Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star

Template:Infobox Aircraft

The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first operational jet fighter used by the United States Army Air Forces. The P-59A Airacomet preceded the P-80, but it was produced in small numbers and did not enter operation. The P-80 was one of the first operational jet fighter to have its engine within the fuselage (the first jet fighters had their engines in external pods for easier maintenance of the early turbojets), a configuration pioneered by the earlier de Havilland Vampire and one that that would be used by nearly all subsequent fighter aircraft.

Development

Design work began on the XP-80 began in 1943 with a design being built around a British de Havilland H1 B turbojet. The design team, consisting of 28 engineers, was led by the legendary Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson. This teaming was the first appearance of Lockheed's Skunk Works, which would surface again in the next decade to produce a line of high performing aircraft beginning with the F-104 Starfighter. The XP-80 was a conventional, all-metal airframe with a slim low wing and tricycle undercarriage. The first prototype, nicknamed Lulu-Belle, flew on June 10, 1944, just 143 days after the design commenced, which was a full 37 days ahead of schedule. Lulu-Belle was powered by a replacement Halford H1 (later "Goblin") taken from the prototype de Havilland Vampire and shipped to the States after the original flight engine was accidentally destroyed. Following its first flight Clarence 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 second prototype, the XP-80A was built around a larger GE I-40 engine. It was nicknamed Gray Ghost. Tony LeVier made the first test flight on January 8, 1944. The 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 I-40 powered P-80A were not positive, with Milo himself commenting that the aircraft that he very much enjoyed (powered by the Halford engine) had now become a "dog".

Even so, the P-80 testing program was dangerous. Lockheed chief engineering test pilot Milo Burcham was killed on October 20, 1944 while flying the second production prototype. World War II ace Richard Bong was also killed test flying a P-80. Both pilots were killed when the fuel pump system for the engine failed. The death of Milo Burcham resulted in the addition of an emergency fuel pump. However in Richard Bong's crash, it was found that he forgot to turn on the emergency fuel pump that could have prevented the accident. Later, Tony LeVier, newly promoted to chief engineering test pilot after Milo Burcham's death, bailed out of the Gray Ghost when one of the engine's turbine blades broke and servered the airplane's tail. He landed hard and broke his back, but returned to the test program after six months of recovery.

Operation

The Shooting Star began to enter service in early 1945, and 45 had been delivered before the war ended. Only four actually made it to Europe, two to England and two to Italy, but when test pilot Major Fred Borsodi, demonstrating the P-80 in England, was killed in a crash caused by a fire in the jet engine, the type was grounded. As a result, the P-80 didnt see much combat in World War II.

After the war production continued, although the initial order for 5,000 was quickly reduced to 2,000 at a little under $100,000 each. A total of 1,715 single-seater P-80A, P-80B or P-80Cs were made up to the end of production in 1950, of which 798 were P-80Cs. The P-80C began production in 1948; in June of that year, the P-80C was officially renamed the F-80C. A modified P-80B, designated XP-80R and piloted by then-Colonel Albert Boyd, set a world speed record of 623.8 mph (1003.9 km/h) on June 19, 1947.

The F-80s were also assigned to the 4th Fighter Wing of the {[Strategic Air Command]] from 1947 through 1948.

Korea

Shooting Stars saw combat service in the Korean War, mainly the more powerful F-80C variant. November 8, 1950 saw the first piloted jet aircraft vs. piloted jet aircraft battle, in which an F-80 shot down a MiG-15. However, the straight-wing F-80s were soon replaced with the swept-wing F-86 Sabre. At this time, the F-80s were usually out-classed by the superior Russian-designed aircraft. When sufficient Sabres were in operation, the Shooting Star was relegated to ground attack and advanced flight training duties.

Variants

XP-80 : Prototype, one built.
XP-80A : Second and third prototypes.
YP-80A : Pre-production aircraft.
P-80A
F-80A
XP-80B
P-80B
F-80B
P-80C
F-80C
XFP-80A
XF-14
ERF-80A
F-14A
FP-80A
RF-80A
RF-80C : Single-seat photo-reconnaissance aircraft.
DF-80A : This designation was given to number of F-80As converted into drone directors.
QF-80A
QF-80C
QF-80F
TP-80C
TF-80C
TO-1
TV-1

Lockheed also produced a two-seat trainer variant with a longer fuselage, the T-33A also known as the "T-bird", which remained in production until 1959 and was produced under license in Japan and Canada. The trainer was used by more than 20 different countries. Almost 7,000 T-33s were built and some are still in service.

T-33A : Two-seat jet trainer aircraft.
AT-33A : Two-seat attack version of the T-33A.
DT-33A : This designation was given to a number of T-33As converted into drone directors.
NT-33A
QT-33A This designation was given to number of T-33As converted into target drones.
RT-33A : Two-seat reconnaissance version of the AT-33A.
TO-2 : Two-seat jet training aircraft for the US Navy. It was the US Navy's version of the T-33A. Later redesignated TV-2.
TV-2KD
T2V-1 Sea Star :
T-1A
Canadair T-33 Silver Star

The prototype T-33 was again modified into the first F-94 Starfire, an all-weather fighter which was produced in three variants.

YF-94 : Two T-33As were modified into F-94 prototypes.
F-94A/B/C : Two-seat all-weather interceptor fighter.

Foreign operators

Surplus F-80s, upon retirement from the US Air Force, were transferred to Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay.

Specifications (P-80A/F-80)

Data from Quest for Performance^[1]

General characteristics

Crew: One
Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0134

Drag area: 3.2 ft² (0.30 m²)

Aspect ratio: 6.37 Performance

Thrust/weight: 0.43
Lift-to-drag ratio: 17.7

Time to altitude: 5.5 min to 20,000 ft (6,100 m) Armament

6x 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns (300 rounds per gun, 1,800 rounds total)
2x 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs
10-16 unguided rockets

References

^ Loftin, LK, Jr. "Quest for performance: The evolution of modern aircraft. NASA SP-468". Retrieved 2006-04-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Pace, Steve, Lockheed Skunk Works. Osceola WI: Motorbooks International, 1992.