Aircraft Background

This T-33 Shooting Star was manufactured at Lockheed Aircraft in Burbank California. The aircraft was delivered to the Air Force on October 15, 1955 and remained in service with the Air Force until 1965 when it was dropped from their inventory. The T-33 was then picked up by a unknown government agency before being transferred to the University of Illinois Institute of Aviation for hydraulic training purposes. In May of 1993, the Prairie Aviation Museum was able to obtain this aircraft from the University of Illinois to be used as a static display.

History

Originally designed the TF-80C, the two-place T-33 jet was built by Lockheed Aircraft and first produced in 1948 and continued until August 1959 with 5,691 T-33s built.

It is a longer version of the historic P-80 (F-80) Shooting Star, our nation’s first operational jet fighter (and the first to score a victory in all-jet combat when one downed a MiG-15 early in the Korean War). Three feet more were added, plus a second seat and dual controls, to provide the Air Force with a trainer since there was nothing available in which to instruct pilots about the then-new jet technology of the late ’40s.

In addition to its use as a trainer, the T-33 has been used for such tasks as drone director and target towing, and in some countries even as a combat aircraft. The RT-33A version, reconnaissance aircraft produced primarily for use by foreign countries, had a camera installed in the nose and additional equipment in the rear cockpit.

The T-33 was used by the USAF, U.S. Navy, and over forty nations around the world. Lockheed built 5,691 T-33s by August, 1959. Production continued under license in Canada and Japan with another 866 examples being produced. The T-33 was produced as the DT-33 (drone director), the RT-33 ( recon version), and the AT-33A ( light attack version). The Shooting Star continued to be used by Air National Guard units until 1994. It is still operated by some foreign nations.