Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star
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The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the
United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
(USAAF) during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of design, production models were flying, and two pre-production models did see very limited service in Italy just before the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Designed with straight wings, the type saw extensive combat in Korea with the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
(USAF) as the F-80. America's first successful
turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
-powered combat aircraft, it was soon outclassed with the appearance of the swept-wing
transonic Transonic (or transsonic) flow is air flowing around an object at a speed that generates regions of both subsonic and supersonic airflow around that object. The exact range of speeds depends on the object's critical Mach number, but transonic ...
MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...
and was quickly replaced in the
air superiority Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of c ...
role by the transonic
F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing So ...
. The
F-94 Starfire The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was a first-generation jet powered all-weather, day/night interceptor of the United States Air Force. A twin-seat craft, it was developed from the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star trainer in the late 1940s. It reached ope ...
, an all-weather interceptor using the same airframe, also saw Korean War service. The closely related
T-33 Shooting Star The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...
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.


Design and development

The XP-80 had a conventional all-metal airframe, with a slim
low wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
and
tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...
. Like most early jets designed during World War II—and before the Allies captured German research data that confirmed the speed advantages of swept-wings—the XP-80 had straight wings, similar to previous propeller-driven fighters. It was the first operational jet fighter to have its engine in the fuselage, a format previously used in the pioneering German
Heinkel He 178 The Heinkel He 178 was an experimental aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Heinkel. It was the world's first aircraft to fly using the thrust from a turbojet engine. The He 178 was developed to test the jet propu ...
V1 of 1939, and the later British Gloster E.28/39 demonstrator of 1941. Other early jets generally had two engines because of their limited power, these being mounted in external
nacelle A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached ...
s for easier maintenance. With the advent of more powerful British jet engines, fuselage mounting was more effective, and it was used by nearly all subsequent fighter aircraft. Lockheed was the first American aircraft company to start work on a jet powered aircraft, beginning work on the L-133 in 1939. The L-133 eventually developed into an extremely advanced design, including futuristic features such as canard forewings and a
blended wing body A blended wing body (BWB), also known as blended body or hybrid wing body (HWB), is a fixed-wing aircraft having no clear dividing line between the wings and the main body of the craft. The aircraft has distinct wing and body structures, which ar ...
, but when Lockheed presented the design to the USAAF, it was rejected as being technologically unfeasible. Instead the USAAF concentrated development around the much less radical
Bell P-59 Airacomet The Bell P-59 Airacomet was a single-seat, twin jet-engine fighter aircraft that was designed and built by Bell Aircraft during World War II, the first produced in the United States. As the British were further along in jet engine developm ...
, which first flew in October 1942. It quickly became obvious, however, that the P-59's performance was only marginally superior to current piston engined fighters. Bell performed preliminary work on a revised version of P-59 featuring a single engine mounted within the fuselage and a low mounted wing designated the XP-59B, but by this time the Bell factory was swamped with other work so the USAAF transferred work on this project to Lockheed. The impetus for development of the P-80 was the discovery by Allied intelligence of the
Me 262 The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed ''Schwalbe'' (German: "Swallow") in fighter versions, or ''Sturmvogel'' (German: "Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the German ...
in spring 1943, which had made only test flights of its own first quartet (the V1 through V4 airframes) of design prototypes at that time, all fitted with retracting tailwheel landing gear. After receiving documents and blueprints comprising years of British jet aircraft research, the commanding General of the Army Air Forces,
Henry H. Arnold Henry Harley Arnold (June 25, 1886 – January 15, 1950) was an American general officer holding the ranks of General of the Army and later, General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps (1938–1941), ...
, believed an airframe developed to accept the British-made Halford H-1 B "Goblin" jet engine could provide the superior performance to match the new German jets, and the Materiel Command's
Wright Field Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Lo ...
research and development division tasked Lockheed to design the aircraft based on their experience with the L-133. Concept work began on the XP-80 in May 1943. Since the British turbojet was not yet delivered, Lockheed obtained its
blueprint A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing or engineering drawing using a contact print process on light-sensitive sheets. Introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842, the process allowed rapid and accurate production of an unlimited number ...
dimensions from Bell as ordered by the USAAC. Lockheed's team, consisting of 28
engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the ...
, was led by Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson in the same manner as the
P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive tw ...
, in the same remote building with high security and greater autonomy, a continuation of Lockheed's
Skunk Works Skunk Works is an official pseudonym for Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs (ADP), formerly called Lockheed Advanced Development Projects. It is responsible for a number of aircraft designs, beginning with the P-38 Lightning in 1 ...
style of research and development. With the Germans and British clearly far ahead in development, Lockheed was pressed to develop a comparable jet as quickly as possible. Kelly Johnson submitted a design proposal in mid-June and promised that the prototype would be ready for testing in 150 days. The Skunk Works team, beginning 26 June 1943, produced the airframe in 143 days, delivering it to Muroc Army Airfield on 16 November. The project was so secret that only five of the more than 130 people working on it knew that they were developing a jet aircraft, and the British engineer who delivered the Goblin engine was detained by the police because Lockheed officials could not vouch for him.Felton, James
