Subject: Number Eighty in the Series--Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star (8 of 8)

From: [email-masked]
Date: 9 Jul 93 16:36:35 GMT

>From [email-masked]

This series on the Shooting Star concludes with an account of its 
service life.  

The service history of the Shooting Star begins in 1944, when the 
decision was made to deploy four service test YP-80As to Europe to 
demonstrate their capabilities to combat crews and to help in the 
development of tactics to be used against Luftwaffe jet fighters.  
44-83026 and 83027 were shipped to England in mid-December 1944, but 
44-83026 crashed on its second flight in England, killing its pilot.  
44-83027 was modified by Rolls-Royce to flight test the B-41, the 
prototype of the Nene turbojet.  On November 14, 1945, 44-83027 was 
destroyed in a crash landing after an engine failure.  44-83028 and 
83029 were shipped to the Mediterranean.  They flew some operational 
sorties, but they never encountered any enemy aircraft.  They were 
both returned to the USA after the war.  

The tenth, eleventh, and twelfth YP-80As were delivered in early 1945 
to the 31st Fighter Squadron of the 412th Fighter Group at Bakersfield 
Municipal Airport in California for service tests.  The first 
production P-80A was accepted by the AAF in February of 1945.  After 
the war in Europe was over, P-80As began to replace the P-51D and the 
few P-59As which had served with stateside units.  The first 17 P-80As 
off the line were assigned to the 31st Squadron of the 412th Fighter 
Group, supplementing the YP-80As that the Group had already received.  
More P-80As went to the 29th and the 445th Squadrons of this group in 
the summer of 1945.  This group was in preparation for deployment to 
the Pacific when Japan surrendered.  

The initial accident rate for the P-80A was alarmingly high.  On 
August 6, 1945, Major Richard Bong, Medal of Honor holder and leading 
USAAF fighter ace with 40 victories in the Pacific, was killed when 
his P-80A-1-LO crashed shortly after takeoff.  By that time, no less 
than eight YP-80As and P-80As had been destroyed in crashes, seven had 
been severely damaged, and six pilots had been killed.  The day after 
Bong's fatal crash, the USAAF ordered the Shooting Star grounded until 
the problems could be corrected.  The grounding order was lifted on 
November 7, but was soon followed by another grounding, this time 
caused by problems with the J33-A-9 jet engine.  The aircraft was 
cleared for flight shortly thereafter, but the accident rate still 
remained high, with no less than 61 Shooting Stars being involved in 
accidents by September of 1946.  Most of these accidents were not the 
result of any critical flaws in the basic design of the Shooting Star, 
but were caused primarily by errors on the part of pilots 
inexperienced with the particular idiosyncracies of jet aircraft.  

In spite of its high accident rate, the USAAF was anxious to show off 
its new jet fighter to the public.  On January 26, 1946, three 
P-80A-1-LOs equipped with auxiliary fuel tanks in place of the guns 
and ammunition broke the transcontinental speed record between Long 
Beach, California and LaGuardia Airport, New York City.  Carrying 
standard 165-US gallon wingtip tanks, Captain Martin Smith's 44-85113 
and Captain John Babel's 44-85131 completed the trip respectively in 4 
hours 33 minutes 25 seconds and 4 hours 23 minutes 54 seconds, which 
included a refuelling stop in Topeka, Kansas.  The fastest time--4 
hours 13 minutes 26 seconds for an average speed of 580.93 mph over 
2453.8 miles was obtained by Col. William Council who was able to fly 
nonstop since his aircraft (44-85123) was fitted with special 
310-gallon drop tanks.  Three months later, Col. Council flew a P-80A 
from New York to Washington DC in 20 minutes 15 seconds.  In June 
1946, Lt. Henry Johnson set a 1000-km speed record of 426.97 mph.  

In the first postwar National Air Races held in Cleveland in August of 
1946, Shooting Stars won three trophies: the Bendix Trophy awarded to 
Col Leon Gray for flying an FP-80A from Van Nuys to Cleveland in 4 
hours 8 minutes, the Thompson Trophy 180-km closed circuit race won by 
Colonel Gustav Lundquist in a P-80A, and the Weatherhead Jet Speed 
Dash Trophy won by Lieut W. Reilly at a speed of 576.4 mph in a 
P-80A.  The P-80A won the Bendix and Thompson trophies again in 1947.  

