Lockheed P-80
| Lockheed P-80 / F-80 Shooting Star | |
|---|---|
 Lockheed P-80A "Shooting Star" |
|
| Type: | Fighter bomber |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
January 8, 1944 |
| Commissioning: |
1945 |
| Production time: |
1945 to 1950 |
| Number of pieces: |
1714 |
The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star (dt .: shooting star ) was the first jet-powered military aircraft of the United States , which was used in combat.
Development and history
On May 17, 1943, came on the Eglin Field to a meeting of Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson , the senior development engineer from Lockheed and Colonel MS Roth from Wright Field . Roth reported on the Bell P-59 Airacomet , which was the first US jet aircraft to fly on October 1, 1942, but which could not surpass the performance of the current propeller-driven fighter aircraft - and which never matched the flight performance of the German jet fighter Messerschmitt Me 262 would come close. On June 21, 1943, Lockheed received an order from the USAAF's Air Materiel Command to build three XP-80 prototypes. On the same day, Johnson and his team, the later Skunk Works, started a project that, according to his promise to Lockheed and the AAF, should lead to an airworthy prototype in 180 days. The development of single-jet aircraft as a low-wing monoplane with an all-metal fuselage and tricycle landing gear was at the British Halford H-1B Goblin - jet engine around, with the designers, the engine was even late available.
XP-80 Lulu Belle
After 143 days, the prototype was ready on November 15, 1943 - however, the sensitive engine was irreparably damaged by a collapsed intake duct during the last ground test that day. As a replacement, the Halford H1 engine was removed from the prototype of the British de Havilland Vampire in Great Britain and sent to the USA. With this spare part, Lockheed's chief test pilot Milo Burcham was finally able to perform the maiden flight of the XP-80 Lulu Belle with the number 483020 on January 8, 1944 at Muroc Army Air Field (today's Edwards Air Force Base) . On this day, the aircraft had already reached a speed of 880 km / h.
With a dead weight of 590 kg, the engine developed a thrust of 13.34 kN, the Lulu Belle thus had an empty weight of 2,911 kg and rose to 12,500 m. Even the first flight was carried out with the complete armament of six Browning M2 machine guns of caliber .50 BMG (12.7 mm) in the bow.
In July 1944, the US bombers and their escort fighters increasingly encountered the fast Messerschmitt Me 262s over Germany and were urgently looking for tactical guidelines to combat the jet fighters. The flight performance of the XP-80 corresponded to those of the Me 262 with all peculiarities such as acceleration capacity, top speed and climbing performance , so that with the Lulu Belle as the attacker and with some US bombers and fighters over the Muroc Army Air Field, understanding of the German attack strategy and then methods to defend against rapid attacks were developed. As a result, the Air Force strategists moved the escort fighters to a significantly higher altitude than the bombers in order to be able to intercept the Me 262 after a dive and then at high speed for a short time.
The Lulu Belle was dispensable as a single piece with the British engine, which can no longer be tracked, from the first flight of the more powerful XP-80A on June 10, 1944 and was assigned to the 412th Fighter Group on Muroc Army Air Field in November 1944 . On November 8, 1946, the Air Force donated the aircraft to the Smithsonian Institution . It was stored there until 1978, then restored at Lockheed and finally exhibited in the National Air and Space Museum .
XP-80A
Since de Havilland was not able to deliver a sufficient number of engines for series production of the P-80 , Allis-Chalmers was supposed to start production under license with the designation J36 , but this did not get underway. As a result, Lockheed was offered the General Electric I-40 under development , which was to be tested for the first time on January 13, 1944 - just ten days before construction of the first XP-80A began . However, since this drive was larger and with 826 kg heavier - but also stronger with 17.8 kN thrust - than the Halford H-1 , the construction of the fuselage and many details had to be re-evaluated and changed.
The first of two XP-80A with the serial number 44-83021 flew for the first time on June 10, 1944 - it was also the first flight of the General Electric I-40 engine , which was to achieve large numbers as the General Electric J33 and Allison J33 . The test pilot Tony LeVier conducted this flight and also the first flight of the second XP-80A (44-83022) on August 1, 1944, which was called the Silver Ghost because of its polished surface and with a second seat behind the pilot's seat for the transport of flight engineers and was also equipped by VIP .
