The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then designated T-33A .

The two-place T-33 jet was designed for training pilots already qualified to fly propeller-driven aircraft. It was developed from the single-seat F-80 fighter by lengthening the fuselage about three feet to accommodate a second cockpit.

The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star is an American subsonic jet trainer first flown in 1948. It was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 by lengthening the fuselage by slightly more than 3 feet and adding a second seat, instrumentation, and flight controls.

The T-33A was the only jet trainer in the USAF inventory from 1948 until the advent of the Cessna T-37A in 1957 and the Northrop T-38A in 1961. It served as an instrument trainer and utility aircraft as well as a test aircraft.

Jan 5, 2014 · America’s first operational jet fighter was the Lockheed P–80 Shooting Star, which first flew in 1944. Unfortunately, the propeller-driven trainers of World War II could not prepare pilots well for flying turbojet airplanes.

In the more than 55 years since its introduction, the T-33 has been flown to help train more jet pilots than any other training aircraft type and continues to serve as an attack/trainer (AT-33) and reconnaissance/trainer (RT-33) in several foreign air forces.

The Shooting Star was the first U.S. Air Force aircraft to exceed 500 mph in level flight, the first American jet airplane to be manufactured in large quantities, and the first USAF jet to be used in combat. A major variant of the F-80 was the T-33 Shooting Star, a two-seat trainer version.

The Lockheed T-33 is a single-engine two-seat jet trainer aircraft produced by the US-American manufacturer Lockheed Corporation. The Lockheed T-33 T-Bird is a two-seat trainer variant of the Lockheed P-80/F-80 Shooting Star, initially designated TF-80C.

Jan 1, 2020 · The T-33 Shooting Star is Lockheed's longest lasting jet trainer. See the T-33 Shooting Star specifications, evolution and more on Military Machine.

The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star was designed by Clarence Kelly Johnson and manufactured by Lockheed as an American subsonic trainer aircraft during the late 1940s. Based on the Lockheed P-80/F-80 jet fighter, the T-33 Shooting Star first flew in March 1948 and was retired in July 2017.