"Shooting Star."
''Life,'' 13 August 1945, pp. 43–46. Retrieved: 25 November 2011.
After the engine had been mated to the airframe,
foreign object damage In aviation and aerospace, foreign object debris (FOD), is any particle or substance, alien to an aircraft or system, which could potentially cause damage. External FOD hazards include bird strikes, hail, ice, sandstorms, ash-clouds or obje ...
during the first run-up destroyed the engine. The British engineer who had delivered the engine had warned Lockheed that the skin of the inlet ducts was too thin but the American engineers ignored this warning and both ducts collapsed and were sucked into the engine when at full throttle. This delayed the first flight until a second engine (the only other existing) could be delivered from Britain, de Havilland generously donating the engine intended for the prototype
Vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
.Heppenheimer, T.A
"The Jet Plane is Born."
''American Heritage magazine,'' Fall 1993. Volume 9, Issue 2. Retrieved: 1 August 2011.
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,The Vampire's first flight was delayed until 20 September 1943 as a result it first flew on 8 January 1944, with Lockheed
test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...
Milo Burcham Milo Garrett Burcham (May 24, 1903 – October 20, 1944) was an American aviator. He worked as a stunt pilot, airshow pilot, and test pilot. Burcham was born in Cadiz, Indiana, and grew up in Whittier, California in the eastern Los Angeles ba ...
at the controls. Following this flight, Johnson said, "It was a magnificent demonstration, our plane was a success – such a complete success that it had overcome the temporary advantage the Germans had gained from years of preliminary development on jet planes." The donated British jet engine and program data had no doubt proved invaluable. In test flights, the XP-80 eventually reached a top speed of at , making it the first turbojet-powered USAAF aircraft to exceed 500 mph in level flight, following the August 1944 record flight of by a special high-speed variant of the
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...
. Contemporary pilots, when transitioning to pioneering jets like the Shooting Star, were unused to flying at high speed without a loud reciprocating engine and had to learn to rely on the
airspeed indicator The airspeed indicator (ASI) or airspeed gauge is a flight instrument indicating the airspeed of an aircraft in kilometers per hour (km/h), knots (kn), miles per hour (MPH) and/or meters per second (m/s). The recommendation by ICAO is to use km ...
. The second prototype, designated XP-80A, was designed for the larger
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I-40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...
engine (an improved J31, later produced by Allison as the J33). Two aircraft (44-83021 and 44-83022) were built. 44-83021 was nicknamed the ''Gray Ghost'' after its "pearl gray" paint scheme, while 83022, left unpainted for comparison of flight characteristics, became known as the ''Silver Ghost''. The XP-80A's first test flight was unimpressive, but most of the problems with the design were soon addressed and corrected in the test program. Initial opinions of the XP-80A were not positive, with Lockheed Chief Engineering Test Pilot
Milo Burcham Milo Garrett Burcham (May 24, 1903 – October 20, 1944) was an American aviator. He worked as a stunt pilot, airshow pilot, and test pilot. Burcham was born in Cadiz, Indiana, and grew up in Whittier, California in the eastern Los Angeles ba ...
commenting that an aircraft he very much enjoyed (powered by the Halford engine) had now become a "dog." The XP-80As were primarily testbeds for larger, more powerful engines and air intake design, and consequently were larger and 25% heavier than the XP-80. The P-80 testing program proved very dangerous. Burcham was killed on 20 October 1944 while flying the third YP-80A, 44–83025. The ''Gray Ghost'' was lost on a test flight on 20 March 1945, although pilot
Tony LeVier Anthony W. LeVier (February 14, 1913 – February 6, 1998) was an American air racer and test pilot for the Lockheed Corporation from the 1940s to the 1970s. Early life Born Anthony Puck in Duluth, Minnesota, his father died while he was still ...
escaped. Newly promoted to chief engineering test pilot to replace Burcham, LeVier bailed out when one of the engine's turbine blades broke, causing structural failure in the aircraft's tail. LeVier landed hard and broke his back, but returned to the test program after six months of recovery. The top-scoring World War II USAAF
ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
Major
Richard Bong Richard "Dick" Ira Bong (September 24, 1920 – August 6, 1945) was a United States Army Air Forces major and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II. He was one of the most decorated American fighter pilots and the country's top flying ace ...
was also killed on an acceptance flight of a production P-80 in the United States on 6 August 1945. Both Burcham and Bong crashed as a result of main fuel pump failure. Burcham's death was the result of a failure to brief him on a newly installed emergency fuel pump backup system, but the investigation of Bong's crash found that he had apparently forgotten to switch on this pump, which could have prevented the accident. He bailed out when the aircraft rolled inverted but was too close to the ground for his parachute to deploy. After Bong's death, both the USAAF and Lockheed wanted to prove the reliability of the airplane. Robert E. Thacker from the Flight Test Division at Wright Field was ordered to select three other pilots, pick up 5 P-80s from Lockheed and fly them to Muroc Army Airbase, and fly each airplane there for 500 hours. Thacker tapped
Chuck Yeager Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager ( , February 13, 1923December 7, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer, flying ace, and record-setting test pilot who in October 1947 became the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the ...
, plus two other pilots and they put 500 hours on each airplane without further incident. After the war, the USAAF compared the P-80 and
Me 262 The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed ''Schwalbe'' (German: "Swallow") in fighter versions, or ''Sturmvogel'' (German: "Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the German ...
concluding, "Despite a difference in gross weight of nearly , the Me 262 was superior to the P-80 in acceleration, speed and approximately the same in climb performance. The Me 262 apparently has a higher
critical Mach number In aerodynamics, the critical Mach number (Mcr or M*) of an aircraft is the lowest Mach number at which the airflow over some point of the aircraft reaches the speed of sound, but does not exceed it.Clancy, L.J. ''Aerodynamics'', Section 11.6 At t ...
(the Me 262A's being at M 0.86), from a drag standpoint, than any current Army Air Force fighter."


