Military Aircraft For Sale

Lockheed T-33 T-Bird

The development of the first jet fighter, the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, brought about big changes for pilots in the USAF. These new planes were not propeller-driven, and as such handled very differently especially during takeoff and landing. The existing propeller-driven trainers were not effectively preparing pilots for the turbojet-powered P-80s. So it was decided to elongate the P-80 fuselage to add a second tandem seat.

The result was the Allison J33-A-35 turbojet powered T-33 Shooting Star, the first USAF jet fighter training aircraft. While the P-80 only saw production of around 1,700, the T-Bird proved much more scalable on the military market and around 7,000 were produced for a number of nations around the world. Some militaries still use the T-33 but it is estimated that around 50 of them are in the hands of civilian operators.