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Though the Grumman F8F Bearcat first flew on August 21, 1944 and was delivered to the United States Navy in February of 1945, with USN Squadron VF-19 becoming the first unit to be equipped with them, in May of 1945, it did not see combat in World War II. The F8F, however, did see combat with the French Air Force in Vietnam, during the 1950s, and it, also, served with the air forces of South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and Thailand, which had about 130 of them. When production of the F8F was halted, in May of 1949, 24 USN squadrons were equipped with Bearcats. It had a maximum speed of 421 mph (677 km/h.), with its 2,100 hp Pratt & Whitney engine. |
The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star, which has seen service in many air forces, is the trainer version of the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star and 5,691 were built between 1949 and 1959. The experimental version of this aircraft, the XP-80, first flew on January 8, 1944 and, as the P-80, it entered United States Army Air Force service in February of 1945, though it did not see combat during World War II. In September of 1947, its designation was changed to the F-80 and, in 1950, it was used in the 1950-53 Korean War, where it became involved in the first jet-to-jet air combat in history, on November 8, 1950, when a F-80C, from the USAAF 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing, shot down a North Korean MiG jet. The T-33, which had a maximum speed of 594 mph (956 km/h),(1) and the F-94 Starfire, which shared the same fuselage as the T-33, was based on that of the P-80C Shooting Star, but lengthened 26" in front of the wing and 12" behind it. This photo shows a T-33, designated a TV-2, when in United States Navy service, that was on display near the United States Navy's Philadelphia Navy Yard, in Pennsylvania. (1) Page 915, Paul Eden and Soph Moeng, The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, Barnes & Noble, New York, 2002. |
A New York Air National Guard T-33 on display at one of the entrances to the Westchester County Airport (HPN) in New York. |
A United States Air Force T-33, with its pilot, in 1962. This particular aircraft may have been assigned to a reconnaissance unit. |
A formation of Lockheed P-80A-1-LO Shooting Stars, which are without wingtip fuel tanks. Their serial numbers are, from left to right, 44-85052, 44-85066, 44-85228, 44-85079, 44-85081. The maximum speed of the P-80 was 558 mph (898 km/h).(1) (1) Page 174, David Monday, American Aircraft of World War II, Chartwell Books, Inc., Edison, 2003. |
A Lockheed F-94, with the 319th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, at Suwon Air Base, Korea, during the Korean War. This particular F-94, with serial number 51-5397, had previously served with the 4703rd Air Defense Wing and after the Korean War it served with the 175th and 116th Air National Guard Fighter Interceptor Squadrons.(1) The wing tanks on this F-94 held 52 gallons. (1) Page 1062, Eden and Moeng. |
LOCKHEED T-33A "SHOOTING STAR"
A McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. This aircraft first saw service with the United States Navy on October 26, 1954, when it was delivered to Attack Squadron VA-72. 2,960 A-4 Skyhawks were built and it remained in production until February 1979. It was also used by the United States Marines and the air forces of Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia, Israel, New Zealand, and Singapore. |
A United States Marines F-4 Phantom II. |
40 YEARS OF THE PHABULOUS PHANTOM II