Costs

Costs in approximately 1947 United States dollars and have not been adjusted for inflation.Knaack 1978 This is roughly $1,238,644 in 2018 dollars


Operational history

The Shooting Star began to enter service in late 1944 with 12 pre-production YP-80As, one of which was destroyed in the accident in which Burcham was killed. A 13th YP-80A was modified to the sole F-14 photo reconnaissance model and lost in a December crash. Four were sent to Europe for operational testing (demonstration, familiarization, and possible interception roles), two to England and two to the 1st Fighter Group at Lesina Airfield, Italy, but when test pilot Major Frederic Borsodi was killed in a crash caused by an engine fire while demonstrating a YP-80A (44-83026) at
RAF Burtonwood Royal Air Force Burtonwood (or RAF Burtonwood) is a former Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces base that was located in Burtonwood, Northwest of Warrington in Cheshire, England. The base was opened in 1940 in response to World Wa ...
, Lancashire, England, on 28 January 1945, the YP-80A was temporarily grounded. Before World War II ended, however, two American pre-production Lockheed YP-80A Shooting Star fighter jets saw limited service in Italy with the USAAF on reconnaissance, in February and March 1945. Because of delays in delivery of production aircraft, the Shooting Star saw no actual combat during the conflict. The initial production order was for 344 P-80As after USAAF acceptance in February 1945. A total of 83 P-80s had been delivered by the end of July 1945 and 45 assigned to the
412th Fighter Group 41 may refer to: * 41 (number) * one of the years 41 BC, AD 41, 1941, 2041 Art and entertainment * ''41'' (film), a 2007 documentary about Nicholas O'Neill, the youngest victim of the Station nightclub fire * ''41'', a 2012 film by Glenn Triggs * ...
(later redesignated the 1st Fighter Group) at
Muroc Army Air Field Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...
. Production continued after the war, although wartime plans for 5,000 were quickly reduced to 2,000 at a little under $100,000 a copy. A total of 1,714 single-seat F-80A, F-80B, F-80C, and RF-80s were manufactured by the end of production in 1950, of which 927 were F-80Cs (including 129 operational F-80As upgraded to F-80C-11-LO standards). However, the two-seat TF-80C, first flown on 22 March 1948, became the basis for the T-33 trainer, of which 6,557 were produced. On 27 January 1946, Colonel William H. Councill flew a P-80 nonstop across the U.S. to make the first transcontinental jet flight. He completed the run between Long Beach and New York in 4 hours 13 minutes 26 seconds at an average speed of to set a
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...
record. The P-80B prototype, modified as a racer and designated P-80R,"P-80 Shooting Star/44-85200."
''National Museum of the USAF.'' Retrieved: 9 October 2012.
was piloted by Colonel
Albert Boyd Albert G Boyd (November 22, 1906 – September 18, 1976) was a pioneering test pilot for the United States Air Force (USAF). During his 30-year career, he logged more than 23,000 hours of flight time in 723 military aircraft (though this number of ...
to a world
air speed record An air speed record is the highest airspeed attained by an aircraft of a particular class. The rules for all official aviation records are defined by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), which also ratifies any claims. Speed records ...
of 623.73 mph (1,004.2 km/h) on 19 June 1947.Francillon 1982, pp. 241–242 The P-80C began production in 1948; on 11 June, now part of the USAF, the P-80C was officially redesignated the F-80C. The USAF
Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...
had F-80 Shooting Stars in service from 1946 through 1948 with the 1st and 56th Fighter Groups. The first P-80s to serve in Europe joined the 55th Fighter Group (later redesignated the 31st FG) at
Giebelstadt Giebelstadt is a municipality in the district of Würzburg in Bavaria in Germany. History The town is the birthplace of Florian Geyer (1490–1525), also known as "Florian Geier from Giebelstadt", a Franconian nobleman who led the Black Compa ...
, Germany, in 1946, remaining 18 months. When the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
blockaded Berlin, a squadron of the 56th FG led by Colonel
David C. Schilling David Carl Schilling (December 15, 1918 – August 14, 1956) was a U.S. Air Force officer, fighter ace credited with 22½ confirmed claims, and leading advocate of long-range jet fighter operations. Kansas' Schilling Air Force Base was named in hi ...
made the first west-to-east Atlantic crossing by single-engined jets in July, flying to Germany for 45 days in Operation Fox Able I. Replaced by the newly F-80-equipped 36th Fighter Group at Fürstenfeldbruck, the 56th FG conducted Fox Able II in May 1949. That same year F-80s first equipped the 51st Fighter Group, based in Japan. The 4th ( Langley Air Force Base, Virginia), 81st ( Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico), and 57th (
Elmendorf Air Force Base Elmendorf Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) facility in Anchorage, Alaska. Originally known as Elmendorf Field, it became Elmendorf Air Force Base after World War II. It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Air Command (AL ...
, Alaska) Fighter Groups all acquired F-80s in 1948, as did interceptor squadrons of the
Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was est ...
. The first
Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...
unit to fly the F-80C was the 196th FS of the California ANG in June 1947.Francillon 1982, p. 249


