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Description
Following the Grumman VC-1's introduction, it was quickly apparent that there were a few issues.
1) No bathroom
2) No countermeasures
3) No easy escape (added to the VC-1B in 1968)
4) SLOW AS HELL
To combat this, the Navy requested a jet counterpart that could satisfy all of the criteria. The contenders included Rockwell with their Jet Commander, Grumman with the C-2 Greyhound, and Lockheed with a VC-140 Jetstar mod. The Jet Commander lost due to its inability to launch from the catapult, the Jetstar was too tall/underpowered/uselessly long, leaving the VC-2 candidate. However, North American offered a late entry based off of the Sabreliner.

The VC-39D was powered by three J-60 turbojets (note the intake on the top), had a forked H-tail for easy storage, folding wings, an aerial refueling probe, and (most important) furnished restroom. The Navy was more than impressed and awarded a contract for 6. 16 have existed, with 2 being sold later to Argentina.

In 1977, a VC-39D crashed during a maintenance pattern due to structural failure. The fleet was temporarily grounded, revived only for non-POTUS/VPOTUS/heads-of-state cruises.

The VC-39 would be replaced by the Learjet.

Description
Following the Grumman VC-1's introduction, it was quickly apparent that there were a few issues.
1) No bathroom
2) No countermeasures
3) No easy escape (added to the VC-1B in 1968)
4) SLOW AS HELL
To combat this, the Navy requested a jet counterpart that could satisfy all of the criteria. The contenders included Rockwell with their Jet Commander, Grumman with the C-2 Greyhound, and Lockheed with a VC-140 Jetstar mod. The Jet Commander lost due to its inability to launch from the catapult, the Jetstar was too tall/underpowered/uselessly long, leaving the VC-2 candidate. However, North American offered a late entry based off of the Sabreliner.

The VC-39D was powered by three J-60 turbojets (note the intake on the top), had a forked H-tail for easy storage, folding wings, an aerial refueling probe, and (most important) furnished restroom. The Navy was more than impressed and awarded a contract for 6. 16 have existed, with 2 being sold later to Argentina.

In 1977, a VC-39D crashed during a maintenance pattern due to structural failure. The fleet was temporarily grounded, revived only for non-POTUS/VPOTUS/heads-of-state cruises.

The VC-39 would be replaced by the Learjet.