Subject: Number Eighty in the Series--Lockheed P/F-80 Shooting Star

From: [email-masked]
Date: 9 Jun 93 16:27:27 GMT

>From [email-masked]

The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first American combat-ready jet 
fighter.  It was the first American production combat aircraft to 
exceed 500 mph in level flight.  It was the first American jet-powered 
aircraft to score a victory in air-to-air combat.  It was the victor 
in the world's first jet-versus-jet combat.  It participated in the 
world's first operational combat mission assisted by mid-air 
refuelling.  For a brief time, it held the world's air speed record.  
And perhaps most significant, it formed the basis of the T-33 two-seat 
advanced trainer, one of the most successful trainers of the postwar 
era.  

The USA got off to a late start in the new field of jet propulsion.  
The Germans had pioneered jet propulsion with the Heinkel He 178 V1, 
which was flown for the first time on August 27, 1939.  The world's 
first jet-powered fighter, the Heinkel He 280 V1 flew for the first 
time on April 2, 1941.  The Messerschmitt Me 262 V-3 took to the air 
under jet power for the first time on July 8, 1942.  The British were 
not far behind the Germans, the Gloster E.28/39 experimental testbed 
having been flown for the first time on May 15, 1941 powered by a 
Whittle W2B turbojet engine with centrifugal supercharger.  The 
Gloster Meteor flew for the first time on March 5, 1943, powered by a 
pair of 1500 lb. st. Halford H.1 turbojets.  The prototype de 
Havilland DH-100 Vampire flew on September 21, 1943, powered by a 
single 2700 lb. st. Halford H.1 (Goblin) turbojet.  

As far back as 1939, Lockheed engineers Clarence R. "Kelly" Johnson 
and Hall L. Hibbard had been interested in jet propulsion for 
aircraft, and had actually engaged in various paper projects.  In 
particular, Lockheed had done some preliminary work on a 
company-financed project designated L-133.  The USAAF was not 
particularly interested in any of these projects and declined to 
finance any of them.  However, spurred by reports from England on 
progress there with jet propulsion, and perhaps even more so by 
intelligence reports of German and Italian advances in the area of jet 
propulsion, the USAAF suddenly began to show more interest in 
jet-powered combat aircraft.  

In exchange for its generous Lend-Lease aid, the British agreed to 
supply blueprints of their jet engines to the USA, where they would be 
built under license by General Electric.  Powered by a pair of General 
Electric I-A turbojets, the Bell XP-59A Airacomet made its maiden 
flight on October 19, 1942.  Although the XP-59A provided valuable 
experience to the USAAF in the operation of jet-powered aircraft, it 
was basically a flying testbed and not a combat-capable aircraft.  The 
USAAF had to look elsewhere in its search for an effective jet 
fighter.  

In light of its pioneering work on the XP-59A Airacomet, the Bell 
Aircraft Corporation might have been a more likely choice than 
Lockheed for work on a more combat-capable jet fighter.  However, the 
Bell corporation was heavily committed to other projects and could not 
take on any more work.  In view of Lockeed's earlier studies in jet 
propulsion, in late 1942, the USAAF transferred to Lockheed the 
preliminary design studies undertaken by Bell for the XP-59B 
single-engined version of the Airacomet.  In March of 1943, the 
specifications and drawings for the Halford H.1B (Goblin) turbojet 
were also transferred to Lockheed.  This engine was to built under 
license in the USA by Allis-Chalmers as the J36.  

In the spring of 1943, preliminary discussions were carried out 
between Lockheed representatives and the Air Technical Service Command 
about the production of a combat-capable jet fighter.  On May 17, 
1943, a conference chaired by Brig-Gen Franklin O. Carroll, chief of 
the Army Air Forces Engineering Division formalized these preliminary 
discussions.  Lockheed was invited to submit a fighter proposal built 
around the de Havilland-built Halford H.1B turbojet.  Immediately 
afterwards, Lockheed undertook a preliminary design investigation for 
a jet fighter project named L-140 by the company.  On June 17, 1943 
the USAAF gave its approval to the L-140 project, and on June 24 a 
formal Letter Contract was issued.  The designation XP-80 was chosen 
for the project.  On October 16, a formal contract was issued.  One of 
the key requirements imposed on Lockheed was the need to complete the 
first aircraft within 180 days of the award of the Letter Contract.  

In order to meet this schedule, Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, assisted 
by William P. Ralston and Don Palmer, assembled a small team of 
engineers and went to a ten-hour day/ 6-day week schedule.  They 
housed themselves in a temporary building near the wind tunnel at 
Plant B-1 and set out to design the L-140 and to build the prototype 
XP-80 in record time and in complete secrecy.  They operated almost 
completely outside the normal company bureaucracy, and proceeded with 
a minimum of paperwork and overhead.  This was the the origin of the 
famous Skunk Works.  