U.S. Navy service

Several P-80A Shooting Stars were transferred to the United States Navy beginning 29 June 1945, retaining their P-80 designations. At
Naval Air Station Patuxent River Naval Air Station Patuxent River , also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station located in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River. It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air S ...
, one Navy P-80 was modified with required add-ons, such as an
arrestor hook A tailhook, arresting hook, or arrester hook is a device attached to the empennage (rear) of some military fixed-wing aircraft. The hook is used to achieve rapid deceleration during routine landings aboard aircraft carrier flight decks at s ...
, and loaded aboard the aircraft carrier at
Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
, on 31 October 1946. The following day the aircraft made four deck-run takeoffs and two catapult launches, with five arrested landings, flown by Marine Major
Marion Carl Major General Marion Eugene Carl (November 1, 1915 – June 28, 1998) was an American military officer, World War II fighter ace, record-setting test pilot, and naval aviator. He was the United States Marine Corps' first ace in World War II. Ear ...
. A second series of trials was held on 11 November.Polmar 2001, pp. 12–14. The U.S. Navy had already begun procuring its own jet aircraft, but the slow pace of delivery was causing retention problems among pilots, particularly those of the Marines who were still flying
Vought F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts ...
s. To increase land-based jet-transition training in the late 1940s, 50 F-80Cs were transferred to the U.S. Navy from the U.S. Air Force in 1949 as jet trainers. Designated TO-1 by the Navy (changed to TV-1 in 1950), 25 were based at
Naval Air Station North Island Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (N ...
, California, with
VF-52 Fighter Squadron 52 or VF-52 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. Originally established as Bombing Fighting Squadron 5 (VBF-5) on 8 May 1945, it was redesignated Fighting Squadron 6A (VF-6A) on 15 November 1946, redesignated as Fighter ...
, and 16 assigned to the Marine Corps, equipping
VMF-311 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 311 (VMFA-311) is a United States Marine Corps fighter attack squadron consisting of F-35C Lightning II. Known as the "Tomcats", the squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California and falls under t ...
at
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. These aircraft were eventually sent to reserve units. The success of these aircraft led to the procurement by the Navy of 698 T-33 Shooting Stars (as the TO-2/TV-2) to provide a two-seat aircraft for the training role. Lockheed went on to develop a carrier-capable version, the
T2V SeaStar The Lockheed T2V SeaStar, later called the T-1 SeaStar, is a carrier-capable jet trainer for the United States Navy that entered service in May 1957. Developed from the Lockheed T-33 (itself derived from the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star), it ...
, which went into service in 1957.


