T33 Shooting Star, T or C, New Mexico
N 33° 14.307 W 107° 15.929
13S E 288916 N 3680010
This T33 Shooting Star is proudly displayed at Truth or Consequences Municipal Airport in New Mexico.
Waymark Code: WMCX4Q
Location: New Mexico, United States
Date Posted: 10/21/2011
Views: 10
Engine - Allison J-33 A-35
of 5,200 lb thrust
Span - 38 ft.-10.5 in.
Length - 37 ft.-9 in.
Height - 11 ft.-4 in.
Weight - 8,084 lbs. empty
Max Takeoff - 14,442 lbs.
Max Speed - 600 mph
Cruising Speed - 455 mph
Range - 1,345 miles
Service Ceiling - 46,800 ft.
Crew - 2
—————
Built between 1948 and 1959, a total of 6,557 Shooting Stars were produced, 5,691 by Lockheed, and were used as jet trainer aircraft. The T-33 remains in service worldwide.
The T-33, sometimes called the “T-Bird”, was created by lengthening a fuselage of a Lockheed P-80/F-80 by just over 3 feet, and adding instrumentation, flight controls and a second seat. The aircraft has been used as a trainer for many pursuits including teaching pilots of propeller-driven aircraft to fly jets, as an advanced trainer, and it has been used for such tasks as drone director and target towing, as proficiency trainers and practice "bogey" aircraft. Some of T-33s were outfitted with two machine guns for gunnery training, and some countries have even employed the T-33 as a combat aircraft, such as the Cuban Air Force, which used this aircraft in the Bay of Pigs Invasion, were several kills were scored. Another version of the T-33, designated the RT-33A was developed as a reconnaissance aircraft (used primarily in foreign countries) featured a camera that was installed in the nose and specialized equipment installed in the rear cockpit.
The Shooting Star trainer aircraft continued to be utilized in various training situations such as currency trainers, for drone towing, in combat and tactical simulation training, as "hack" or bogey aircraft, for electronic countermeasures and for warfare training and test platforms from the 1940s into the 1980s. Many countries have depended upon this aircraft, including Cuba, Canada, Japan, Brazil, Turkey, Thailand.
Sources: (
visit link) and (
visit link)