The T-33A two-seater trainer aircraft manufactured by LOKHID is one of those long-livers, on which the careers of several generations of pilots began.
It was created on the basis of the first generation F-80 Shooting Star jet fighter, but managed to outlive its progenitor.
Development of the F-80 Shooting Star fighter began in the spring of 1943, following the emergence of data on the development of jet fighters by Germany.
Then the meeting of the chief designer of the Lockheed company Daniel Russ with representatives of the command of the American Air Force at Wright Field airbase took place. Following the meeting, an official letter was written in which the company was entrusted with the development of a jet fighter using the English De Havilland H.1B Goblin engine.
The first flight of the XP-80 prototype took place on January 8, 1944, and the second prototype was produced on June 10, 1944. After successfully completing the tests, the company began preparations for serial production. True, there was one problem with the engine - Allis Chalmers could not meet the delivery time, putting the program in jeopardy. Lockheed decides to install General Electric I-40 power units on production aircraft. Later, Allison will be engaged in serial production of these engines, they will receive the designation J-33.
To install a new engine, it was necessary to increase the length of the fuselage by 510 mm, change the shape of the air intakes, and also put a boundary layer cutter in front of them. In addition, the wing area has been increased.
The Air Force rushed the launch of the aircraft into mass production, as they needed a worthy opponent for the German Me-262. Four pre-production YP-80 aircraft went on combat trials across Europe: two went to the UK, and two more to Italy. True, none of these fighters ever met the enemy.
In March 1945, the first production samples began to enter service with army units. It should be noted that the development of new aircraft was accompanied by a very high accident rate.
At the beginning of its career, the Shooting Star fighter could hardly be called a safe and reliable aircraft, although these qualities were inherent in other equipment of the company. Moreover, the main problem was not design errors, but the novelty of the class of jet technology itself.
On August 6, 1945, the famous US Air Force pilot Richard Bong, who was the most productive pilot in US history, was killed. On account of his 40 Japanese aircraft, shot down on the P-38 "Lightning". The last for him was the next flyby of the production model F-80A.
In 1947, the US Air Force changed the designation system, so from that moment the aircraft received the name - F-80 Shooting Star. Production of the last serial modification of the F-80C began in February 1948. It was equipped with an even more powerful J33-A-23 s engine, the thrust of which reached 2080 kgf. The fighting qualities of the vehicle were also significantly improved. In particular, two bomb pylons appeared under the wings, in which unguided rockets can also be installed. The F-80's built-in armament included six 12.7 mm M-3 machine guns, which provided a rate of fire of 1200 rounds per minute with an ammunition capacity of 297 rounds per barrel.
In the summer of 1950, the serial production of these aircraft was completed. A total of 798 units were produced.
It is worth noting that the F-80's combat career was not very successful. During the clashes in Korea, it turned out that they were not competitors for the Soviet MiG-15. For the destruction of MiGs, the more suitable F-86 "Saber" were used, and all available F-80Cs were retrained into fighter-bombers.
In 1958, the F-80C aircraft were finally withdrawn from service with the Air Force and National Guard reserves. 113 units received the South African Air Force under the US military assistance program. And from 1958 to 1963, 33 F-80Cs were transferred to the Brazilian Air Force. At the same time, 16 aircraft received the Peruvian Air Force. Also, these aircraft were in service with the Air Forces of Colombia, Chile and Uruguay. In 1975, they were finally removed from service when the Uruguayan Air Force exchanged them for the Cessna A-73B.
The creation of the training T-33A began when it became obvious that in view of the high accident rate of new jet vehicles, a two-seat model would be required. Lockheed carried out this development on its own initiative.
In August, the almost finished R-80C was removed directly from the assembly line, which was going to be converted into a two-seater. The secrecy of the development did its job, Lockheed was the first to offer such a machine, although the growth of the training aircraft market was predictable.
In the process of alteration, the serial version of the R-80C had to be disassembled in order to "cut" the second raised cab, allowing for dual control. An insert 75 cm in front of the wing appeared in the fuselage, as well as another one 30 cm behind it. Also, the volume of the fuel tank in the fuselage had to be halved, but the total capacity remained unchanged, thanks to the replacement of the wing-protected tanks with soft nylon tanks. The wingtips allowed 230-gallon tanks to be placed underneath, which were attached along a line of symmetry.
The ejection seats for the new car, which received the designation TR-80S, remained practically unchanged. At the same time, the cabin received a single canopy, which now did not tilt to the side, but was lifted up by an electric motor.
The aircraft was armed with two 12.7 mm machine guns with 300 rounds of ammunition each.
The first test flight took place on March 22, 1948. In the air, the plane was not much different from the single-seat version. Moreover, the elongated shape of the fuselage slightly increased the flight performance.
The aircraft had the following technical features. Its length was 11.5 meters, height - 3.56 meters, wingspan - 11.85 meters, and wing area - 21.8 square meters.
The empty weight of the aircraft was 3,667 kg, and the maximum take-off weight was 6,551 kg with a payload of 5,714 kg.
The maximum speed of the aircraft reached 880 km / h, while the cruising speed was 720 km / h with a practical flight range of 2050 km. Service ceiling height - 14 630 m.
For military trials, 20 TR-80S units were produced. A series of familiarization flights was organized at various Air Force bases for pilots and technicians. On June 11, 1948, the vehicle received the designation TF-80C, and on May 5, 1949, the familiar T-33A.
In addition to the Air Force, the fleet command showed an interest in the new training machine, since there was also an acute problem of accidents when mastering samples of jet technology. In just a year, 26 T-33A training aircraft were transferred to the fleet. And the next year, the naval pilots received 699 more aircraft.
In total, 5691 T-33A of various modifications were produced for the entire production period. Another 656 aircraft were produced by the Canadian company "Canadair", and the Japanese "Kawasaki" increased the number by another 210. Most of the American-made aircraft went abroad, reaching more than twenty countries of the world.
For half a century, the T-33A was a "training desk" for thousands of pilots.
Also, the T-33A was actively used as a combat vehicle during many regional conflicts, where it was much more fortunate than its progenitor, the F-80 Shooting Star.
The T-33A pilots shot down several B-26 Invaders of the invading forces during aerial combat over the Cuban Bay of Pigs.
But the main purpose of the T-33A was "counter-guerrilla" strikes against ground targets.
Several modifications were specially developed for foreign orders: the RT-33A reconnaissance aircraft, equipped with cameras in the front of the fuselage and enlarged tanks, as well as the AT-33A attack aircraft, on which more advanced navigation and sighting equipment was installed, as well as reinforced holders for the combat load.
At the moment, only the Bolivian Air Force has AT-33A made in Canada, which are used for raids on drug dealers and left-wing radical rebel groups.
18 T-33s are in service with two units: "Air Group 32" in Santa Cruz de la Sierra and "Air Group 31" in El Alto.
Most of the departures take place in the Villa Tunari area, the unofficial capital of coca production in Bolivia.
It should be noted that this is a very durable aircraft. For example, its counterpart and analogue developed in the USSR - the MiG-15UTI trainer aircraft - was actively used until the early 80s. And the T-33A was listed in the US Air Force until 1996.
T-33A, which were removed from service, turned into remotely controlled targets with the designation QT-33A. First of all, they were used to simulate the flight of maneuverable and low-flying air targets, as well as cruise missiles.
