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A demonstration T-33 in flight in 2016 | |
Role | Training aircraft |
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Manufacturer | Lockheed |
Designer | Clarence "Kelly" Johnson |
First flight | 22 March 1948 |
Retired | 31 July 2017 (Bolivian Air Force) |
Primary users | United States Air Force United States Navy Japan Air Self Defense Force German Air Force |
Produced | 1948–1959 |
Number built | 6,557 |
Developed from | Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star |
Variants | Lockheed T2V SeaStar Canadair CT-133 Silver Star |
Developed into | Lockheed F-94 Starfire Boeing Skyfox Lockheed NT-33A |
The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 by lengthening the fuselage by slightly more than 3 feet (1 m) and adding a second seat, instrumentation, and flight controls. It was initially designated as a variant of the P-80/F-80, the TP-80C/TF-80C.
Some T-33s retained two machine guns for gunnery training, and in some countries, the T-33 was even used in combat: the Cuban Air Force used them during the Bay of Pigs Invasion, scoring several kills including sinking two transport ships. 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. T-33s continued to fly as currency trainers, drone towing, combat and tactical simulation training, "hack" aircraft, electronic countermeasures, and warfare training and test platforms right into the 1980s.
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The two-place T-33 proved suitable as an advanced trainer, and it has been used for such tasks as drone director and target towing. A reconnaissance version known as the RT-33A with a camera installed in the nose and additional equipment in the rear cockpit was also produced..
Some T-33s retained two machine guns for gunnery training, and in some countries
In the 1980s, an attempt was made to modify and modernize the T-33 as the Boeing Skyfox,.