The US Coast Guard extended their relationship with Gulfstream by purchasing a brand new Gulfstream II to fill their VIP needs. The Bethpage built airframe (c/n 23) was delivered in April 1969 and served with them until 1995. The VC-11A as it was known in USCG service was the first aircraft to carry the famous USCG 01 serial. Only one other Gulfstream II saw US Military service and that was c/n 45, and this was used by the US Army. it was initially designated a VC-II but was later re-designated a C-20J. A handful of civilian registered Gulfstream IIs still operate in the United States with heavy external modifications, these are operated by various divisions of the United States Air Force.
Although the Gulfstream II was widely used by Governments around the globe only a handful of military operators made use of the type, these being Venezuela, Mexico, Denmark and Oman. Probably the one that isn't very well known about is c/n 62. The Russian Air Force had Black 62 on strength for a number of years during the late 90's before selling it back on to the US civil market, very little can be found about it's flying career in Russia if indeed it actually had one.
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| Photo by : Eric Bannwarth |
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