Soko G-2

Infobox Aircraft
name = G-2 "Galeb"
type = Ground-attack and reconnaissance
manufacturer = SOKO

---

caption = Soko G-2 Galeb
designer =
first flight = May 1961
introduced =
retired =
status =
primary user = SFR Yugoslav Air Force
more users = Libyan Air Force
produced = 1964-1985
number built =
unit cost =
variants with their own articles = J-21 Jastreb

The SOKO G-2 "Galeb" (Serbian, Croatian "Sea Gull") is a two-seat, single engine, advanced trainer, counter-insurgency, ground-attack and reconnaissance aircraft developed in Yugoslavia.

Design

Yugoslavia's VTI (Aeronautical Technical Institute) began design work on the airplane, named Galeb, in 1957. The first flight was in May 1961. Soon, after one full-size wooden mockup, a second prototype Galeb 2 was built - establishing the G-2 type designation.

Galeb 1 had three rubber tanks in the fuselage, while Galeb 2 had two fuselage tanks holding 230 gallons (US) and two wingtip tanks holding 51 gallons (US) each.

The Galeb features a straight wing with tip tanks, Folland Type 1-B lightweight ejector seats, sideways hinging canopy transparencies and under-wing hard points for light bombs and rockets. Powered by a license-built Rolls Royce Viper Mk 22-6 turbojet, the G2-A was the standard version for the Yugoslav Air Force. A G2-AE export variant became available from late 1974 and was built for Libya and Zambia.

The aircraft was very easy and forgiving in flight, with easy maintenance, so students and technicians loved it. They regularly achieved 5,000 hours in the air (the AF Museum G-2 had 6,200 hours in its logbook).

Production began in 1964, making it the first indigenous jet to enter mass production in Yugoslavia (the first jet-powered plane built by Yugoslavia was the Ikarus 451M in 1952 but it did not enter production). After the Soko 522 it was the second aircraft built at SOKO, Mostar.

Flight tests

A maximum speed of 812 km/h (440 kt) at 6,200 m (20,100 ft) was achieved using clean wing (no tip-tanks), with no paint and with polished airframe. Top diving speed was Mach 0.81, although after prolonged dive.

Without a pressurized cabin the practical ceiling is 9,000 m (29,000 ft), or 7,000 (22,800 ft) in a shorter period. The pressurized cabin would increase costs by up to 15% because all devices would need to be imported. The Air Force needed a trainer with secondary combat ability that could be used from grass runways. As an interesting note, the designers did not have any idea of the technical parameters for landing on grass runways and so the landing gear was designed for landing on aircraft carriers.

The wheels retract into the wings. This configuration suggests it was never intended to be used as anything other than a trainer. Its straight wing shows it was a subsonic aircraft. Retracting the wheels into the wing instead of the fuselage makes for a heavier wing, but it is more forgiving on landings, and the straight wing, which precludes supersonic flight, is less likely to stall on landing, making this a safer training aircraft. It was flown primarily by the Air Academy of Yugoslavia. Production ceased in 1985.

Variants

* G-2A Galeb (Seagull) : Two-seat basic / advanced jet trainer, light attack aircraft.
* G-2A-E : Two-seat export version for Libya and Zambia.
* G-3 Galeb 3 : Prototype.
* G-2š : Unarmed trainer version G-2A.

Operators

Current Operators

;LBY:
*Libyan Air Force - 116;SRB:
*Technical Test Center operates one G-2 aircraft.

Former Operators

;YUG:
*SFR Yugoslav Air Force - passed on to Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Republika Srpska and Republic of Serbian Krajina.

;flagicon|FR YugoslaviaFederal Republic of Yugoslavia:
*Air Force of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia - After 1995, 12 Galebs were transferred from Republika Srpska to FRY. They were all destroyed at Podgorica airbase during the 1999.

;HRV:
*Croatian Air Force - 1 G-2 captured from Krajina Air Force.

pecifications (G-2A)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=jet
ref=
crew=1 or 2
capacity=
payload main= 300 kg
payload alt= 661 lb
length main= 10.34 m
length alt= 33 ft 11 in
span main= 10.47 m / 11.62 m with wingtip tanks
span alt= 34 ft 4½ in / 38 ft 1½ in
height main= 3.28 m
height alt= 10 ft 9 in
area main= 19.43 m²
area alt= 209.1 ft²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 2,620 kg
empty weight alt= 5,775 lb
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=
* Internal fuel load: 780 kg (1,720 lb)
* External fuel load: Up to 340 kg (750 lb) in two wing-tip drop tanks
engine (jet)=DMB (license-built Rolls Royce/Bristol Siddeley) Viper ASV.11 Mk 22-6
type of jet=turbojet
number of jets=1
thrust main= 11.12 kN
thrust alt= 2,500 lbf
thrust original=
afterburning thrust main=
afterburning thrust alt=
max speed main= 439 kt at 6,200 m
max speed alt= 812 km/h / 505 mph at 20,340 ft
cruise speed main= 393 kt at 6,000 m
cruise speed alt=730 km/h / 453 mph at 19,685 ft
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main= 670 nm with tip tanks
range alt=1,242 km / 772 mi
ceiling main= 12,000 m
ceiling alt= 39,400 ft
climb rate main= 1,370 m/min
climb rate alt= 4,490 ft/min
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=
* Endurance: 2 hours 30 minutes
* Acceleration limits: -4 to +8 "g" (-40 to +80 m/s²)
armament=
* 2 × 12.7 mm (.50 cal) Colt-Browning M3 machine-guns in nose (80 rounds per gun)
* 4 × 57 mm rockets
* 4 × 115 kg (250 lb) bombs or 2 × 225 kg (500 lb) bombs
avionics=
* Targeting: Ferranti ISIS D-126R gyro sight

ee also

aircontent
related=
* J-21 Jastreb

similar aircraft=
* Aero L-29 Delfin
* Jet Provost
* Fouga Magister
* Aermacchi MB-326
* PZL TS-11 Iskra
* Hispano HA-200

sequence=G-2 Galeb -
G-4 Super Galeb

lists=
see also=
* Ikarus 452
* Yugoslav People's Army

External links

* [http://www.warbirdalley.com/galeb.htm Warbird Alley: Galeb page]