T 33a
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.
Despite its vintage, the venerable T-33 still remains in service worldwide.
Design and development
The T-33 (aka "T-Bird") 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.
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. 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 history
Lockheed T-33A USAF
The two-place T-33 proved suitable as a advanced trainer, and it has been used for such tasks as drone director and target towing. Air Force began phasing the T-33 out of front line pilot training duties in the Air Training Command in the early 1960s as the T-37 Tweet and T-38 Talon aircraft began replacing it under the Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) construct.
Navy with the TV-1 (also renamed T-33 in 1962) as more advanced aircraft such as the T-2 Buckeye came on line. Others later went to Tactical Air Command and TAC-gained Air National Guard F-106 and F-4 Phantom II units in a similar role until they were finally retired.
Some T-33s retained two machine guns for gunnery training, and in some countries, the T-33 was even employed as a combat aircraft: the Cuban Air Force used them during the Bay of Pigs Invasion, scoring several kills.
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 RCAF - Canadian Forces as the CT-133 Silver Star while Kawasaki manufactured 210 in Japan. New avionics were installed, and detailed inspection and renewal of the fuselage and wings were performed.
G-TBRD was the first jet warbird to be operated from Duxford, arriving in 1975; it was originally registered as G-OAHB.
In 2008, several T-33s in storage at CFB Mountain View, an old World War II era RCAF base south of Trenton, Ontario, were sold to various private collectors. Six airplanes were purchased by a newly formed museum out of London, Ontario, called the Jet Aircraft Museum (JAM), associated with the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association, which purchased the aircraft on behalf of JAM. The six airplanes, formerly designated #133346, now C-FUPM; #133500, now C-FUPO; and #133573, now C-FUPP, as well as #133052, #133263 and #133441, will be flown in airshows and for memorials across Canada and in parts of the USA. Other T-33s have also been sold to various US and Canadian buyers.
Variants
Lockheed NT-33A USAF
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. Airport), ETA (Technical Air School), Museo Aeronáutico (Air Museum)
Unknown T-33, is under restoration to flying condition with the Collings Foundation out of their Houston, Texas facility
Unknown T-33, on static display in the Brazilian Museu Aeroespacial - Musal in Rio de Janeiro.
Unknown T-33, on static display in the Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleißheim near Munich.
It carries the markings of the German Luftwaffe
Unknown T-33, on display in the Royal Thai Air Force museum.
Unknown T-33, on static display at the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, PA.