On March 20, 1945, Tony LeVier had an accident on a test flight with the first XP-80A (44-83021) when the rear fuselage was severed after the J33's turbine was damaged . LeVier survived the parachute jump at Rosamond , California, seriously injured, and was only able to return to work six months later.
YP-80A
The first of thirteen ordered YP-80A (44-83023 to 44-83035) flew on September 13, 1944. While still in the factory, one machine (44-83024) was converted into the only XF-14 reconnaissance aircraft. On October 20, 1944, Lockheed's chief test pilot Milo Burcham died on a test flight of the second YP-80A prototype (44-83025). This began a long series of incidents, often fatal, of which there were also public reports but which were accepted in the circumstances at the end of World War II, the emerging Cold War and the Korean War.
On December 6, 1944, Lockeed's factory pilot Perry E. Claypool died during a night test flight with the XF-14 . He collided about 30 kilometers north of Muroc Field with a B-25J , whose crew was supposed to observe the visibility of the jet at night. The bomber's crew was also killed.
Of the twelve YP-80A built , only four made it to Europe by the end of World War II . On December 30, 1944, two machines (44-83026 and 44-83027) were brought to RAF Burtonwood Air Base in Great Britain ; two more (44-83028 and 44-83029) came to Lesina in Italy at the end of January 1945 .
However, the two machines in Great Britain only had a short period of use. On January 28, 1945, the 44-83026 caught fire on its second flight in England and exploded near Widnes . Major Frederic Austin Borsodi, Wright Field's test pilot , was killed. 44-83027 crashed on November 14, 1945 after the failure of a Rolls-Royce-Nene engine installed on site and had to be written off.
The YP-80A in Italy were brought back to the USA on June 16, 1945 after a few flights. The 44-83029 made an emergency landing in rural West Virginia in the summer of 1945 and exploded in the air after repairs on a transfer flight from Wright Field (Ohio) to Texas on August 2, 1945 near Brandenburg (Kentucky); the pilot Major Ira Boyd Jones was killed. The 44-83028 was converted into an unmanned drone.
No YP-80A flew a combat mission until the end of the war.
P-80
Production continued after the Second World War. A modified P-80B named XP-80R set a speed record of 1003.59 km / h on June 19, 1947. From 1948, 670 copies of the last variant P-80C were built. From June 1948 the designation was changed to F-80C .
The first combat use took place in the Korean War , mainly with the F-80C . On November 8, 1950, there was the first air battle between jet aircraft, in which a North Korean MiG-15 is said to have been shot down by the American F-80 pilot Russell J. Brown. However, in the archives of the former Soviet Union that have been accessible since the 1990s, there are no related loss reports for this period, only evidence of a damaged MiG-15. Basically, the F-80s were not up to the Soviet fighters and were therefore soon replaced by the F-86 Saber and pushed into the role of the fighter-bomber . When the armistice was signed in 1953, the F-80s were only used as reconnaissance aircraft. In Korea, 373 F-80s and 27 RF-80s were lost, with 277 and 22 in service, respectively. The operational losses break down as follows: F-80: 30 from enemy aircraft, 113 from ground fire, 96 from accidents and 38 F-80s went missing. RF-80s: 2 from enemy aircraft, 1 from ground fire, 9 from accidents and 10 RF-80s went missing.
The F-80 was also exported to some South American countries, namely 33 to Brazil , 18 to Chile , 16 each to Colombia , Ecuador and Peru and 14 to Uruguay . A two-seat variant called the TF-80C was developed for training purposes. The last 128 F-80C were no longer built, but delivered as TF-80C. On May 5, 1949, the TF-80C was renamed the T-33A .
variants
- XP-80
- (Model L-140) 1. Prototype "Lulu Belle" with Halford H-1 engine; Span 11.30 m, length 10.00 m.
- XP-80A
- with GE-I-40 engine; Span 11.86 m, length 10.52 m, two pieces built.
- YP-80A
- Pre-series with General Electric J33 engine; 13 pieces built.
- XF-14
- Conversion of the second YP-80A to a reconnaissance aircraft (first flight September 13, 1944).
- XP-80B
- Conversion of the ninth series XP-80A, later modified to the P-80R.
- F-80A
- first series variant with dive brakes and changed weapon room; Wingspan 12.17 m, length 10.52 m; 525 units were built (before 1948 P-80A ).
