How the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, the first US Skunk Works fighter jet, was born

World War II Continues, with German Military Aviation in the Lead

The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, also known as the F-80, was the first jet fighter to be used operationally by the US Army Air Force (USAAF). When discussing aviation technology during the Second World War, German jet fighters such as the Messerschmitt Me 262 are often the focus of attention. When considering the high-tech aircraft of the Second World War, German designs such as the Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger, Messerschmitt Me 262 and Heinkel He 163 Komet often come to mind. On the other hand, we see that the USA and its allies, the victors of this great war, were also engaged in significant development activities in this field, and although not as successful as the Germans, they also produced successful products. The first jet airplane that comes to mind is the P-80. This aircraft not only played an important role in the war, but also played a pioneering role in shaping the future of world jet aviation. It can be said that the P-80s served as an important catalyst in building American hegemony in the field of military aviation today. 

Before the Americans, the British, led by Royal Air Force (RAF) officer Frank Whittle, had succeeded in inventing the first turbojet engine in 1930. Whittle's invention led to the development of the first jet-powered airplane, the Gloster E.28/39, in 1941. 

Meanwhile, the first American jet fighter, the Bell P-59 Airacomet, entered service in October 1942. The P-59 jets, of which 66 were produced in total, failed to make an impact as they lacked the necessary operational capabilities to be useful in combat. Despite being a jet aircraft, the P-59s could not even keep up with the newest piston-engined fighters of the time. The British Royal Air Force deemed it inferior to the Gloster Meteor and deemed it unworthy of combat use. The American jet fighter P-59s were then used for training fighter pilots.

Kelly Johnson Tasked with Developing the P-80 Shooting Star

It was now clear that American jet aviation was lagging behind both the Germans and the British. The newly developed German jet fighters, with their superior speed and acceleration, were showing the first signs of dominating the skies over Europe. Realizing the need to catch up with the British and Germans, the US aimed to close the gap by developing the P-80 Shooting Star. Hoping to quickly level the playing field, the US War Department commissioned Johnson to develop the P-80, the first truly operational US jet fighter. Designed by Lockheed, it made a name for itself as the only jet with an engine mounted inside the fuselage that the Allies had managed to produce in World War II.

The development of the P-80 was greatly influenced by the knowledge of the existence of the Messerschmitt Me 262 in the spring of 1943 and the opportunity to examine this aircraft. American jet aviation also benefited from British research into the development of jet aircraft. Thus, in the design of the P-80, it was possible to consolidate a wide range of technologies available in the world and combine them on the P-80. By installing the British engine Halford H-1B Goblin, the US aimed to give the P-80s a performance to rival the Me 262.

In fact, work on the P-80 was initiated in May 1943. However, the engine had not yet been obtained from the British. Lockheed Chief Engineer Kelly Johnson brought together a team of factory engineers. The team's task was to develop a new aircraft prototype for the USAAF. Kelly Johnson knew they had to develop this new jet fighter in 150 days. So he set a strict schedule for the team to work six days a week and at least 10 hours every day. The P-80 began to be developed by this team in great secrecy.

Kelly Johnson's Skunk Works team managed to produce the first prototype, the XP-80 Lulu-Belle, in early 1944, after 143 days of work, seven days ahead of their deadline. Powered by the British H-1B engine, the Lulu-Belle made its first flight on January 8, 1944. Continuing its flight tests without interruption, the aircraft exceeded 500 MPH above 20,000 feet in later tests. This speed made it the first USAAF turbojet aircraft to exceed this speed in level flight.

After the first flight, Johnson and his team were proud. They had accomplished a landmark achievement in American jet engineering. After the first flight, Johnson said: "It was a spectacular demonstration, our airplane was a success. It was such a great achievement that the Germans had an advantage because of years of preliminary development work on jet aircraft. Now this flight showed us that we could catch up with the Germans. This plane made us realize that we were not that far behind the Germans." Buoyed by this success, American jet aviation focused on developing additional prototypes.

Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star specifications

The P-80 Shooting Star was not intended to have any center of gravity problems. Therefore, the fuselage was placed in the center of the aircraft design, and the aircraft was developed around the fuselage. The cockpit was covered with a canopy made in the shape of a bubble, giving the pilots an unobstructed view. Sometime after mass production began, the British engine used in the prototype was also replaced. Allison J33-A-35 engines capable of producing 4,600 pounds of dry thrust were integrated into the P-80s. This allowed the aircraft to reach a speed of Mach 0.76 and a range (operational radius) of 825 miles, made possible by the power level of this new engine.

Various weapons were also integrated into the single-seat P-80s. The six-barreled .50 AN-M3 Browning machine gun, mounted under the nose, was considered the aircraft's primary weapon. In addition, the aircraft were equipped with eight High Velocity Air Rockets (HVAR). A 1,000-pound bomb was also carried under the wings. In fact, the small size of the aircraft posed some problems in integrating additional weapons and ammunition into the aircraft. In order to overcome this problem, adjustments were made to the weapon carrying stations, and a rail system specially developed for this aircraft was used.

