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Northrop YC-125 Raider

American utility transport aircraft

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YC-125 Raider
Role	Transport aircraft Type of 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[edit]

Northrop's first postwar civil design was a three-engined STOL passenger and cargo transport named the Northrop N-23 Pioneer, which was intended to replace the Ford Trimotors of the Central American airline Transportes Aéreos Centro Americanos (TACA). The Pioneer could carry 36 passengers or cargo, with a cargo door and a "chin" hatch allowing the loading of 36 ft (11 m) lengths of pipes or timber into the aircraft's cabin. It first flew on 21 December 1946. The aircraft had good performance, resulting in an order of 40 aircraft from TACA, but political manoeuvring from Pan-Am after the shipping company Waterman Steamship Corporation purchased a major stake in TACA led to TACA losing rights to operate to or from the United States, which in turn caused TACA to cancel its order for the Pioneer. Despite extensive sales tours, no further orders were obtained.^[1] The Pioneer was lost in a fatal crash on 19 February 1948 when it lost a new tailfin design in flight.^[2]

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[edit]

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.^[3]

Variants[edit]

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.

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]}

N-74

Another proposed Canadair variant. Improvements including the replacement of the three engines with two Allison T56 turboprops were studied. Project abandoned in the early 1950s.^[4]

Operators[edit]

•  United States: United States Air Force

Surviving aircraft[edit]

• 48-626 – YC-125B in storage at the National Museum of the United States Air ForceinDayton, Ohio.^[5]
• 48-636 – YC-125A on static display at the Pima Air and Space MuseuminTucson, Arizona.^[6]

Specifications (YC-125B)[edit]

Data from National Museum of the US Air Force YC-125B Factsheet^[7] & American Military Transport Aircraft Since 1925^[8]

General characteristics

• Crew:4
• Capacity: 36 troops or 10,000 lb (4.54 t) cargo
• Length: 67 ft 1 in (20.45 m)
• Wingspan: 86 ft 6 in (26.37 m)
• Height: 23 ft 1 in (7.04 m)
• Max takeoff weight: 41,900 lb (19,006 kg)
• Powerplant: 3 × Wright R-1820-99 Cyclone 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 1,200 hp (890 kW) each
• Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed propellers

Performance

• Maximum speed: 207 mph (333 km/h, 180 kn)
• Cruise speed: 171 mph (275 km/h, 149 kn)
• Range: 1,856 mi (2,987 km, 1,613 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 12,200 ft (3,700 m)

See also[edit]

Related lists

• List of military aircraft of the United States

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• Andrade, John M. U.S Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Leicestershire, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979. ISBN 0-904597-22-9.
• Johnson, E. R. (2013). American Military Transport Aircraft Since 1925. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6269-8.
• Stern, Dave (December 2004). "Northrop's Rugged Raider". Aeroplane. Vol. 32, no. 12. pp. 40–43. ISSN 0143-7240.
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1986.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Northrop YC-125 Raider.

• 'Pioneer' for Frontier Flying – Popular Science