Immediately following World War II, the Department of Defense tapped into the expertise of the North American Aviation Company to develop the next generation, high-performance, advanced primary flight trainer to serve as a successor to the T-6 Texan, also built by North American Aviation. The result was the T-28 series of aircraft. The U.S. Navy was so impressed with the rugged Trojan that in 1952, the Navy contracted North American Aviation to build an improved version of the Trojan for Navy primary flight training. That improved version of the Trojan turned out to be the T-28B with a more powerful Wright Cyclone R1820 engine with 1425 horsepower and a three-bladed propeller.