Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star – Billeder & Videoer

Den Lockheed P-80 Stjerneskud var den første jetjager, der blev brugt operationelt af United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). Designet og bygget af Lockheed i 1943 og leveret kun 143 dage fra starten af designprocessen, produktionsmodeller fløj, og to præproduktionsmodeller fik meget begrænset service i Italien lige før slutningen af Anden Verdenskrig. Designet med lige vinger oplevede typen omfattende kamp i Korea med United States Air Force (USAF) som F-80.

Kilde: Lockheed P-80 stjerneskud på Wikipedia

The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). It was designed in 1943 as a response to the German Messerschmitt Me 262, and entered service in 1945. The P-80 had a straight wing design with a single turbojet engine and a tricycle landing gear. It was armed with six 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns and could carry up to 2,000 lb (907 kg) of bombs or rockets.
The P-80 was faster than any propeller-driven fighter of the time, reaching a top speed of 600 mph (965 km/h). It saw combat in the final months of World War II and the Korean War, where it proved to be effective against enemy fighters and ground targets. The P-80 was also exported to several allied nations, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Italy and Turkey. The P-80 was later renamed the F-80 by the newly formed United States Air Force (USAF) in 1948. It was gradually replaced by more advanced jet fighters such as the F-86 Sabre and the F-84 Thunderjet in the 1950s. The P-80 was a milestone in the history of aviation, as it ushered in the era of jet propulsion and supersonic flight.