Soko G - 2 Galeb The SOKO G - 2 Galeb ( ) is a single engine , two - seater advanced jet trainer and light ground - attack aircraft that was designed by ATI and manufactured by SOKO of Yugoslavia . G - 2 Galeb was the first jet aircraft serial manufactured in Yugoslavia and the Balkans . Design and development . The G - 2 Galeb was developed as a replacement for the Lockheed T - 33 Shooting Star , which had been the most commonly used jet trainer aircraft of the Yugoslav Air Force up until 1967 . Yugoslavia ' s VTI ( Aeronautical Technical Institute ) began design work on the airplane , named Galeb , in 1957 . The Galeb features a straight wing with tip tanks , Folland Type 1 - B lightweight ejector seats , sideways hinging canopy transparencies and under - wing hard points for light bombs and rockets . The first flight of the prototype , Galeb 1 , was performed by test pilot captain Ljubomir Zekavica on 3 July 1961 . Galeb 1 had three rubber tanks in the fuselage , while Galeb 2 had two fuselage tanks holding 230 gallons ( US ) and two wingtip tanks holding 51 gallons ( US ) each . Soon , after a full - size wooden mock - up , the second prototype Galeb 2 was built - establishing the G - 2 type designation . During flight tests , a maximum speed of 812 km / h ( 440 kt ) at 6 , 200 m ( 20 , 100 ft ) was achieved in clean configuration , with no paint and a polished airframe . Top diving speed was Mach 0 . 81 , obtained after a prolonged dive . Without a pressurized cabin the practical ceiling is between 7 , 000 ( 22 , 800 ft ) and 9 , 000 m ( 29 , 000 ft ) . A pressurized cabin would have increased costs by up to 15 % because all components needed to be imported . The Air Force needed a trainer with secondary combat ability that could operate from unprepared runways . Not familiar with such requirements , the designers provided for landing gear strong enough to make the aircraft suitable for landing on aircraft carriers . The need for a safe training aircraft that is forgiving on landings meant that the wheels retract into the wings instead of the fuselage , making for a heavier , straight wing , which is less likely to stall on landing , but precludes supersonic flight . It was flown primarily by the Air Academy of Yugoslavia . Production ceased in 1985 . Production began in 1964 , making it the first indigenous jet to enter mass production in Yugoslavia ( the first jet - powered plane built by Yugoslavia was the Ikarus 451M in 1952 , which did not enter production ) . After the Soko 522 , it was the second aircraft built at SOKO . The first production series G - 2A was entered in the aircraft register of the Yugoslav Air Force on 30 July 1965 , and the last one on 6 January 1981 . The G - 2A was known in Yugoslav military under the N - 60 designation . Production of updated aircraft for export to Libya was extended until mid - 1983 . Soko produced a total of 248 Galeb aircraft , 132 of which were used by the Yugoslav Air Force . Operational history . Powered by a license - built Rolls Royce Viper Mk 22 - 6 turbojet , the G2 - A was the standard version for the Yugoslav Air Force . They were used primarily for school - combat training of VVA ( Military Air Force Academy ) cadets , so that the largest number of these aircraft was located in the VVA units . The aircraft was very easy and forgiving in flight , with easy maintenance , so students and technicians loved it . They regularly achieved 5 , 000 hours in the air ( the G - 2 Galeb in the Yugoslav Aeronautical Museum had 6 , 200 hours in its logbook ) . A G2 - AE export variant became available from late 1974 and was built for Libya and Zambia . Balkans . The G - 2A was used extensively by the 105th Fighter - Bomber Regiment of the Yugoslav Air Force , in combat over Bosnia - Herzegovina . First Congo War . According to some reports , France and Yugoslavia supported Mobutu ' s government during the First Congo War . Namely , Yugoslavia agreed to deliver three J - 21 and one G - 2 aircraft , as well as four MiG - 21 PFMs , while three Mi - 24 s were purchased from Ukraine . All these aircraft were based at Gbadolite and flown mainly by Serbian mercenaries . With few exceptions it remains unknown exactly what happened with each of these aircraft and how were they used after their arrival in Zaire , in late 1996 - 1997 . In the case of Mi - 24s it is known that one hit a power line and crashed on 27 March 1997 , killing the three crewmen and four passengers . The fate of at least one J - 21 Jastreb was not much better : one of the Serbian mercenaries , called Ratko Turčinović , was killed while flying an ultra - low - level pass over Gbadolite and clipping a lamp post with his wing . The wreckage of his aircraft fell directly into a column of young soldiers on a parade , killing dozens of them . Turčinović apparently fell victim to a massive alcohol problem . After this event , the Serbs were expelled and the Jastrebs and Galebs were abandoned along with the MiG - 21s and two Mi - 24s which were meant to be put together by group of Russian or Ukrainian technicians at Gbadolite but the assembly work was never completed . Libya . Colonel Gaddafi ' s forces used the type to attack rebel forces during the 2011 Libyan civil war . One was destroyed after landing on 24 March 2011 by a French Dassault Rafale after violating the No - Fly - Zone over Misrata . Another five together with 2 Mi - 35 helicopters were reported destroyed by the French Air Force in the same area the following day , but satellite images showed that the five fixed wing aircraft were MiG - 23s . Popular warbird . Before the Yugoslav Wars , at least a dozen Galebs were purchased by American warbird dealers , and several are still on the civil register today . Other operators are located in Indonesia , Serbia , New Zealand , Slovenia and the United States . Operators . Libya United States