It was the first operational jet fighter to have its engine buried in the fuselage, a format previously used in the pioneering German Heinkel He 178 V1 of 1939, and the later British Gloster E.28/39 demonstrator of 1941.

Few airplanes in the history of aeronautics have been as successful as the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star. It was the first American combat-ready jet fighter when it went into service in 1945.

May 10, 2023 · The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, also known as the F-80, was the first jet fighter used operationally by the US Army Air Forces (USAAF).

Over the course of the next six months, the Lockheed team exceeded expectations, delivering the sleek XP-80 prototype in 143 days, seven days ahead of schedule. It was dubbed the Shooting Star in honor of its unparalleled speed, with some modified models capable of passing 600 mph.

Jul 8, 2021 · 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 Messerschmitt Me 262, were shooting down Allied bombers.

Aug 4, 2021 · The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star wins on all counts. While not the first U.S. jet fighter, it was developed in record time, becoming the first U.S. aircraft to exceed 500 mph in level flight, ultimately serving in various forms in the active U.S. military for over five decades.

Dec 21, 2021 · Lockheed realized that it needed a jet trainer, which it created by lengthening a standard P-80 airframe by 4 feet 6 inches, making room for a back-seat instructor pilot. Thus was born Lockheed’s most successful jet of all time, the T-33 “T-bird.”

The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was a straight-winged jet fighter developed and produced by the American company Lockheed. Introduced in 1945, it was the first jet fighter operated by the United States Army Air Forces.

Jan 1, 2020 · Early in the conflict, a P-80 Shooting Star flown by Lt. Russell Brown shot down a North Korean MiG-15—the cutting edge of jet fighter technology at the time—during the first jet-versus-jet air battle in history.

Mar 6, 2025 · For the United States, that transition began with the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, America’s first operational jet fighter. Debuting at the tail end of World War II, the P-80 was later...