Warplanes of the USA: Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star

Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star

(USAF Photo)

Lockheed F-80C-10-LO Shooting Star (Serial No. 49-853) armed with napalm bombs takes off on 1 February 1951 from a Korean airfield.

The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star is the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during the Second World War. Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of design, two pre-production models saw limited service in Italy just before the end of the Second World War. Designed with straight wings, the type saw extensive combat in Korea with the USAF as the F-80.America's first successful turbojet-powered combat aircraft, it was soon outclassed with the appearance of the swept-wing transonic MiG-15 and was quickly replaced in the air superiority role by the transonic F-86 Sabre. The F-94 Starfire, an all-weather interceptor using the same airframe, also saw Korean War service. The closely related T-33 Shooting Star trainer remained in service with the U.S. Air Force and Navy well into the 1980s, with the last NT-33 variant not retired until April 1997. (Wikipedia)

(Maj. Gen. S.F.H. Newman, USAF Photo)

A U.S. Air Force Lockheed RF-80A-5-LO Shooting Star (Serial No. 44-85467) from the 45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing in Korea. The squadron was based at Taegu in 1950-51 and at Kimpo for the remainder of the war. A few RF-80s received an experimental olive drab paint job to be less visible to MiG fighters.

(NMUSAF Photo)

U.S. Air Force Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star fighter-bombers from the 8th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 49th Fighter-Bomber Group, during the Korean War, in 1950-51. The aircraft are equipped with "Misawa' long range tanks.

(USAF Photo)

USAF Fighter School Acrojets demonstration team - 1950. Identified aircraft are Lockheed F-80C-10-LO Shooting Stars, 49-481, 49-508, 49-510, 49-511. 49-481 had been assigned to the 1st Fighter Group. The remainder were among the handful of F-80C-10s that did not see service in the Korean War.

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(USAF Photo)

Lockheed RF-80A-5-LO Shooting Star (Serial No. 45-8310), 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Shaw AFB, 1950.

(Bill Larkins Photo)

Lockheed F-80C (Serial No. 49-507), Acrojets, Stockton, California, 1949.

(USAF Photo)

U.S. Air Force Lockheed P-80A-1-LO Shooting Star (Serial No. 44-85004). This aircraft was later upgraded to an F-80C-11-LO.

(Bill Larkins Photo)

Lockheed P-80A-1-LO Shooting Star (Serial No. 44-85043), coded FT-043, 334th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group, at Hamilton Field, probably 1948. In July 1948, 16 P-80A Shooting Star (since 11 June 1948 new designation F-80A) of the 56th Fighter Group were transferred by air to Fürstenfeldbruck "Fursty" (Bavaria, Germany) for a maximum of 45 days. The aircraft came from the three squadrons 61st, 62nd and 63rd FS(J), whereby the serials s/n 44-85033 and 44-85041, among others, are documented for Fürstenfeldbruck. The P/F-80A (s/n 44-85043) of the 4th Fighter Group recorded at Hamilton Field in 1948 and the above-mentioned F-80A of the 56th FG came from the first large production block of 501 P-80A-1-LOs from 1945 and 1946. It is very likely that the F-80A of the 56th FG also flew to Giebelstadt and Kitzingen AB on training flights in July and August 1948. The redeployment of the F-80A contingent of the 56th Fighter Group is said to have begun on 14 August 1948 from Fursty, after the first F-80Bs of the 36th Fighter Group had arrived at Fursty by air from RAF Station Renfrew/Scotland.

(USAF Photo)

Lockheed F-80A (Serial No. 44-85456), 35th Fighter Squadron, Itazuke Air Base, 1950.

(USAF Photo)

Lockheed P-80B-1-LO Shooting Star (Serial No. 45-8634), 22d Fighter Squadron, 36th Fighter Group, Fürstenfeldbruck AB, Germany.

(Bill Larkins Photo)

Lockheed F-80C (Serial No. 47-545), Las Vegas AAF, 26 March 1950.

(Bill Larkins Photo)

Lockheed F-80C (Serial No. 47-576),  Las Vegas AAF, 26 March 1950.

(USAF Photo)

Lockheed F-80C-10-LO Shooting Star (Serial No. 49-435), in Korea. 35th Fighter Interceptor Wing, which flew the F-80C in Korea in 1950/51.

(Bill Larkins Photo)

Lockheed F-80, Oakland, California

(USAF Photo)

Lockheed F-80C-1-LO Shooting Star (Serial No. 48-891), 132d Fighter Squadron, Maine ANG, 1950.

