However, we in the USAF unofficially adopted that name in lieu of any official USAF designation.

-Walt

There were essentially four models of the 172 purchases by the US military:

T-41A: 242 bought by USAF in 1964-70 (some were delivered to other countries under MAP). Delivered with 145 hp O-300-D engine

T-41B: 255 purchased by US Army in 1966-67 (some delivered to other countries under MAP). Its 210 hp IO-360D with constant speed prop makes it a snappy 172! Lots of other Army-specific mods that make it a very nice package and hardly a stock 172 of any kind (it’s official Cessna nomenclature is R172E).

T-41C: 52 purchased by USAF strictly for use at the USAF Academy at mile-high Falcon Field. Used the 210 hp IO-360-D with a fixed pitch prop (later mod included a barometric-sensing mixture control for those high-alt takeoffs).

T-41D: 317 delivered by foreign air forces, although only 218 had USAF s/n assigned.

While a USAF pilot in ATC in a prior life, I flew the A, B and C models (flying the B was a ferry mission for the Army). I also was one of the original cadre of five USAF IPs who set up the Flight Screening Program at Hondo, TX, in 1973. When I left Hondo in 1976, I was the Chief of Standardization/Evaluation for the program.

I am also the author of “Cessna Warbirds” and co-author of “T-41 Mescalero” .

-Walt

The Mescalero had a Skymaster engine in it? That’s 210 HP I think.

That think woould go vertical with a single person I bet.

That was Cessna’s off-the-shelf trainer for the Army, the T-41B, which was a more-or-less stock R172 Reims Rocket, a 172 powered by a Skymaster’s IO-360 Continental.

And if you stump everyone, you win a free subscription to Jetwhine too.

Now how’s that for a deal?

How about if one of you give me a couple of quiz questions or two that everyone can’t figure out with Google?

You know, the old fashioned way … it’s stored somewhere in your gray matter …!

PS I cheated and used google.

The Mescalero is (was) the military version of the trusty C-172.