Cessna T-37E

[comrade harps]

Cessna T-37E
527th Aggressor Squadron, USAF
Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, April 1970



Before going overseas to frontline combat assignments, each Expeditionary Theatre Package of USAF and associated domestic and foreign aviation units gathered at Nellis Air Force Base for a final exercise. Called Red Flag, the exercise qualified aircrew as combat ready by taking them through a realistic series of mission profiles and mock engagements against simulated air and surface threats. At Red Flag 1970-5 a new threat aircraft made its debut: the Cessna T-37E.




The 527th Aggressor Squadron had operated the T-37B since 1963 to simulate Red light attack aircraft like the Aero Cooperative L-29 Maya and the Central Aviation Works TS-11 Musty. However, by the late 1960s their aggressive flight regimes were beginning to cause airframe damage and a replacement was required. Rather than simply assign more T-38Bs from Air Training Command, the USAF took the opportunity for an upgrade to a newer and more robust version. The T-37E was based on the A-37B and featured J-85-GE-17A engines and an airframe stressed to 6G instead of the T-37B's 5G. 40 were built.




The aircraft was unarmed and, sans armour and other combat equipment, was lighter and faster than the A-37B and routinely flown on aggressor missions without external fuel tanks. A CATM-9 Sidewinder acquisition round was carried during aggressor missions to simulate the Red's K-13 missile and during the second half of its career ECM simulator pods were also carried.





During their decades of service the T-37E was finished in a variety of camouflages inspired by adversary schemes. At Red Flag 1970-5 the 16 planes of the 527th AS wore 4 schemes (each being applied to four airframes) that were based on Red Maya and Musty types encountered over Africa:

Desert Lizard - brown bands against a pale sand background on upper surfaces with pale blue lower surfaces
Pale Gorky -  pale green patches over light tan background with light grey under surfaces
Nile Dark - wavy wrap-around dark brown and dark green bands separated by thin tan bands
Nile Tan - wavy wrap-around green and tan bands separated by thin medium grey bands (as seen here)

To better simulate Red schemes the aggressor planes not only wore Red stars but used many custom paint colors and shades that were not compliant with Federal Standard 595.



The T-37E remained in USAF service until the mid-1990s.

[sandiego89]

Great back story, well done.

[DogfighterZen]

Very cool camo!

[chrisonord]

I do have a fondness for the Cessna dragonfly 
Liking the paint scheme and the back story too

[zenrat]

Brilliant.