- RF-80A
- Reconnaissance aircraft with cameras in the nose, built 152 (before 1948 FP-80A ).
- F-80B
- from 1947 with ejector seat , modified wings and redesigned cockpit , with the omission of the landing light in the nose of the fuselage. 240 pieces were built (before 1948 P-80B ).
- F-80C
- from 1948 with J33A-23 engine; 798 pieces were built. The world's first aircraft with a detachable canopy (before 1948 P-80C ).
- TF-80C
- two-seat trainer version, from 1949 T-33A .
- P-80R Racey
- Modification of the XP-80B with modified air intakes, thinner wings and a flatter cockpit canopy to break the world speed record for land aircraft. On June 4, 1947 Col. reached Albert Boyd the Muroc Army Air Field at a speed of 1003.811 km / h this goal.
- TV-1
- Name of the United States Navy for 50 F-80C (originally TO-1 ) used as training aircraft .
production
Acceptance of the P-80 / F-80 by the USAF:
| version | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XP-80 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| XP-80A | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| YP-80A | 2 | 10 | 12 | ||||||
| P-80A | 228 | 297 | 525 | ||||||
| P-80B | 210 | 30th | 240 | ||||||
| F-80C | 227 | 347 | 207 | 4th | 785 | ||||
| FP-80 | 103 | 49 | 152 | ||||||
| TF-80C, later T-33A | 20th | 27 | 47 | ||||||
| XF-14 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| TOTAL | 6th | 238 | 400 | 259 | 277 | 374 | 207 | 4th | 1,765 |
Between 1950 and 1954, 100 F-80s were converted into RF-80 reconnaissance aircraft.
Mission history
Record flights
Transcontinental record
On January 26, 1946, pilot Col. WH Council flew a P-80 with two tip tanks enlarged to 300 gallons (1360 liters) each without refueling from Long Beach Airport in Los Angeles to LaGuardia Airport in New York City . With a flight time of 4 hours, 13 minutes, 26 seconds and an average speed of 584.82 mph 584.82 mph (941 km / h) it reached a new transcontinental record, which was not broken until 1949 by a Boeing B-47 Stratojet . Two more P-80s took off almost simultaneously with normal tip tanks, each made a stopover for quick refueling at the then Topeka Army Airfield ( US state of Kansas ) and reached the non-stop aircraft shortly after - 10 and 21 minutes later - LaGuardia Airport. With that, all three had undercut the previous record time.
World speed record
On June 19, 1947, an aerodynamically improved one-off P-80 , the P-80R, reached an official world speed record of 1003.60 km / h (623.753 mph) over Muroc Army Air Field (now Edwards Air Force Base ) in California . The modified Allison J33-A-21 engine achieved 22.6 kN (5079 lb) of thrust with enlarged air inlets, with cooling of the intake air and with afterburner and enabled the pilot Col. Albert Boyd to return the record to the USA after 24 years to fetch. The P-80R only used the entire tank capacity of 300 gal. (1360 liters) of the mixture of 40% methanol and 60% water carried for this purpose within 15 minutes to cool the intake air - more than the kerosene that was also used as fuel.
Stationed in the American zone of occupation
After the beginning of the Berlin blockade , the 36th Fighter Wing moved as a squadron to "Fursty" - the Fürstenfeldbruck air base - from August 13, 1948 .
Users
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Uruguay
- 17th
Technical specifications
| Parameter | F-80C data |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 pilot |
| length | 10.49 m |
| span | 11.81 m |
| height | 3.43 m |
| Wing area | 22.07 m² |
| Wing extension | 6.3 |
| Empty mass | 3,819 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 7,646 kg |
| drive | an Allison J33-A-35 with 24.1 kN thrust |
| Top speed | 966 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 14,265 m |
| Max. Range | 1,930 km |
| Armament | 6 × 12.7 mm machine guns, 2 × 454 kg bombs or 16 × 127 mm missiles |
Another development from the F-80 was the F-94 Starfire .
