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| Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star |
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| Country:
USA |
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Type: Fighter |
| Manufacturer:
Lockheed |
| Service:
1945 - 1953 |
| First
Flight: 8 January 1944 |
| Production:
1715 |
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The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star (later redesignated F-80) was the first operational jet fighter used by the United States Army Air Forces, and saw extensive combat in Korea with the United States Air Force as the F-80. As one of the world's first successful turbojet-powered combat aircraft, it helped usher in the jet age in the USAF and other air forces worldwide.
Shooting Stars first saw combat service in the Korean War, employing both the F-80C variant and RF-80 photo-recon variants. The first jet-versus-jet aircraft battle took place on 8 November 1950 in which Lieutenant Russell J. Brown, flying an F-80, claimed a MiG-15 shot down. The straight-wing F-80s were inferior in performance to the MiGs and were soon replaced in the air superiority role. By the end of hostilities the only F-80s still flying in Korea were photo-recon variants.
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| TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS ( P-80C) |
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General characteristics
- Crew: One
- Length: 34 ft 5 in (10.49 m)
- Wingspan: 38 ft 9 in (11.81 m)
- Height: 11 ft 3 in (3.43 m)
- Wing area: 237.6 ft (22.07 m)
- Empty weight: 8,420 lb (3,819 kg)
- Loaded weight: 12,650 lb (5,738 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 16,856 lb (7,646 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 x Allison J33-A-35 centrifugal compressor turbojet, 5,400 lbf (24.0 kN)
- Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0134
- Drag area: 3.2 ft (0.30 m)
- Aspect ratio: 6.37
Performance
- Maximum speed: 600 mph (965 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 410 mph (660 km/h)
- Range: 1,200 mi (1,930 km)
- Service ceiling 46,000 ft (14,000 m)
- Rate of climb: 4,580 ft/min (23.3 m/s)
- Wing loading: 53 lb/ft (260 kg/m)
- Thrust/weight: 0.43
- Lift-to-drag ratio: 17.7
- Time to altitude: 5.5 min to 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
Armament
- 6x 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns (300 rounds per gun, 1,800 rounds total)
- 2x 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs
- 8x unguided rockets
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