(USAF Photo)

A U.S. Air Force Lockheed F-80B-1-LO Shooting Star (Serial No. 45-8709) from the 187th Fighter Squadron, 153rd Fighter Group, Wyoming Air National Guard. The 153rd FG flew the F-80 from 1953 to 1957.

(Bill Larkins Photo)

Lockheed F-80C Florida ANG, Las Vegas AFB, 26 March 1950.

(USAAF Photo)

The first prototype (44-83020) was nicknamed Lulu-Belle (also known as "the Green Hornet" because of its paint scheme). Powered by the replacement Halford H1 taken from the prototype de Havilland Vampire jet fighter, it first flew on 8 January 1944, with Lockheed test pilot Milo Burcham at the controls.

(USAAF Photo)

Production Lockheed P-80 Shooting Stars at Langley Air Force Base, with (Serial No. 58496), coded PN-496 in the foreground.

(Bill Larkins Photo)

Lockheed FP-80A, 1947 Bendix Jet Race winner at Hamilton Field in March 1950.

(Bill Larkins Photos)

Lockheed P-80A Houston Hurricane, Hamilton Field, 22 July 1946.

(Bill Larkins Photo)

Lockheed TF-80A, Hamilton Field, March 1950.

(USAAF Photo)

Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star (Serial No. 44-85155), coded PN-155, 38th FS(SE), 55th FG at Giebelstadt, south of Würzburg, Germany.

(USAF Photo)

Late model P-80C, one of 799 completed for USAF. It is shown in typical light gray finish, utilized to better seal all skin joints, but later deleted, as it was difficult to maintain. Wing tip tanks held 165 gallons each.

(USN Photo)

A U.S. Navy Lockheed TO-1 (later redesignated TV-1) (BuNo. 33869) in flight near the Naval Air Test Center Patuxent River, Maryland. The TO-1 was a U.S. Air Force F-80C Shooting Star jet fighter acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1948 for advanced jet training. Some equipped Marine Fighter Squadron 311 (VMF-311) late in 1948. This TO-1 is assigned to NATC. It wears the standard USAF polished-metal finish and a red warning stripe around the fuselage abaft the wing to indicate the location of the jet engine's rotor.

(Bill Larkins Photo)

U.S. Navy Lockheed TV-2 Blue Angels, Oakland, California, 17 October 1953.

(USN Photo)

A U.S. Marine Corps Lockheed TO-1 Shooting Star (BuNo 33822) from Marine Fighter Squadron VMF-311, circa in 1948. The TO-1s were F-80Cs transferred from U.S. Air Force. VMF-311 converted to the Grumman F9F-2 Panther already in 1949.

(USN Photo)

A U.S. Navy Lockheed TV-1 Shooting Star trainer (BuNo. 33846) at Naval Air Station Moffett Field, California, c1956.

(USN Photo)

A U.S. Navy Lockheed TV-1 Shooting Star (BuNo. 33850) assigned to the Naval Air Reserve at Naval Air Station Dallas, Texas, NAS Oakland, California. The TV-1s (originally designated TO-1) were F-80Cs transferred from the U.S. Air Force as jet trainers.

(USAF Photo)

Lockheed F-80A test aircraft (Serial No. 44-85044) with twin 0.5 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in oblique mount, similar to Second World War German Schräge Musik, to study the ability to attack Soviet bombers from below.

(NACA Photo)

A U.S. Air Force Lockheed P-80A-1-LO Shooting Star (Serial No. 44-85299) during investigation of flying qualities on the airplane at the NACA Ames Research Center, California, on 7 July 1948.

(USAF Photo)

Lockheed F-80C-10-LO Shooting Star (Serial No. 49-873), 144th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, Alaska ANG, c1954.

(NASA Photo)

A Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star jet aircraft on the tarmac at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) NACA Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio. The Air Force aircraft was participating in the 1946 National Air Races over Labor Day weekend. The air races were held at the Cleveland Municipal Airport seven times between 1929 and 1939. The events included long distance, sprint, and circuit competitions, as well as aeronautical displays, demonstrations, and celebrities. The air races were suspended indefinitely in 1940 for a variety of reasons, including the start of the Second World War in Europe. The nature of the National Air Races changed dramatically when the event resumed in 1946. The introduction of jet aircraft, primarily the Lockheed P-80 seen here, required an entire separate division for each event. Since military pilots were the only ones with any jet aircraft experience, only they could participate in those divisions. In addition, the performance and quantity of commercially manufactured piston aircraft had increased dramatically during the war. By 1946, the custom-built racing aircraft that made the pre-war races so interesting were no longer present. The P-80 was the first US-designed and US-manufactured jet aircraft. Early models were tested during the war in NACA Lewis’ Altitude Wind Tunnel. A modified P-80 set the world’s speed record at the 1947 air races by achieving 620 miles per hour.

