Military Aircraft That Can Be Purchased By Civilians (Part 6)

Well, ladies and gentleman who are deeply influenced by the military aircraft, this is the last of our list that we could gather on the military aircraft that can be purchased by civilians.

At the current moment, we came up with the 6th list of the military

aircraft that were once renowned throughout the globe for their uniqueness and were then retired by their respective militaries and countries and were put up for sale. We are not saying that this is all there is to it. New and new models are emerging these days with the older ones being left to collect dust and would soon be available for purchase by the civilians. But, at this time, there are only these final few military aircraft for purchase and sale by civilians.

So get ready to have one last flight with us on this list of military aircraft that can be purchased by civilians (part 6).

North American T-6 Texan

The first up on the list this time is the North American T-6 Texan which was a 2-seat advanced trainer aircraft and as flown by the majority of the Allied pilots during the World War II. Nearly each of the World War II pilot learned a thing or a two about the North American T-6 Texan and about flying a military fighter plane.

The aircraft was called by Navy as the SNJ while it was called Harvard by the British Royal Air Force. The aircraft over its period of 25 years of service in the military, trained nearly tens of thousands of pilots from 35 of the world countries. Nearly 15495 of these North American T-6 Texans were manufactured. The aircraft not only saw extensive combat action in the sortie of World War II but also in the Korean War.

While it was quite popular in its time, it nowadays can be purchased by a civilian for a sum of little shy of 200,000 dollars.

Grumann G-21 Goose

The Grumann G-21 Goose took its first flight back in 1937 and was the first of the Grumann company in many aspects for their now along range of aircraft. It was the company’s first ever single seat, single wing, and twin-engine aircraft and was sued as commercial airliner at first.

The aircraft with its ability to land both on water and land was caught in the eye of the military and served for nearly a decade in a variety of their missions.

After being retired from the military, the aircraft was then remodeled to be an “Air Yacht” for the rich businessmen of New York in order for them to have a luxurious sky commute from Long Island to Manhattan.

North American B-25 “Mitchell”

The North American B-25 “Mitchell” was named after Brigadier General William “Billy” Mitchell to be a twin-engine bomber aircraft. However, with the passage of time in its service, it proved to be more than a bomber. Many roles that this aircraft served are as follows.

high-level and low-level bomber
submarine patrol
photo reconnaissance aircraft,
fighter aircraft

During the time span in between 1939 to 1945, the North American Aviation company manufactured nearly 10000 of these B-25s and the first of them flew back in August of 1940. The first five of these B-25 Mitchells were acquired by the US Army Air Corps back in February of 1941 and that was the deal that kick-started its mass production. Nearly 9816 of these B-25 Mitchells were manufactured from the North American Aviation’s two plants located in California and Kansas City.

A single fully operational B-25 Mitchell known as Panchito was sold to a civilian buyer for a sum of 1.4 million dollars.

Canadair CF-5 Freedom Fighter

When the Canadair CF-5 Freedom Fighter made its presence known in the skies, it was a remarkable breakthrough in the air combat technologies back in the 1960s. The aircraft was unable to be detected from a long range with its ultra-low radar cross-section. At that time, with this capability, the Canadair CF-5 Freedom Fighter was the world’s first ever closest thing to a stealth fighter jet.

The aircraft which was known to be a pocket fighter was designed to be a fast and highly maneuverable dogfighter. The aircraft had combined high-end technologies for avionics at cheap price which were present in the fighters like F-4 Phantom and Russia’s MiG-29.

The most recent auction of the Canadair CF-5 Freedom Fighter allowed a civilian to purchase it but the actual sum of the auction was never disclosed.

Mitsubishi A6M “Zero” Reisen

The Mitsubishi A6M “Zero” Reisen was the proud jewel of the Japanese Air force and was known as the Japanese Zero Fighter. It saw extensive action for the Japanese side during World War II.

This Mitsubishi A6M “Zero” Reisen was designed and manufactured by the Mitsubishi and Nakajima combined. These two companies in their partnership went on to manufacture nearly 10000 of these Mitsubishi A6M “Zero” Reisens from years in between 1939 to 1937 until it was finally released by the Mitsubishi A5M carrier fighter aircraft. After entering the service, they had a huge number of confirmed kills after they entered World War II sorties back in 1940.

Although they are up for sale to civilians, the current price still remains under wraps.

Short Tucano Trainer

The Short Tucano Trainer is a two-seat turboprop basic trainer aircraft which was designed by the Short Brothers who resided in Northern Ireland. The Irish Royal Air Force was its primary operator but was also exported in small numbers to countries like Kuwait and Kenya.

The aircraft took its first flight back in 1986 and was available for the service of Royal Air Force back in 1988.

The aircraft is responsible for providing the trainee pilots with their basic jet flying training at the RAF and RN. After flying nearly 130 hours on the Short Tucano Trainer, students then move on to learn at the Hawk T2 aircraft trainer.