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The Beechcraft L-23 Seminole (later designated U-8) was the United States Armed Forces designation for the Beechcraft Twin Bonanza and Queen Air aircraft in its inventory.

Design and development

In 1951 the United States Army evaluated a Model 50 Twin Bonanza at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and subsequently ordered four off-the-shelf Model 50s as YL-23s, these being delivered in early 1952. In 1958 the Army also ordered 11 RL-23Ds with further examples being converted from L-23Ds. These aircraft featured belly-mounted radar, either AN/APS-85 in a large pod or AN/APQ-86 in a long narrow pod mounted on brackets with a modified nose as well.

Also in 1958 Beechcraft began to develop a variant with a larger cabin at the request of the US Army. The L-23F that emerged had the same wings and tail but up to ten people could now fit in the longer, wider and higher cabin compared to only five in earlier L-23s.

;L-23A

:55 delivered to the US Army, many subsequently converted to L-23D standard.

;XL-23C

:One aircraft based C50 for evaluation by the US Air Force.

;L-23D

:100 delivered new to the US Army plus 93 L-23As and Bs rebuilt to L-23D standard.

;L-23E

:Six delivered to the United States Army.

;U-8D

:L-23D redesignated in 1962.

;RU-8D

:RL-23D redesignated in 1962, plus 15 U-8Ds converted after 1962. and one Queen Air purchased second-hand in 1966. In addition, one U-8F was delivered to the Pakistan Army instead of the US Army

;NU-8F

:US military designation assigned to a modified commercial Queen Air converted as the prototype Model 65-90 King Air, and fitted with two 500 shp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-6 turboprop engines. The aircraft was evaluated by the US Army in 1964.

;U-8G

:XL-23C, seven U-8Ds and four U-8Es modified with more powerful engines and enlarged cabin for six passengers.

  • 58-1358 – RU-8D on static display at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, Kansas.
  • 58-3051 – U-8D on static display at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum at Joint Base Langley–Eustis near Newport News, Virginia.
  • 59-4991 – RU-8D on static display at the National Vigilance Park at Fort Meade, Maryland. This airframe was previously on display at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
  • 62-3838 – U-8F on static display at the Kansas Aviation Museum in Wichita, Kansas.

Specifications (L-23D)

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

  • Harding, Stephen. U.S. Army Aircraft Since 1947: An Illustrated Directory. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1990. .
  • Harding, Stephen. U.S. Army Aircraft Since 1947: An Illustrated Reference. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1997. .
  • Pelletier, A. J. Beech Aircraft and their Predecessors. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1995. .
  • Swanborough, F. G. and Bowers, Peter M. United States Military Aircraft since 1909. London: Putnam, 1963.
  • "'Lonely Ringer' on display at Combat Air Museum"