Aircraft on display
United States

XP-80
44-83020 (Lulu-Belle) – National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C..First flown on 8 January 1944, it was restored right after the 1976 opening ofthe National Air and Space Museum and is still in their collection.

P-80A
44-84999 – Hill Aerospace Museum at Hill AFB, Utah. This airframe is a T-33Athat has been modified and painted to resemble a P-80.
44-85123 – Air Force Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base inCalifornia. Currently undergoing restoration. This aircraft settranscontinental speed record in January 1946, closed circuit speed record inJune 1946, and won the Thompson Trophy Race in September 1946. Was then used totest nose fairing and wing designs.

(Michael Barera Photo)

(Mike Freer - Touchdown-aviation Photo)
44-85125 (displayed as 44-85152) – Kalamazoo Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
44-85391 (front of fuselage) – Air Victory Museum, Medford, New Jersey.

(Alan Wilson Photo)

(kitmasterbloke Photo)
44-85488 – Planes of Fame, Chino, California.

P-80B

(ZLEA Photo)

(Alan Wilson Photo)
45-8357 – Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, Georgia.

(Clemens Vasters Photo)

(kitmasterbloke Photo)
45-8490 – Castle Air Museum at the former Castle Air Force Base, Atwater, California.
45-8501 – Kirtland AFB, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
45-8517 – Anna Jordan Park, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

(Eric Salard Photo)
45-8612 – Pima Air & Space Museum adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona.

(Greg Goebel Photo)

(Alan Wilson Photo)
45-8704 – Aerospace Museum of California at the former McClellan AFB, Sacramento, California.

P-80C
47-0171 – Iowa Gold Star Military Museum, Camp Dodge, Des Moines, Iowa.
47-0215 – Reflections of Freedom Air Park, McConnell AFB, Wichita, Kansas.
47-0221 – Redesignated US Navy TV-1 33824 Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum, Horsham Township, Pennsylvania.
47-1837 – Redesignated USMC TO-1 BuNo 33840 at the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum at MCAS Miramar, San Diego, California.
47-1392 – Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas.
48-0868 – EAA Airventure Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
49-0432 (displayed as 49-417) – Air Force Armament Museum at Eglin AFB, Florida.

(NMUSAF Photo)

(ZLEA Photo)
49-0696 – National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio.
49-0710 – Mid-America Air Museum, Liberal, Kansas.
49-0719 – in storage awaiting restoration at Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.

(Alan Wilson Photo)

49-0851 - Palmdale Plant 42, California. c/n 080-2599. A composite airframe using parts of T-33A (Serial No. 57-0568).
49-1853 – Veteran's Memorial Square, Holloman AFB, New Mexico.
49-1872 – Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum, Pueblo Memorial Airport, Pueblo, Colorado.

P-80R

(MNUSAF Photo)

(ZLEA Photo)
44-85200 – National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. This aircraft was specially modified for racing by equipping it with a smaller canopy, a shorter wing, and redesigned air intakes.On 19 June 1947, it was flown by Colonel Albert Boyd to a new world speed record of 623.73 mph (1,004.2 km/h), equaling Heini Dittmar's 623 mph (1,004km/h) unofficial record velocity in one of the Me 163A liquid-fueled rocketfighter prototypes, set on 2 October 1941 after being towed to the height for the attempt by a Bf 110. The P-80R aircraft was shipped to the Museum from Griffiss Air Force Base in New York in October 1954. The next American jet speed record was set two months later, on 20 August by Commander Turner Caldwell, USN, reaching 640.744 miles per hour (1,031.178 km/h) while flying the turbojet-powered Douglas Skystreak D-558-1 No. 1.

Brazil
F-80C
49-0433 – Museu Aeroespacial in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Chile
49-0787 – Museo Nacional Aeronáutico y del Espacio, Los Cerrillos Airport,Santiago, Chile.

Uruguay
F-80C
47-0205 (FAU213) – Museo de la aeronautica in Montevideo, Uruguay.

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