Korean War

Shooting Stars first saw combat service in the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, and were among the first aircraft to be involved in jet-versus-jet combat. The Americans used the F-80C variant and RF-80 photo-recon variants in Korea. The F-80 flew both air-to-air and air-to-ground sorties, claiming several aerial victories against North Korean
Yak-9 The Yakovlev Yak-9 (russian: Яковлев Як-9) is a single-engine, single-seat multipurpose fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union and its allies during World War II and the early Cold War. It was a development of the robust and succ ...
s and Il-10s. On 1 November 1950, a Russian MiG-15 pilot, Lieutenant Semyon F. Khominich, became the first pilot in history to be credited with a jet-versus-jet aerial kill after he claimed to have shot down an F-80. According to the Americans, the F-80 was downed by flak. One week later, on 8 November, the first American claim for a jet-versus-jet aerial kill was made when Lieutenant Russell J. Brown, flying an F-80, reported that he shot down a MiG-15.Knez, Saso, Diego Fernando Zampini and Joe L. Brenan
"Korean War Database."
''AirCombat Information Group, (ACIG),'' 28 October 2003. Retrieved: 6 July 2008.
Soviet records claim that no MiGs were lost that day and that their pilot, Senior Lieutenant Kharitonov, survived by pulling out of a dive at low altitude. Despite initial claims of success, the speed of the straight-wing F-80s was inferior to the 668 mph (1075 km/h) MiGs. The MiGs incorporated German research that showed that swept wings delayed the onset of compressibility problems, and enabled speeds much closer to the speed of sound. F-80s were soon replaced in the air superiority role by the
North American F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing ...
, which had been delayed to also incorporate swept wings into an improved straight-winged naval FJ-1 Fury. However, F-80 pilots still destroyed a total of six MiG-15s in aerial combat. When sufficient Sabres were in operation, the Shooting Star flew exclusively ground-attack missions, and were also used for advanced flight training duties and air defense in Japan. By the end of hostilities, the only F-80s still flying in Korea were photo-reconnaissance variants. F-80Cs equipped 10 USAF squadrons in Korea: *
8th Fighter-Bomber Wing 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...
(35th, 36th, and 80th Fighter-Bomber Squadrons), based at Suwon Air Base, was the longest-serving F-80 unit in Korea. It began missions from Japan in June 1950 and continued to fly the Shooting Star until May 1953, when it converted to
F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing So ...
s. * 49th Fighter-Bomber Group (7th, 8th, and 9th FBS) deployed to Taegu AB (K-2), Korea, from Japan in September 1950 and continued fighter-bomber missions in the F-80C until June 1951, when it converted to the
F-84 Thunderjet The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 first flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thu ...
. * 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing (16th and 25th FIS) operated F-80Cs from Kimpo AB (K-14) and Japan from September 1950 to November 1951 when it transitioned to F-86s. * 35th Fighter-Interceptor Group and two squadrons, the 39th and 40th FIS, went to
Pohang Pohang () is a city in the province of North Gyeongsang, South Korea, and a main seaport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. The built-up area of Pohang is located on the alluvium of the mouth of the Hyeongsan River. The city is divided into two wa ...
, Korea in July 1950, but converted to the P-51 Mustang before the end of the year. One RF-80A unit operated in the Korean War: * ''8th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron'', later redesignated 15th TRS, served from 27 June 1950 at Itazuke, Japan, Taegu (K-2), and Kimpo (K-14), South Korea, until after the armistice. The squadron also utilized a few converted RF-80Cs and RF-86s. During the Korean war, 368 F-80s were lost, including 277 in combat missions and 91 non-combat losses Of the 277 F-80s lost in operations (approximately 30% of the existing inventory), 113 were lost to ground fire, 14 to enemy aircraft, 54 to "unknown causes" and 96 were "other losses". F-80s are credited by the USAF with destroying 17 aircraft in air-to-air combat and 24 on the ground. Major
Charles J. Loring Jr. Charles Joseph Loring Jr. (October 2, 1918 – November 22, 1952) was a fighter pilot in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, and later in the United States Air Force in the Korean War. Loring rose to the rank of major and post ...
was posthumously awarded the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
for his actions while flying an F-80 with the 80th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing on 22 November 1952.


Variants


P-80/F-80

1714 production aircraft were delivered to the Air Force prior to any conversions or redesignations, with their original block numbers. ;XP-80 :Prototype powered by a de Havilland-built Halford H.1B turbojet and first flown 8 January 1944, one built. ;XP-80A :Production prototype variant powered by a General Electric I-40 turbojet, increased span and length but wing area reduced, two built. ;YP-80A: 12 pre-production aircraft. One aircraft, ''44-83027'', lent to
Rolls-Royce Limited Rolls-Royce was a British luxury car and later an aero-engine manufacturing business established in 1904 in Manchester by the partnership of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Building on Royce's good reputation established with his cranes, they ...
and used for development of the Nene engine. ;XF-14: One built from YP-80A order (44-83024), lost in midair collision with
B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...
chase plane A chase plane is an aircraft that "chases" a "subject" aircraft, spacecraft or rocket, for the purposes of making real-time observations and taking air-to-air photographs and video of the subject vehicle during flight. Background Safety can ...
on 6 December 1944; USAAF photo
reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
prototype. ;P-80A: 344 block 1-LO aircraft; 180 block 5-LO aircraft. Block 5 and all subsequent Shooting Stars were natural metal finish. Fitted with tiptanks.Fitzsimons 1978, p. 2319. ;F-80A: USAF designation of P-80A. ;EF-80: Modified to test "Prone Pilot" cockpit positions. ;F-14A: Unknown number of photo-reconnaissance conversions from P-80A, all redesignated FP-80A. ;XFP-80A: Modified P-80A 44–85201 with hinged nose for camera equipment. ;FP-80A: 152 block 15-LO; operational photo reconnaissance aircraft. ;RF-80A: USAF designation of FP-80A, 66 operational F-80A's modified to RF-80A standard. ;ERF-80A: Modified P-80A 44–85042 with experimental nose contour. ;XP-80B: Reconfigured P-80A, improved J-33 engine, one built as prototype for P-80B ;P-80B: 209 block 1-LO; 31 block 5-LO; first model fitted with an
ejection seat In aircraft, an ejection seat or ejector seat is a system designed to rescue the pilot or other crew of an aircraft (usually military) in an emergency. In most designs, the seat is propelled out of the aircraft by an explosive charge or rock ...
(retrofitted into -As); delivered between March 1947 and March 1948 ;F-80B: USAF designation of P-80B. ;P-80R: Modification of XP-80B to racer. ;P-80C: 162 block 1-LO; 75 block 5-LO; 561 block 10-LO ;F-80C: USAF designation of P-80C; 128 F-80A modified to F-80C-11-LO with J-33-A-35 engine and ejection seat installed; fitted with tiptanks; major P-80 production version. ;RF-80C: 70 modified F-80A and F-80C, and six modified RF-80A, to RF-80C and RF-80C-11, respectively; upgraded photo recon plane. ;DF-80A: Designation given to number of F-80As converted into drone directors. ;QF-80A/QF-80C/QF-80F: Project Bad Boy F-80 conversions by Sperry Gyroscope to target drones. Q-8 was initially proposed as designation for the QF-80. ;TP-80C: First designation for TF-80C trainer prototype. ;TF-80C: Prototype for T-33 (48-0356). ;TO-1/TV-1: U.S. Navy variant of F-80C; 49 block 1-LO and one block 5-LO aircraft transferred to USN in 1949; 16 initially went to U.S. Marine Corps.