The Skunk Works team adopted a simplistic approach.  The team settled 
on a clean aircraft with a low aspect ratio, laminar-flow wing.  
Conventional tail surfaces and a retractable nosewheel undercarriage 
were adopted.  The Halford H.1B engine was fed by wing-root air 
intakes and exhausted through a straight tailpipe.  The pilot sat in a 
pressurized cockpit underneath a rearward-sliding bubble canopy.  The 
armament was to consist of five 0.50-inch machine guns, all mounted in 
the nose.  

The mockup of the XP-80 was ready for inspection on July 20-22, 1943.  
Only minor changes were recommended by the inspectors, and 
construction of the XP-80 (serial number 44-83020) proceeded rapidly.  
Since the project had the highest priority, construction went so 
rapidly that the XP-80 was soon ahead of schedule.  The pressurized 
cockpit was considered unnecessary for the first prototype, so it was 
decided that an unpressurized cockpit would be fitted in order to save 
time.  However, the jet engine program did not proceed quite so 
rapidly and the delivery from England of the first non-flyable 
turbojet was delayed several times, forcing Lockheed to use a wooden 
engine mockup for the first tests.  

The non-flyable engine was finally delivered on November 2, 1943.  
This engine was installed in the XP-80, and the aircraft was trucked 
from Burbank to Muroc Dry Lake.  On November 16, the XP-80 was 
formally accepted by the USAAF, beating the schedule by completing the 
aircraft within 143 days from the date of award of the Letter 
Contract.  

While the XP-80 was still under construction, some consideration had 
been given to installing a less powerful General Electric I-16 
(license-built Whittle W2B) jet engine for initial testing, with 
production aircraft being powered by the more powerful Halford H.1B 
built under license by Allis-Chalmers as the J36.  However, the XP-80 
would be decidedly underpowered with the I-16, and this idea was 
dropped.  

The J36 program ran into difficulties and ultimately failed to produce 
anything useful.  In September 1943, Lockheed proposed a larger and 
heavier L-141 version, to be powered by a General Electric I-40 (later 
produced by both General Electric and Allison as the J33).  The USAAF 
was sufficiently impressed that they issued a contract for two 
XP-80As.  Serials were 44-83021 and 44-83022.  

A flyable Halford engine was delivered to Lockheed in mid November of 
1943.  The de Havilland-built Halford H.1B turbojet had a bench thrust 
of 3000 pounds at 10,500 rpm and an installed thrust of 2460 pounds at 
9500 rpm.  On November 17, 1943, while the H.1B engine installation in 
the XP-80 was undergoing ground testing, both intake ducts collapsed, 
and the ingestion of debris damaged the engine.  While waiting a 
replacement engine, the ducts were strengthened.  A replacement engine 
was received on December 28 and was promptly installed in the XP-80.  
The XP-80 was finally ready for its maiden flight.  

The first flight of the XP-80 took place on January 8, 1944 with test 
pilot Milo Burcham at the controls.  The first flight had to be cut 
short after only five minutes because of undercarriage retraction 
failure and the pilot's concern over boosted aileron sensitivity.  
These problems were quickly fixed.  Subsequent test flights disclosed 
a number of problems including bad stall and spin characteristics, 
high stick force, unsatisfactory fuel management system, and poor 
engine reliability and performance.  These problems were addressed 
one-by-one.  The original blunt-tipped wing and tail surfaces were 
replaced with rounded tips after the fifth flight, and sharp leading 
edge fillets were added at the wing roots.  The tailplane incidence 
was increased by 1 1/2 degrees.  

The XP-80 weighted 6287 pounds empty and 8196 pounds loaded.  
Dimensions were wingspan 37 feet 0 inches, length 32 feet 10 inches, 
height 10 feet 3 inches, and wing area 240 square feet.  During tests, 
the XP-80 reached a top speed of 502 mph at 20,480 feet, becoming the 
first USAAF aircraft to exceed 500 mph in level flight.  Service 
ceiling was 41,000 feet, and initial climb rate was 3000 feet per 
minute.  

The XP-80 was eventually transfered to the 412th Fighter Group for 
tactical evaluation.  Following that, the aircraft was returned to 
Muroc beforing being assigned to the AAF Training Command at Chanute 
Field in Illinois.  The XP-80 survived all of these evaluation trials, 
and on November 8, 1946, it was transferred to the Smithsonian 
Institution for eventual display.  Restoration work was completed in 
May of 1978.  I presume that it is now sitting somewhere at the Paul 
Garber Restoration Facility, awaiting the availability of a suitable 
location for its display.  

Sources:

  War Planes of the Second World War, Fighters, Volume Four, William Green,
  Doubleday, 1964.

  The American Fighter, Enzo Anguluci and Peter Bowers, Orion Books, 1987.

  United States Military Aircraft since 1909, Gordon Swanborough and Peter 
  M. Bowers, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989.

  Fighters of the United States Air Force, Robert F. Dorr and David Donald,
  Temple Press Aerospace, 1990.

  American Combat Planes, Ray Wagner, Third Enlarged Edition, Doubleday, 1982.

  Lockheed Aircraft since 1913, Rene J. Francillon, Naval Institute Press,
  1987.

Joe Baugher		AT&T Bell Laboratories   	
2000 North Naperville Road      Naperville, Illinois 60566-7033