P-80s flew secret missions over Italy during the Second World War

The USAAF was eager to bring the P-80 Shooting Star into the war. In fact, the commanders couldn't wait to pit them against the German Me 262s in the air. American pride wanted to prove itself in the field of jet fighters in the war. With a hasty decision, four available early production YP-80A aircraft were sent to Europe. Two of the four remained in England for demonstration and publicity flights. The other two were sent to Italy to join the 1st Fighter Group at Lesina Airfield.

In Italy, the YP-80As faced an interesting situation. At the time, the Luftwaffe was already using its own jet aircraft on the Italian Front; Arado Ar 234B Blitz reconnaissance jets were flying reconnaissance missions over the Allied lines. As these jet fighters had a very high capacity, they could not be intercepted by conventional Allied aircraft. Since it was believed that YP-80As had the potential to change this situation in favor of the Allies, two YP-80As were sent to the Italian front.

The YP-80As flew two sorties on the Italian front. Today we do not know what the details of these flight missions were. Although these flights could have been recorded as combat flights, for some reason they were recorded as non-combat flights. Probably these two flights did not yield the desired results. On the other hand, according to the original plan, additional P-80s were supposed to be sent to the European front after these two aircraft. However, there was a delay in the serial production of P-80s. This delay in production prevented the P-80s from being used in greater numbers in Italy during the Second World War. Therefore, the P-80s did not achieve any significant successes in this war. They had to be content with this limited operation in the skies over Italy.

Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star Production Continued After the War

Production and use of the P-80 Shooting Star continued after the Second World War. It was converted into a fighter-bomber, designated the F-80, and used in the 1950-53 war in Korea. The P-80As delivered to the US Navy were modified to operate on aircraft carriers and were deployed on the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB/CVA/CV-42).

Considered a pioneering aircraft in the history of the American military jet, a total of 1,700 P-80s were produced. Later, a training model of the aircraft was also produced and converted into the T-33 aircraft, which is used by many Air Forces around the world to provide advanced jet training to their military pilots. As the author of these lines, I had the good fortune to train with the nostalgic T-33 aircraft in 1989 in Çiğli, İzmir. A total of 6,557 T-33 aircraft were produced until 1959, paving the way for the use of these aircraft by many countries, including Turkey. The T-33s remained in service until 1997, making it a successful aircraft in this respect.

P-80 Shooting Star Aircraft Was A Pioneer

In addition to their use in training and operational missions, the P-80s continued to contribute to world aviation by breaking firsts. On June 19, 1947, a P-80R jet aircraft, piloted by Colonel Albert Boyd, reached a speed of 623.73 MPH, the highest speed attainable at the time, breaking the world speed record. The P-80R also played a pioneering role in the development of aerial refueling capability, which entered the aviation agenda as of June 27, 1923. The P-80 went down in aviation history as the first jet aircraft to successfully refuel in the air during the Second World War.

Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star Used in Korean War

The best known variant of the P-80 Shooting Star was the F-80. Designed in development as a high-altitude interceptor, it also served in photo reconnaissance (RF-80), fighter and fighter-bomber roles during the Korean War. During the Korean War, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 served as a frontline fighter in aerial combat against the Ilyushin Il-10 bombers and Yakovlev Yak-9 fighters used by North Korea. Meanwhile, another first took place. Lieutenant Russell Brown, flying F-80C jets, was involved in a dogfight with a MiG-15 and succeeded in taking it down, marking the first time an American jet had shot down an enemy jet fighter. It is known that 75% of the enemy aircraft shot down early in the Korean War were shot down by F-80s. However, 368 aircraft were lost during the war, with the F-80s performing particularly poorly against enemy anti-aircraft guns. 

Despite their successes, the F-80s, which were essentially a World War II aircraft, were starting to fall behind the times. Design changes were needed. This meant new aircraft. By the middle of the Korean War, when the need for higher performance fighter jets arose, the F-80s were withdrawn and replaced by the F-86 Sabre.

Conclusion

The P-80 Shooting Star was a pioneering jet aircraft that played an important role in the advancement of jet aviation in the United States and helped shape the future of jet fighters. It failed to make a significant contribution during the Second World War. Perhaps if it had been produced a little earlier, it would have been one of the most famous aircraft of the war. Nevertheless, its impact on the development of world jet technology was significant. The P-80 fighter aircraft proved the potential of jet-powered aircraft in its time. This paved the way for more advanced jet designs such as the American F-86 Sabre and the Soviet MiG-15.

The development and eventual operational use of the aircraft demonstrated America's commitment to advancing aviation technology and ensuring air superiority. Produced by an engineering team led by Kelly Johnson using the Skunk Works approach, the Lockheed P-80 may not be as famous as its contemporaries (German designs such as the Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger, Messerschmitt Me 262 and Heinkel He 163 Komet), but its contribution to jet aviation and the post-war era should not be forgotten.

Bibliography:

Damian Lucjan, "Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star: The Only US Jet Fighter to See Action In WWII - During Secret Operations In Italy", War History Line, May 10, 2023, https://www.warhistoryonline.com/aircraft/lockheed-p-80-shooting-star.html

Lockheed Martin Website, "The P-80 Redefines Fast - In the Air and On the Assembly Line", October 1, 2020, https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/news/features/history/p80.html