Derivatives

;
Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...
Lockheed also produced a two-seat trainer variant with a longer fuselage, the T-33, which remained in production until 1959 and was produced under license in Japan and Canada. The trainer was used by more than 20 countries. A total of 6,557 T-33s were built and some are still flying. ;
Lockheed F-94 Starfire The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was a first-generation jet powered all-weather, day/night interceptor of the United States Air Force. A twin-seat craft, it was developed from the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star trainer in the late 1940s. It reached o ...
Two TF-80Cs were modified as prototypes for the F-94 Starfire, an all-weather fighter produced in three variants.


Former Operators

;: 33 F-80Cs delivered starting in 1958, withdrawn from service in 1973. ;: around 30 F-80Cs delivered from 1958 on, last ones retired from service in 1974. ;: 16 F-80Cs delivered starting in 1958, retired by 1966. ;: 16 F-80Cs delivered between 1957 and 1960, six returned to the United States in 1965. ;: 16 F-80Cs delivered starting in 1958, used by the 13th Fighter-Bomber Group until the type was phased out in 1973. ; *
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
*
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, 1945 to 1970s ;: at least 18 F-80Cs delivered in 1958, withdrawn from use in 1972.


Aircraft on display


Brazil

;F-80C *49-0433 –
Museu Aeroespacial Museu Aeroespacial is a national aviation museum located in the West Side of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the Administrative Region of Realengo. The place is known as "the Brazilian Aviation cradle".Ogden (2008) Address Av. Marechal Fontenelle, 2000 ...
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.


Chile

*49-0787 –
Museo Nacional Aeronáutico y del Espacio The Museo Nacional Aeronáutica y del Espacio (MNAE) is an institution responsible for disseminating the aeronautical heritage in Chile. History It was created on July 13, 1944, as Museo de Aviación, during the government of Juan Antonio R ...
,
Los Cerrillos Airport Los Cerrillos Airport was the main aviation facility of Santiago, Chile until 1967, when Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport was opened. The airport was closed in 2006.Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated Regions of Chile, region, t ...
.


