Jets Go To War

After World War Two, United States Air Force leaders pushed to modernize the air fleet with jet propulsion as the United States sought to match Germany’s air-combat advantage with the Me 262. Lockheed was asked to design a fighter jet using the De Havilland turbojet engine, and the first XP-80, Lulu-Belle, made its maiden flight on January 8, 1944, only 143 days after design work began and 37 days ahead of schedule. Dubbed the Shooting Star, the new jet did not fly combat missions before the war ended in 1945 because design flaws produced a poor safety record, so Lockheed and the United States Army Air Force continued refining it through modifications for safer combat and reconnaissance use. The transition from prop-driven fighters to jets also challenged veteran pilots, and a two-seat version of the P-80 first flown in 1948 became the basis for the T-33, the first jet-fighter trainer in the United States. In the Korean War, the United States’ jet fleet entered combat, in what was reportedly the first jet-to-jet air fighting in war history, and on November 10, 1950, Lieutenant Russell Brown shot down a MiG-15 in an F-80 Shooting Star. TR-604 entered United States Air Force service on December 10, 1952, served at pilot wing training bases in Texas, Arizona, and Alabama, and after a belly landing in 1964 was declared surplus and displayed in Atmore, Alabama, for 50 years before beginning its move in 2003 to Sampson State Park Military Museum. The P-80 series was adapted for different roles, with the two-seat TF-80C leading to the T-33 trainer that helped transition pilots to fighter jets.

Romulus, New York · United States