Northrop YC-125 Raider

YC-125 Raider
	The aircraft on display in the National Museum of the USAF. Painted to represent the YC-125B used for cold weather tests, Wright-Patterson AFB, 1950.
Role	Transport aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Northrop Corporation
First flight	1 August 1949
Introduction	1950
Retired	1955
Primary user	United States Air Force
Produced	1949-1950
Number built	23

The Northrop YC-125 Raider was a 1940s American three-engined STOL utility transport built by Northrop Corporation, Hawthorne, California.

Design and development

Northrop's first postwar civil design was a three-engined STOL passenger and cargo transport named the Northrop N-23 Pioneer. The Pioneer could carry 36 passengers or five tons of cargo and first flew on 21 December 1946. The aircraft had good performance, but there was little interest due to the availability of cheap war surplus aircraft. The Pioneer was lost in a fatal crash on 19 February 1948 when it lost a new tailfin design in flight.^[1] In 1948, the United States Air Force expressed interest in an aircraft of the same configuration and placed an order with Northrop for 23 aircraft, 13 troop transports designated the C-125A Raider and 10 for Arctic rescue work designated the C-125B. With the company designation N-32 Raider the first aircraft flew on 1 August 1949.

The aircraft was powered by three 1,200 hp (890 kW) Wright R-1820-99 Cyclone radial engines. The aircraft could also be fitted with JATO rockets that enabled it to take off in less than 500 feet (150 m). The 13 troop transporters were designated YC-125A in-service and the Arctic rescue version the YC-125B.

The Canadian company Canadair considered building the N-23 under licence but did not proceed.

Operational history

Deliveries of the YC-125 to the USAF began in 1950. These aircraft did not serve long as they were underpowered and they were soon sent to Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas and relegated to be ground instructional trainers until retired in 1955 and declared surplus.

Most of the surplus aircraft were purchased by Frank Ambrose and sold to bush operators in South and Central America.^[2]

Variants

N-23 Pioneer: Prototype three-engined STOL transport, one built.
N-32 Raider: Company designation of military version of the N-23.
YC-125A Raider: N-32 with seats for thirty troops, 13 built (serials 48-628/640).
YC-125B Raider: Arctic rescue version of the N-32 with twenty stretchers and provision for a ski undercarriage. Ten built (serials 48-618/627).
CL-3: Proposed Canadair licensed produced variant from 1949, with 3 x Canadian Pratt & Whitney R-1820 engines. Was redesignated CL-12 in the same year. Project was dropped sometime around early 1950.^{[citation needed]}

Survivors

YC-125A (XB-GEY, former 48-636) is on display at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona^{[citation needed]}
YC-125B (Serial 48-626, painted as 48-622) is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio^{[citation needed]}

Operators

United States: United States Air Force

Specifications (YC-125B)

Data from National Museum of the US Air Force YC-125B Factsheet^[3]

General characteristics

Crew: four

Performance

References

Notes

^ Associated Press, "Test Pilot Dies; Crew Bails Out", San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Friday 20 February 1948, Volume LIV, Number 149, page 1.
^ "Northrop YC-125 Raider." Pima Air and Space Museum. Retrieved: 12 September 2012.
^ "Factsheets: Northrop YC-125B Raider." Museum of the United States Air Force. Retrieved: 16 July 2017.

Bibliography

Andrade, John M. U.S Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Leicestershire, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979. ISBN 0-904597-22-9.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1986.

External links

[1] Associated Press, "Test Pilot Dies; Crew Bails Out", San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Friday 20 February 1948, Volume LIV, Number 149, page 1.

[2] "Northrop YC-125 Raider." Pima Air and Space Museum. Retrieved: 12 September 2012.

[3] "Factsheets: Northrop YC-125B Raider." Museum of the United States Air Force. Retrieved: 16 July 2017.

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v t e United States military transport aircraft designations, Army/Air Force and Tri-Service systems
Army/Air Force sequence (1925–1962)	C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-6 C-7 C-8 C-9 C-10 C-11 C-12 C-13¹ C-14 C-15 C-16 C-17 C-18 C-19 C-20 C-21 C-22 C-23 C-24 C-25 C-26 C-27 C-28 C-29 C-30 C-31 C-32 C-33 C-34 C-35 C-36 C-37 C-38 C-39 C-40 C-41 C-41A C-42 C-43 C-44 C-45 C-46 C-47 C-47F C-47T AC-47 C-48 C-49 C-50 C-51 C-52 C-53 C-54 C-55 C-56 C-57 C-58 C-59 C-60 C-61 C-62 C-63 C-64 C-65 C-66 C-67 C-68 C-69 C-70 C-70B C-71 C-72 C-73 C-74 C-75 C-76 C-77 C-77B–D C-78 C-79 C-80 C-81 C-82 C-83 C-83A C-83B C-84 C-85 C-86 C-87 C-88 C-89 C-90 C-91 C-92 C-93 C-94 C-95 C-96 C-97 KC-97 C-98 C-99 C-100 C-101 C-102 C-103 C-104 C-105 C-106 C-107 C-108 C-109 C-110 C-111 C-112 C-113 C-114 C-115 C-116 C-117 C-117D C-118 C-119 AC-119 C-120 C-121 C-121F EC-121 C-122 C-123 C-123A C-124 C-125 C-126 C-127² C-127 (I) C-127 (II) C-128 C-129 C-130 C-130J AC-130 DC-130 EC-130/H HC-130 KC-130 LC-130 MC-130 WC-130 C-131 NC-131H C-132 C-133 C-134 C-135 KC-135 C-136 C-137² YC-137 (I) YC-137 (II) C-137 C-138¹ C-139¹ C-140 C-141 C-142
Tri-service sequence (1962–present)	C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-6 C-7² C-7 RC-7 C-8 C-9 C-10² C-10 KC-10 C-11 C-12 RC-12 C-13¹ C-14 C-15 C-16¹ C-17 C-18 C-19 C-20² C-20A–D C-20F–J C-21 C-22 C-23 C-24 C-25 C-26 C-27 C-27J C-28 C-29 C-30¹ C-31 C-32 C-33 C-34¹ C-35 C-36³ C-37 C-37B C-38 C-39¹ C-40 C-41 C-42¹ C-43¹ C-44¹ C-45 C-46
Revived original sequence (2005–present)	C-143 C-144 C-145 C-146 C-147
Non-sequential designations	C-767 C-880
Related designations	CT-39 CT-43 CV-2 CV-7
¹ Not assigned • ² Assigned to multiple types • ³ Unconfirmed