United States

;XP-80 *44-83020 (Lulu-Belle) –
National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...
in Washington, D.C.. First flown on 8 January 1944, it was restored right after the 1976 opening of the National Air and Space Museum and is still in their collection. ;P-80A *44-84999 –
Hill Aerospace Museum Hill Aerospace Museum is a military aviation museum located at Hill Air Force Base in Roy, Utah. It is dedicated to the history of the base and aviation in Utah. History Preparations for a museum began in 1984, when ground was broken on an "Ae ...
at
Hill AFB Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in northern Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and Sunset with its largest border immediately adjacent t ...
,
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
. This airframe is a T-33A that has been modified and painted to resemble a P-80. *44-85123 –
Air Force Flight Test Museum The Air Force Flight Test Museum is an aviation museum located at Edwards Air Force Base near Rosamond, California focused on the history of the Air Force Flight Test Center. History The Flight Test Museum Foundation was founded in 1983 by Car ...
at
Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...
in California. Currently undergoing restoration. This aircraft set transcontinental speed record in January 1946, closed circuit speed record in June 1946, and won the Thompson Trophy Race in September 1946. Was then used to test nose fairing and wing designs. *44-85125 (displayed as 44-85152) –
Kalamazoo Air Zoo The Air Zoo, founded as the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, is an aviation museum and indoor amusement park next to the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport in Portage, Michigan. The Air Zoo holds many historical and rare aircraft, ...
in
Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...
. *44-85391 (front of fuselage) – Air Victory Museum,
Medford, New Jersey Medford is a Township (New Jersey), township in Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the township's population was 24,497, an increase of 1,464 ...
. *44-85488 –
Planes of Fame Planes of Fame Air Museum is an aviation museum in Chino, California,World Wa ...
in
Chino, California Chino ( ; Spanish for "Curly") is a city in the western end of San Bernardino County, California, United States, with Los Angeles County to its west and Orange County to its south in the Southern California region. Chino is adjacent to Chino ...
. ;P-80B *45-8357 – Museum of Aviation at
Robins Air Force Base Robins Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force installation located in Houston County, Georgia, United States. The base is located just east of the city of Warner Robins, south-southeast of Macon and approximately south-southeast o ...
,
Warner Robins, Georgia Warner Robins (typically ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located in Houston and Peach counties in the central part of the state. It is currently Georgia's eleventh-largest incorporated city, with an estimated population of 80,308 in t ...
. *45-8490 –
Castle Air Museum Castle Air Museum is a military aviation museum located in Atwater, California, United States adjacent to Castle Airport, a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base which was closed in 1995, after the end of the Cold War. It ...
at the former
Castle Air Force Base Castle Air Force Base (Castle AFB, 1941–1995) is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base in California, located northeast of Atwater, northwest of Merced, and about south of Sacramento. The Central Valley base in u ...
in
Atwater, California Atwater is a city on California State Route 99, State Route 99 in Merced County, California, Merced County, California, United States. Atwater is west-northwest of Merced, California, Merced, at an elevation of . The population as of the 2020 Uni ...
. *45-8501 –
Kirtland AFB Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Ro ...
,
Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
. *45-8517 – Anna Jordan Park,
Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...
. *45-8612 –
Pima Air & Space Museum The Pima Air & Space Museum, located in Tucson, Arizona, is one of the world's largest non-government funded aerospace museums. The museum features a display of nearly 300 aircraft spread out over 80 acres (320,000 m²) on a campus oc ...
adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB in
Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...
. *45-8704 –
Aerospace Museum of California The Aerospace Museum of California is a private non-profit aviation museum located in North Highlands, California, outside of Sacramento, California, on the grounds of the former McClellan Air Force Base. The museum has a 4.5-acre outdoor Air Pa ...
at the former
McClellan AFB McClellan Air Force Base (1935–2001) is a former United States Air Force base located in the North Highlands area of Sacramento County, northeast of Sacramento, California. History For the vast majority of its operational lifetime, McClella ...
in
Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
. ;P-80C *47-0171 – Iowa Gold Star Military Museum, Camp Dodge,
Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
. *47-0215 – Reflections of Freedom Air Park,
McConnell AFB McConnell Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located four miles (6 km) southeast of the central business district of Wichita, a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States., effective 2007-12-20 The airbase was named in ...
,
Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...
. *47-1837 – Redesignated USMC TO-1 BuNo 33840 at the
Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum The Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum is a United States Marine Corps aviation museum currently located at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, San Diego, California. The museum contains exhibits and artifacts relating to the history and legacy of ...
at
MCAS Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) , formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the av ...
,
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
. *47-1392 –
Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth (abbreviated NAS JRB Fort Worth) includes Carswell Field, a military airbase located west of the central business district of Fort Worth, in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. This military a ...
,
Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
. *48-0868 –
EAA Airventure Museum The EAA Aviation Museum, formerly the EAA AirVenture Museum (or Air Adventure Museum), is a museum dedicated to the preservation and display of historic and experimental aircraft as well as antiques, classics, and warbirds. The museum is lo ...
in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh. History Oshkosh was ...
. *49-0432 (displayed as 49-417) –
Air Force Armament Museum The Air Force Armament Museum is a military aviation museum adjacent to Eglin Air Force Base in Valparaiso, Florida, dedicated to the display of Air Force armament. It is supported by the private, non-profit Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. ...
at
Eglin AFB Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The 9 ...
, Florida. *49-0696 –
National Museum of the United States Air Force The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the ...
at Wright-Patterson AFB in
Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...
. *49-0710 – Mid-America Air Museum,
Liberal, Kansas Liberal is the county seat of Seward County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 19,825. Liberal is home of Seward County Community College. History Early settler S. S. Rogers built the first house ...
. *49-0719 – in storage awaiting restoration at
Yanks Air Museum The Yanks Air Museum is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization and museum dedicated to exhibiting, preserving and restoring American aircraft and artifacts in order to show the evolution of American aviation, located at Chino Airport in Chino, Cal ...
in
Chino, California Chino ( ; Spanish for "Curly") is a city in the western end of San Bernardino County, California, United States, with Los Angeles County to its west and Orange County to its south in the Southern California region. Chino is adjacent to Chino ...
. *49-1853 – Veteran's Memorial Square,
Holloman AFB Holloman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base established in 1942 located six miles (10 km) southwest of the central business district of Alamogordo, and a census-designated place in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. ...
in
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
. *49-1872 – Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum,
Pueblo Memorial Airport Pueblo Memorial Airport is a public airport located six miles east of Pueblo, in Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. It is primarily used for general aviation. Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 4,345 passenger board ...
,
Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, Pueblo County, Colorado ...
. ;P-80R *44-85200 –
National Museum of the United States Air Force The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the ...
at Wright-Patterson AFB in
Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...
. 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 Heini Dittmar (Born March 30, 1912, Bad Kissingen, Unterfranken, Germany – Died April 28, 1960 near Mülheim an der Ruhr, West Germany) was a record-breaking German glider pilot. Inspired by the example of his glider flying brother Edgar, Di ...
's 623 mph (1,004 km/h) unofficial record velocity in one of the Me 163A liquid-fueled ''rocket'' fighter prototypes, set on 2 October 1941 after being towed to the height for the attempt by a
Bf 110 The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engine (Des ...
. The P-80R aircraft was shipped to the Museum from
Griffiss Air Force Base Griffiss Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force installation in the northeastern United States, located in Central New York state at Rome, about northwest of Utica. Missions included fighter interceptors, electronic research, ...
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 The Douglas Skystreak (D-558-1 or D-558-I) was an American single-engine jet research aircraft of the 1940s. It was designed in 1945 by the Douglas Aircraft Company for the U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics, in conjunction with the National Advisor ...
D-558-1 No. 1. ;F-80 *0-36100 – Chamberlain, South Dakota on public display. *18513 - Memorial Park in New Kensington, PA. Also has TR-513 in front of the left air intake under U.S. Air Force.


