T-33 Shooting Star History
Lockheed Aircraft developed their first jet fighter, the P-80, around the British Halford H.1B turbojet at the end of WWII. It initially flew in January 1944 but was redesigned to use the General Electric I-40 engine with 4000 lbs of thrust. The type began to enter service in early 1945 but never really entered combat. After the war, 1,720 total F-80 (changed from P-80 after the war) aircraft were produced and many saw combat in the Korean war.
Far more successful was the T-33A which was a lengthened two place version of the F-80. Lockheed produced 5,691 T-33s which have served more than 30 air forces. In addition, Kawasaki of Japan built 210 and Canadair built 656 under license. A considerable number of the aircraft are still in service today, 57 years after the first type entered service.
As we gather specific history information about our aircraft, we will update this site.
T-33 Shooting Star Specifications
Wingspan
37 ft. 6 in
Length
37 ft. 8 in
Height
11 ft. 7 in
Maximum weight
15,000 lbs
Two: trainee and instructor pilot
Maximum speed
525 mph
Cruising speed
455 mph
Range
1,000 miles
Service Ceiling
45,000 ft
One Allison J-33 of 5,400 lbs. thrust
Two .50-cal. machine guns in nose
Seth Dempsey