Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star
Given that jet fighters would be tricky to fly for pilots used to flying propeller aircraft, let alone new trainee pilots, Lockheed proposed in 1945 that a two-seat conversion trainer be built for the P-80 Shooting Star. The US Army Air Force rejected the idea on cost grounds, citing that the T-6 Texan already in service would be sufficient enough. After a series of fatal crashes of the P-80—including the one that killed the USAAF’s top ace, Richard Bong—the USAAF revisited Lockheed’s proposal, which included extending the P-80’s fuselage by three feet, extending the canopy backwards, and adding a second cockpit with full flight controls. This aircraft, designated first TP-80C on its maiden flight in March 1948, then TF-80C, then finally T-33A, would go on to be far more successful than the fighter it was based on.
The T-33 was designed to be simple, robust, and easy to fly for trainee pilots, though it was intended at first to be only used for propeller-qualified pilots to transition into jets. As propeller aircraft were mostly phased out of the independent US Air Force’s inventory, the service made the decision to go to an “all-jet” training syllabus, and as a result pilots began flying T-33s in flight school. The “T-Bird,” as it became known, could still be unforgiving in certain circumstances, and was less forgiving as the T-37 Tweet or the T-38 Talon that would eventually replace it. The T-33 was, however, eminently reliable. Even after it was withdrawn from training units in the mid-1950s, it soldiered on as a “hack” aircraft for units, a familiarization aircraft, advanced trainer, and aggressor aircraft, especially in Air Defense Command and Air National Guard units. Well into the 1980s, T-33s could be found in frontline USAF units, and it was said that, when the last F-16 was retired, the pilot would hitch a ride home in a T-Bird. While this did not prove true, it was not off by much—the last USAF T-33s did not leave the inventory until around 1988.
Because of its robustness and cheap flyaway price, the T-33 was also popular with foreign air forces: no less than 41 nations operated T-33s at one time or another, and it was license-built in Japan by Kawasaki and in Canada as the CT-133 Silver Star, which differed from US-built aircraft only in using a Rolls-Royce Nene engine. While it was usually used in the trainer role, many were modified for a variety of roles, including armed AT-33s and reconnaissance RT-33s (some of which were also used by the USAF). AT-33s, which were basically two-seat F-80s, were used in several conflicts worldwide, mainly in South America; Bolivia still uses its AT-33s as frontline counterinsurgency aircraft. While Bolivia remains the only air force to still operate T-33s on a regular basis, many of these nations did not retire their Shooting Stars until the late 1990s—Canada did not retire its last CT-133s until 2008, and Boeing Aircraft has two T-33As on charge as chase aircraft. 6557 T-33s were built overall, and today over 80 and possibly as many as a hundred survive, with many still flyable.
This T-33 is on display in the Malmstrom AFB Museum airpark, and represents a general "hack" aircraft assigned for general duties and familiarization for the base. The aircraft went on display around 2004; it's actually the newest aircraft in the airpark. I'm not sure of its provenance. It's finished in an anticorrosion silver paint to simulate bare metal. Though displayed as 56-1779, this is actually 57-0574.
Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star
Given that jet fighters would be tricky to fly for pilots used to flying propeller aircraft, let alone new trainee pilots, Lockheed proposed in 1945 that a two-seat conversion trainer be built for the P-80 Shooting Star. The US Army Air Force rejected the idea on cost grounds, citing that the T-6 Texan already in service would be sufficient enough. After a series of fatal crashes of the P-80—including the one that killed the USAAF’s top ace, Richard Bong—the USAAF revisited Lockheed’s proposal, which included extending the P-80’s fuselage by three feet, extending the canopy backwards, and adding a second cockpit with full flight controls. This aircraft, designated first TP-80C on its maiden flight in March 1948, then TF-80C, then finally T-33A, would go on to be far more successful than the fighter it was based on.
The T-33 was designed to be simple, robust, and easy to fly for trainee pilots, though it was intended at first to be only used for propeller-qualified pilots to transition into jets. As propeller aircraft were mostly phased out of the independent US Air Force’s inventory, the service made the decision to go to an “all-jet” training syllabus, and as a result pilots began flying T-33s in flight school. The “T-Bird,” as it became known, could still be unforgiving in certain circumstances, and was less forgiving as the T-37 Tweet or the T-38 Talon that would eventually replace it. The T-33 was, however, eminently reliable. Even after it was withdrawn from training units in the mid-1950s, it soldiered on as a “hack” aircraft for units, a familiarization aircraft, advanced trainer, and aggressor aircraft, especially in Air Defense Command and Air National Guard units. Well into the 1980s, T-33s could be found in frontline USAF units, and it was said that, when the last F-16 was retired, the pilot would hitch a ride home in a T-Bird. While this did not prove true, it was not off by much—the last USAF T-33s did not leave the inventory until around 1988.
Because of its robustness and cheap flyaway price, the T-33 was also popular with foreign air forces: no less than 41 nations operated T-33s at one time or another, and it was license-built in Japan by Kawasaki and in Canada as the CT-133 Silver Star, which differed from US-built aircraft only in using a Rolls-Royce Nene engine. While it was usually used in the trainer role, many were modified for a variety of roles, including armed AT-33s and reconnaissance RT-33s (some of which were also used by the USAF). AT-33s, which were basically two-seat F-80s, were used in several conflicts worldwide, mainly in South America; Bolivia still uses its AT-33s as frontline counterinsurgency aircraft. While Bolivia remains the only air force to still operate T-33s on a regular basis, many of these nations did not retire their Shooting Stars until the late 1990s—Canada did not retire its last CT-133s until 2008, and Boeing Aircraft has two T-33As on charge as chase aircraft. 6557 T-33s were built overall, and today over 80 and possibly as many as a hundred survive, with many still flyable.
This T-33 is on display in the Malmstrom AFB Museum airpark, and represents a general "hack" aircraft assigned for general duties and familiarization for the base. The aircraft went on display around 2004; it's actually the newest aircraft in the airpark. I'm not sure of its provenance. It's finished in an anticorrosion silver paint to simulate bare metal. Though displayed as 56-1779, this is actually 57-0574.