The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star is the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. [1] Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 …

May 8, 2024 · P-80A - Initial production models; fitted with General Electric J33 (I-40) powerplant (J33-9 or J33-11 series) of 4,000lbs thrust; wingtip fuel tanks; deliveries in February of 1945; …

On 27 June 1950 a Shooting Star of the 35th Fighter Squadron scored America's first jet victories by downing two IL-10 bombers over South Korea. In its first clash with Soviet-built MiG 15s on …

One of the untold stories of early jet aviation is about the four Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star fighters that reached Europe as early as January 1945. German jets, in particular the …

The first prototype, "Lulu-Belle" or "Green Hornet", powered by the second engine, took a successful flight on 8 Jan 1944 with Milo Burcham at the controls. The second prototype …

The P-80—a highly maneuverable, winged torpedo that could exceed 500 mph in level flight, as well as a steady gun platform with a six-barrel .50-caliber stinger—belonged to a whole new...

Jul 3, 2022 · Tragically, on 6 August 1945 —the identical day that the primary atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima —America’s “ace of aces,” Major Richard Ira Bong, was killed in a P …

The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first fighter jet of the United States Army Air Force. It made a few flyovers of Germany in the last weeks of World War II.

One P-80A-1-LO airframe (44-85201) was modified as an unarmed photographic reconnaissance aircraft, with the guns being replaced by a set of cameras. The aircraft was redesignated XFP …

May 30, 2021 · On the day the Atomic Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima Richard Bong was killed in an acceptance flight of a new P-80A. In response to this accident, USAAF assigned Chuck …