Uruguay

;F-80C *47-0205 (FAU213) – Museo de la aeronautica in
Montevideo, Uruguay Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
."P-80 Shooting Star/47-0205."
aerialvisuals.ca. Retrieved: 30 January 2015.


Specifications (P-80C/F-80C)


See also


References


Notes


Citations


Bibliography

* Andrade, John. ''Latin-American Military Aviation''. Leicester, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1982. . * Arnold, Rhodes. ''Shooting Star, T-Bird & Starfire: A Famous Lockheed Family''. Tucson, Arizona: Aztex Corp., 1981. . * Baugher, Joe

''USAAC/USAAF/USAF Fighter and Pursuit Aircraft,'' 16 July 1999. * * Bilstein, Roger E. ''Flight in America: From the Wrights to the Astronauts.'' Baltimore, Maryland: Hopkins Fulfillment Service, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. . * Davis, Larry. ''MiG Alley: Air to Air Combat Over Korea.'' Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1978. . * Davis, Larry. ''P-80 Shooting Star. T-33/F-94 in action.'' Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1980. . * Dorr, Robert F. "P-80 Shooting Star Variants". ''Wings of Fame'' Vol. 11. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1998. . * Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. "Shooting Star, Lockheed F-80/T-33." ''Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare'', Volume 21. London: Phoebus, 1978. . * Francillon, René J. ''Lockheed aircraft since 1913'' London: Putnam & Company, 1982. * * Green, William. ''War Planes of the Second World War, Volume Four: Fighters''. London: MacDonald & Co., 1961 (Sixth impression 1969). . * Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. ''The Great Book of Fighters''. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing, 2001. . * Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. ''WW2 Aircraft Fact Files: US Army Air Force Fighters, Part 2''. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers, 1978. . * Gunston, Bill. ''World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines''. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens, 1989. . * Gunston, Bill. ''Encyclopedia of the World's Combat Aircraft''. Feltham, UK: Salamander, 1976. . * Jenkins, Dennis R. and Tony R. Landis. ''Experimental & Prototype U.S. Air Force Jet Fighters.'' North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2008. . * Jones, Lloyd S. ''US Fighters, Army-Air Force: 1925 to 1980s''. Los Angeles: Aero Publishers, 1975. . * Knaack, Marcelle Size
''Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems: Volume 1 Post-World War II Fighters 1945–1973''.
Washington, D.C.: Office of Air Force History, 1978. . * Pace, Steve. ''Lockheed Skunk Works''. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks International, 1992. . * Polmar, Norman. "Lots of Shooting Stars". ''Naval History (United States Naval Institute)'', Vol. 14, No. 4, August 2001, pp. 12–14. * Roux, Élodie. ''Turbofan and Turbojet Engines: Database Handbook''. Raleigh, North Carolina: Éditions Élodie Roux, 2007. . * ''United States Air Force Museum Guidebook.'' Wright-Patterson AFB, OH: Air Force Museum Foundation, 1975. * Wooldridge, E.T. Jr. ''The P-80 Shooting Star: Evolution of a Jet Fighter'' (Famous Aircraft of the National Air and Space Museum Series, Vol. 3). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979. .


External links


Aircraft of the Smithsonian: Lockheed XP-80 ''Lulu-Belle''




{{Authority control P-080 1940s United States fighter aircraft Single-engined jet aircraft Low-wing aircraft World War II jet aircraft of the United States Aircraft first flown in 1944