The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star is an American-built jet trainer aircraft. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948, piloted by Tony LeVier. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then designated T-33A. It was used by the U.S. Navy initially as TO-2 then TV-2, and after 1962, T-33B. Despite its vintage, the venerable T-33 still remains in service worldwide.
Design and development
The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 by lengthening the fuselage by slightly over three feet and adding a second seat, instrumentation and flight controls. It was initially designated as a variant of the P-80/F-80, the TP-80C/TF-80C. [1]
Design work for the Lockheed P-80 began in 1943 with the first flight on 8 January 1944. Following on the Bell P-59, the P-80 became the first jet fighter to enter full squadron service in the United States Army Air Forces. As more advanced jets entered service, the F-80 took on another role - training jet pilots. The two-place T-33 jet was designed for training pilots already qualified to fly propeller-driven aircraft.
Originally designated the TF-80C, the T-33 made its first flight on 22 March 1948 with US production taking place from 1948 to 1959. The US Navy used the T-33 as a land-based trainer starting in 1949. It was designated the TV-2, but was redesignated the T-33B in 1962. The Navy operated some ex-USAF P-80Cs as the TO-1, changed to the TV-1 about a year later. A carrier-capable version of the P-80/T-33 family was subsequently developed by Lockheed, eventually leading to the late 1950s to 1970s T2V-1/T-1A SeaStar. A total of 6,557 Shooting Stars were produced, 5,691 by Lockheed.
Operational service
The two-place T-33 proved to be a suitable advanced trainer, and it has been used for such tasks as drone director and target towing, and some T-33s retained two machine guns for gunnery training. In some countries, the T-33 was even employed as a combat aircraft. The RT-33A version, reconnaissance aircraft produced primarily for use by foreign countries, had a camera installed in the nose and additional equipment in the rear cockpit. T-33s continued to fly as currency trainers, drone towing, combat and tactical simulation training, "hack" aircraft, electronic countermeasures and warfare training and test platforms right into the 1980s.
The T-33 has served with over 30 nations, and continues to operate as a trainer in smaller air forces. Canadair built 656 T-33s on licence for service in the Canadian Forces as the CT-133 Silver Star while Kawasaki manufactured 210 in Japan. Other operators included Brazil, Turkey and Thailand which used the T-33 extensively.
In the 1980s, an attempt was made to modify and modernize the T-33 as the Boeing Skyfox, but a lack of orders led to the cancellation of the project. About 70% of the T-33s airframe was retained in the Skyfox, but it was powered by two Garrett TFE731-3A turbofan engines.
A limited number of T-33s have found their way into private hands; Michael Dorn of Star Trek: The Next Generation fame also owns a Canadair T-33. On 6 September 2006, Imperial War Museum Duxford's Canadair T-33 (G-TBRD), owned by the Golden Apple Trust, was destroyed in a takeoff accident; the crew survived. G-TBRD was the first jet warbird to be operated from Duxford, arriving in 1975 and originally registered as G-OAHB.
Variants
USAF
- 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: This designation was given to a number of T-33As converted into special test aircraft.
- 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.
US Navy
- TO-1/TV-1: U.S. Navy designation of P-80C, 50 transferred to USN in 1949 as jet trainers (not technically T-33 Shooting Star)
- TO-2: Two-seat land-based jet training aircraft for the US Navy. It was the US Navy's version of the T-33A. Later redesignated TV-2.
- TV-2KD: This designation was given to number of TV-2s converted into drone directors.
- T-33B redesignation of Navy's TV-2 in 1962.
- DT-33B redesignation of Navy's TV-2KD.
Canada
Operators
A T-33 Shooting Star of the Hellenic Air force
T-33 Portuguese Air Force
 Belgium
 Bolivia Brazil Burma Chile Republic of China Colombia Cuba Denmark Ecuador El Salvador France Germany Greece Guatemala Indonesia Iran Italy Japan
 Libya Mexico - T-33s recently retired
 Netherlands Nicaragua Norway Pakistan Paraguay Peru Philippines
 Portugal Saudi Arabia Singapore
 South Korea Spain Thailand
 Turkey United States
 Uruguay Venezuela Yugoslavia
Survivors
A Lockheed T-33 in Reno, Nevada in 2004
Numerous T-33s have been preserved as museum and commemorative displays including:
- Lockheed T-33A-1-LO ,580-8189 is in "Museum of Aviation" in Belgrade , Serbia.
- T-33A-1-LO, 51-4419 and 17473: On loan from the USAF Museum at the Midland Air Museum, Coventry, England.
- T-33A-1-LO, 51-4301 is on static display at Vance AFB, OK.
- T-33A-1-LO, 58-0629 is on display at Castle Air Museum, Atwater, CA
- The town of Othello, Washington in the United States has a decommissioned T-33 on display in a park near the City Hall.
- T-33A-1-LO, 58-0616 is on display at McChord Air Museum, McChord Air Force Base, Washington.
- T-33A-1-LO, 51-2129? is in display at the Collings Foundation in Stow, MA.
- T-33A-1-LO, 52-9958 Yugoslav 10024 (serial number: 580-8189) is on display at Yugoslav Aeronautical Museum, Nikola Tesla Airport, Belgrade, Serbia.
- Unknown T-33, is under restoration to flying condition with the Collings Foundation out of their Houston, Texas facility
Specifications (T-33A)
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
- (AT-33) 2x 0.50 in (12.7 mm) Browning M3 machine guns with 350 rounds per gun
- Up to 2,000 lb (907 kg) of ordnance on two underwing hardpoints. Weapons carried include bombs and rocket pods.
See also
Related development
Comparable aircraft
Related lists
References
Notes
Bibliography
- Baugher, Joe. Lockheed P-80/F-80. Lockheed P-80/F-80 Access date: 21 December 2006.
- Davis, Larry. P-80 Shooting Star. T-33/F-94 in action. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1980. ISBN 0-89747-099-0.
- Dorr, Robert F. "P-80 Shooting Star Variants". Wings of Fame Vol. 11. London: Aerospace Publishing Ltd., 1998. ISBN 1-86184-017-9.
- Pace, Steve. Lockheed Skunk Works. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks International, 1992. ISBN 0-87938-632-0.
External links
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