Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star

P-80 / F-80 Shooting Star
P-80A
Role	Jet fighter Type of aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Lockheed Corporation
Designer	Clarence "Kelly" Johnson
First flight	8 January 1944
Introduction	1945
Retired	1959 (United States) 1974 (Chile)
Primary users	United States Air Force United States Navy
Produced	1945–1950
Number built	1,715
Developed into	Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star Lockheed F-94 Starfire

The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II.^[1] Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of design, production models were flying, and two pre-production models did see very limited service in Italy just before the end of World War II. Designed with straight wings, the type saw extensive combat in Korea with the United States Air Force (USAF) as the F-80.

America's first successful turbojet-powered combat aircraft, it was soon outclassed with the appearance of the swept-wing transonic MiG-15 and was quickly replaced in the air superiority role by the transonic F-86 Sabre. The F-94 Starfire, an all-weather interceptor using the same airframe, also saw Korean War service. The closely related T-33 Shooting Star trainer remained in service with the U.S. Air Force and Navy well into the 1980s, with the last NT-33 variant not retired until April 1997.