first flight on May 17, 1960.[3] The T-1B was powered by the Ishikawajima-Harima J3 turbojet[5] and 20 were produced between June 1962 and June 1963.[3] Fuji was the successor to the Nakajima Aircraft Company (famous for building several aircraft such as Nakajima Ki-43 and Nakajima Ki-84 during WW2). The first aircraft of Fuji's own design was the T-1 jet trainer.[6][7]
More than 200 T-1s were to be produced, but with the introduction of the Lockheed F-104J/DJ fighters, the education system changed and the Lockheed T-33A, which was in large numbers, took on the same role, and only 66 T-1s were introduced.[3]
With the entry into service of its successor, the Kawasaki T-4, flight training with the T-1 was completed in December 2000. The last T-1 was retired on March 3, 2006.[citation needed]
^ abcdef"日本の航空宇宙工業 50年の歩み 第2章 昭和30年代;再建の時期" [50 Years in the Japanese Aerospace Industry Chapter 2: The 1950s; A Period of Reconstruction] (PDF). 一般社団法人日本航空宇宙工業会 (in Japanese). 一般社団法人日本航空宇宙工業会 (The Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies). pp. 17–19. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2021-10-07. Retrieved 2020-09-18.