In order to show off the USAAF's new jet fighter, in May of 1946, 
twenty-five P-80As of the 412th Fighter Group toured the United 
States.  However, the 412th Fighter Group was inactivated in July of 
1946 after completing the operational evaluation of the first two 
USAAF jet fighters, the P-59A and the P-80A.  

In 1946, Shooting Stars were delivered to the 38th Squadron of the 
55th Fighter Group and the 27th, 71st, and 94th of the 1st Group 
stationed in the USA, the 31st Group (307th, 308th, and 309th 
Squadrons) based in Germany, and the 18th Fighter Bomber Wing (12th, 
44th, and 67th Squadron) based on Okinawa.  In November 1946, 
twenty-five P-80Bs of the 94th Squadron were taken to Alaska for six 
months of cold-weather testing.  

In 1947, the following groups got the Shooting Star--the 4th Group 
(334th, 335th, 336th Squadrons) and 56th Group (61st, 62nd, and 63rd 
Squadrons) based in the USA, the 36th Fighter Bomber Group (22nd, 
23rd, and 53rd Squadrons) based in Germany, and the 51st Interceptor 
Group (16th, 25th, and 26th Squadrons) based in Japan.  Sixteen 
F-80A/F-80Bs of the 56th Fighter Group left Selfridge Field, Michigan 
on July 7, 1948 and made a multi-stop transatlantic flight and then 
took part in two weeks of training in Germany.  

In 1948, F-80Cs began to reach operational units, the first being the 
57th Interceptor Group (64th, 65th, and 66th Squadrons) based in 
Alaska and the 49th Fighter Bomber Group (7th, 8th, 9th Squadrons) 
based in Japan.  Later in 1948, the 36th Fighter Group took no less 
than 80 F-80Bs from Florida to the Canal Zone before moving 
permanently to Germany.  In 1949, the 23rd Group (74th, 75, 76th 
Squadrons) and 81st Group (91st, 92nd, and 93rd Squadrons), both 
stationed in the USA, received Shooting Stars.  In the same year, the 
8th Fighter Bomber Group (35th, 36th, and 80th Squadrons) based in 
Japan received F-80Cs.  The 35th Interceptor Group (39th, 40th, and 
41st Squadrons) based in Japan received F-80Cs in early 1950.  

By the late spring of 1950, F-80Cs equipped twelve Far East Air Force 
(FEAF) squadrons based in Japan--the 7th, 8th, and 9th Squadrons of 
the 49th Fighter Bomber Wing based at Misawa, the 35th, 36th, and 80th 
Squadrons with the 8th Fighter Bomber Wing based at Itazuke, the 39th, 
40th and 41st Squadrons with the 35th Fighter Interceptor Wing at 
Yokota, and the 16th, 25th and 26th Squadrons with the 51st Fighter 
Interceptor Wing at Naha.  RF-80As equipped the 8th Tactical 
Reconnaissance Squadron at Yokota.  

When North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950, four groups 
equipped with the P-80C (the 8th, 51st, 49th, and 35th) were based in 
Japan, as well as the 8th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron flying 
FP-80As.  Shooting Stars saw action from June 27 onwards, taking off 
from their bases in Japan and flying as escorts for transports and as 
interceptors.  On June 27, four Shooting Stars intercepted eight North 
Korean Ilyushin Il-10 attack aircraft and shot down four of them, 
scoring the first combat victories for an American jet fighter.  On 
June 28, RF-80As began flying operational reconnaissance sorties, 
while the F-80Cs began to fly ground attack missions in support of the 
retreating South Korean forces.  On June 30, the ban against air 
operations over North Korea was lifted, and the initial commitment of 
US troops was approved.  

The F-80C was instrumental in quickly gaining and maintaining air 
superiority over the Korean battlefield, rapidly clearing the skies of 
any North Korean aircraft that dared to venture into the air.  
However, the introduction of the MiG-15 into Korean combat proved to 
be a nasty surprise.  On November 7, 1950, Lieut Russell J.  Brown, 
flying F-80C #49-737, shot down a MiG-15, scoring the first victory in 
air-to-air combat between jet fighters.  However, it was soon apparent 
that the F-80C was no match for the swept-wing MiG-15, being almost 
100 mph slower than its Russian-built opponent.  Thereafter, F-80s 
were employed primarily in the ground attack role, leaving air-to-air 
combat against the MiGs for the more capable F-86 Sabre.  

