F-80 Shooting Star Rocks Glass

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The P-80 Shooting Star holds the distinction of being America’s first operational jet fighter, designed during World War II in remarkable time — just 143 days from concept to first flight in 1944. Created under the leadership of Clarence "Kelly" Johnson and Lockheed’s Skunk Works, the P-80 was a sleek, straight-winged, single-engine jet powered by a British-derived de Havilland Goblin engine (later replaced by American-made versions like the Allison J33).

Although a handful of pre-production YP-80s deployed to Europe before the war ended, they did not see combat in WWII. The P-80 entered full service post-war and was redesignated the F-80 in 1948 under the new Air Force naming system. It went on to serve extensively in the Korean War, primarily in ground attack and early air combat roles. In the war's early phase, F-80s scored the first U.S. jet-vs-jet kill when Lt. Russell Brown downed a MiG-15 in November 1950. However, the straight-wing F-80 was soon outclassed by the swept-wing MiG-15 and replaced by the superior F-86 Sabre in the air superiority role.

More than 1,700 P/F-80s were built, and the design laid the foundation for America’s jet age. Its two-seat trainer version became the T-33, one of the most widely used jet trainers in history, and its legacy extended into several allied air forces worldwide.

The Shooting Star marked a crucial turning point in aviation history, bridging the gap between propeller-driven WWII fighters and the high-performance jets of the Cold War.