Picture gallery
P-80B-1-LO of the 1st Fighter Group 1947
Lockheed XP-80R during the world record
F-80C of the 8th FBW in Korea in August 1952
RF-80A of the 160th TRS in Toul 1952
See also
literature
- Robert F. Dorr: P-80 Shooting Star Variants . In: Wings of Fame, Volume 11, 1998, pp. 114-133
- Steve Pace: Lockheed Skunk Works , Motorbooks International, 1992, ISBN 0-87938-632-0 , pp. 39-54
Web links
- Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star. In: US Air Force Fact Sheet. National Museum of the United States Air Force , May 4, 2015, accessed April 5, 2020 : "Serial number: 49-696"
- Pilot's Flight Operating Instructions for Army Model P-80A-1 Airplane. (PDF) April 25, 1945, accessed on April 14, 2019 (English, 43-page flight manual).
Individual evidence
- ↑ James Felton: Shooting Star . Jet-propelled P-80, the wourld's fastet plane, may come soon close to the speed of sound. In: Life . New York August 13, 1945, Aviation, p. 43 (English, google.de [accessed on April 1, 2020] Contemporary presentation of the history of development): "The story of the conception and the construction of the P-80 is as dramatic as it's performance is exiting."
- ↑ a b c d e Lockheed XP-80 "Lulu Belle". In: National Air and Space Museum . Smithsonian Institution, accessed April 2, 2020 .
- ↑ a b c d Steve Pace: The Projects of Skunk Works . 75 Years of Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs. Voyageur Press, 2016, ISBN 978-0-7603-5032-4 , Shooting Star: The F-80, pp. 24–43 (English, google.de [accessed on April 3, 2020]).
- ↑ Bryan R. Swopes: January 8, 1944. In: This Day in Aviation. January 8, 2020, accessed April 3, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Bryan R. Swopes: 20 March 1945. In: This Day in Aviation. March 20, 2019, accessed on April 5, 2020 (with detailed sectional drawing of the engine).
- ↑ Milo Burcham Killed. In: Aviation News. Aviation Week, October 30, 1944, p. 9 , accessed April 22, 2019 .
- ↑ ASN Aviation Safety Database results. In: Aviation Safety Network . Flight Safety Foundation, accessed April 7, 2020 .
- ↑ https://books.google.de/books?id=fkQcBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA140&lpg=PA140&dq=44-83024+F-14
- ↑ https://de.findagrave.com/memorial/56287949
- ↑ Aircraft accident data and report on the crash of a YP80A (44-83029) on August 2, 1945 near Brandenburg (Kentucky) in the Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on April 21, 2020.
- ↑ Bryan R. Swopes: December 30, 1944. In: This Day in Aviation. December 30, 2019, accessed March 23, 2020 .
- ^ A b G. Geoffrey Smith: The World Speed Record. (PDF) Britain Temporarily Robbed by American Shooting Star. In: Flight, June 26th, 1947. Flight , June 26, 1947, pp. 596–597 , accessed on April 19, 2018 (English): “[…] single Allison Model 400 turbo-jet and was assisted by the first use of water methanol sprayed through the screen of the compressor, and also by after burning of the exhaust efflux. "
- ^ Srecko Bradic: Shooting Star - the first US operational jet. In: Fliegerrevue X , No. 48, 2014, p. 83.
- ^ Statistical Digest of the USAF. 1953, p. 28 ff.
- ↑ a b c Lockheed P-80R. In: US Air Force Fact Sheet. National Museum of the United States Air Force , October 9, 2015, accessed April 5, 2020 .
- ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1946. pp. 94 ff; 1947, p. 115; 1948II, p. 16; 1949, p. 164, 1951, p. 158; Marcelle Size Knaack: Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems. Volume 1. Washington DC 1978, pp. 1 ff.
- ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1950–1955. USAF Aircraft Gains and Losses table.
- ↑ The Mighty B-47. In: Flying, August 1949. Flying, August 1949, p. 64 , accessed on April 20, 2019 (English): “Last February 8, the B-47 started the country by setting a new transcontinental speed record of 8 hr. 46 min. "
- ^ That P-80 Flight. In: Flying, April 1946. Flying, April 1946, pp. 44-45 , accessed on April 20, 2019 (English).
- ^ History from 1947. The US Air Force in Fursty. In: Cradle of the Air Force. TG Fursty, accessed July 11, 2020 .
| US Navy 1948 to 1962 | |
| USAF from 1948, US Navy from 1962 | |
| Parallel designation sequence from 1962 |