In order to increase the endurance of Shooting Stars operating from 
Japanese bases, personnel from the 49th Fighter Bomber Wing developed 
larger wingtip tanks by inserting sections of Fletcher tanks in the 
middle of standard F-80 tanks.  These tanks (named "Misawa" tanks, 
after the airbase where the 49th was stationed) had a capacity of 265 
US gallons and were carried beneath the wingtips of the Shooting Star 
and increased the aircraft's radius of action by 125 miles to 350 
miles when carrying rockets.  Later on, new centerline tip tanks with 
a 230 US gallon capacity were adopted as standard.  

One of the problems that faced early USAF operations with jet fighters 
was their relatively limited endurance and range.  In order to extend 
the endurance of its jet fighters, experiments were made with inflight 
refuelling.  The Wright Air Development Center fitted a probe on each 
of the tip tanks of a group of F-80Cs and RF-80As.  Success of these 
trials lead to the installation by the Far East Air Material Command 
of similar probes to the tanks of RF-80As of the 67th Tactical 
Reconnaissance Wing.  On July 6, 1951 three RF-80As were refuelled 
three times by a Boeing KB-29M, flying the world's first air-refuelled 
combat mission.  Similar operational trials were made with F-80Cs 
beginning on September 28, 1951.  However, the air refuelling 
procedure proved to be cumbersome and was not adopted as standard in 
Korea by the Shooting Star.  

The Shooting Stars were superseded by later types as the Korean War 
proceeded.  The 49th Fighter Bomber Wing traded in its F-80Cs for 
F-84Es in June/August of 1951.  The 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing 
acquired F-86Es in October/November of 1951.  The 8th and 18th Fighter 
Bomber Wings exchanged their F-80Cs for F-86Fs in 1953.  By the time 
of the armistice agreement of July 27, 1953, the only Shooting Stars 
still flying combat missions in Korea were the RF-80As of the 67th 
Tactical Reconnaissance Wing.  

During the Korean War, Shooting Stars flew 98,515 sorties and were 
credited with the destruction of 31 enemy aircraft in the air (six of 
them MiG-15s) and 21 on the ground.  They dropped 41,593 tons of bombs 
and napalm and fired over 81,000 rockets.  In 34 months of combat, the 
F-80C suffered heavy losses (equal to 35 percent of the F-80C 
production).  14 were shot down by enemy fighters, 113 were brought 
down by ground fire, and 150 were lost in operational accidents.  

There was a report that the Communist side managed to obtain a flyable 
F-80 during the war and actually managed to use it to harass UN 
troops.  If true, this would be yet another example of an aircraft 
which fought on both sides during a conflict.  

While the Korean War was in progress, the F-80A/Bs continued in 
service in the USA where they were primarily used for training.  By 
late 1951, they were finally phased out.  In Europe, F-80Bs were 
replaced in the 36th Fighter Bomber Group by F-84 Thunderjets during 
1950.  In Alaska, the Shooting Stars were replaced by F-94 Starfires 
in 1951.  The recon Shooting Stars remained in service for a bit 
longer, the last RF-80A/Cs being withdrawn from USAF service at the 
end of 1957.  

in the Air National Guard, the F-80C had entered service in June 1948 
with the 196th Fighter Squadron of the California ANG.  When the 
Korean War began, the ANG had six squadrons of Shooting Stars, but 
they all transitioned to other types before being called to active 
duty.  After the Korean War, the Shooting Star reentered Guard 
service, with F-80Cs (including rebuilt F-80C-11/12-LO aircraft) 
equipping some twenty-two squadrons and the RF-80A/C serving with some 
five squadrons.  Air Force Reserve squadrons also flew F-80Cs from the 
summer of 1953 to the autumn of 1957.  

In 1958, the F-80C was finally phased out of the Air National Guard 
and the Air Force Reserve.  113 Shooting Stars, including original 
F-80Cs as well as some rebuilt F-80C-11/12-LOs, were transferred to 
South American air forces under the US Military Assistance Program 
(MAP).  The Forca Aerea Brasileira operated 33 F-80C-10-LOs between 
the years 1958 and 1973.  During the same period, the Fuerza Aerea del 
Peru (whose order for four new F-80Cs had been taken over by the USAF) 
operated sixteen Shooting Stars.  Other Latin American operators of 
the Shooting Star included the Fuerza Aerea de Chile (18 aircraft), 
the Fuerza Aerea Colombiana (16 aircraft), the Fuerza Aerea 
Ecuatoriana (16 aircraft), and the Fuerza Aerea Uruguaya (14 
aircraft).  Uruguay finally turned in its last F-80Cs in exchange for 
Cessna A-37Bs in 1975.  

Sources:

  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