The “Oscar”, as it was known to the allies, proved to be a very successful fighter in combat early in its career.

The T-28 series of aircraft was designed by North American Aviation as a replacement for that Company’s very successful T-6 series as a standard basic trainer for the US military services, but in the event it was not particularly successful in that role and was developed into a counter insurgency

In 1954 the USAF issued a requirement for a supersonic trainer and the Northrop Corporation entered the N-156T trainer, at the same time developing a single-seat variant known as the N-156F. The two-seater became the T-38 Talon, the prototype making its first flight at Edwards Air Force Base on 10