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Soko Galeb G-2 Yugoslav aircraft

The Soko G-2 Galeb (English: Seagull) is a Yugoslav single engine, two-seater jet trainer and light ground-attack aircraft. The G-2 was developed during the 1950s by the Aeronautical Technical Institute at Žarkovo as a replacement for the Lockheed T-33 in service with the Yugoslav Air Force (Serbo-Croatian: Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazdušna odbrana – RV i PVO). Production started in 1965 at the Soko aircraft factory in Mostar, and ended in 1985 with 248 aircraft delivered. The G-2 had the distinction of being the first mass-produced jet aircraft in socialist Yugoslavia. It also served as a basis for the single-seat ground-attack J-21 Jastreb.

 

The second largest operator of the Galeb was Libya, which acquired over 100 aircraft during the 1970s. A small number were also acquired by Zaire, Zambia and Indonesia. During the breakup of Yugoslavia, the Galebs were used for ground attack sorties throughout Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. By 1992, RV i PVO G-2s relocated to Serbia and Montenegro where they operated with the Air Force of the new FR Yugoslavia. The aircraft remained in service until 1999 when the majority of them were destroyed on ground during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.

 

Libyan G-2s were used during the Libyan Civil War by Gaddafi forces, with an unknown number surviving the war and being reported in service as late as 2013. A single aircraft remains in service with the Technical Test Center of the Serbian Armed Forces. A number of aircraft are still flown by civilians as warbirds, including the private aerobatic team "Stars" from Novi Sad.

This typicall model on the picture have 6 thousand flight hours which is amazing for this type of aircraft. His fabric number is 8.

I took this picture in Aeronautical Museum in Belgrade.

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Uploaded on April 19, 2017
Taken on March 18, 2017