F-80 Shooting Star | Americas first jet fighter 

Dad began his AF career flying air to ground missions in the F-80 in the Korean war. About 10 years ago, I was perusing some of his photo albums and came across some photos of his F-80 with cannon damage to the vertical stabilizer and the left wing. Now what really stood out, is the damage appeared to have been caused by an aircraft firing from above, not from ground fire. When I asked dad about this, he just smiled and said something about 2nd Lieutenants having poor judgement and a strong sense of invincibility. Dad retired from the AF in 1970, flying the Lockheed F-104.

When I was a teenager in the 50's, I was a model-building fan of these aircraft. I longed to become one of those engineers with the white shirt, dark tie, horn-rimmed glasses, pocket protector full of pens and pencils, and a slide rule as big as Excalibur on my belt. But unfortunately, I didn't have what it took, and I got sent to Vietnam instead.

To all your people commenting about his imperfect narrative: He's just started. He does need some practice. He's learning. Cut him some slack.

A important airplane❗ Thanks for video👍🧐

Remember, the P80 was a rush job, with zero time for research and very little time for development and it was delivered ahead of schedule!

I think he does a fine job at narration and actually look forward to catching up on all of his videos that are out. Great job, as there are no other informative videos about these types of aircraft as his that I've found so far.

In 1967-1970 my dad was stationed at Sheppard A.F.B. TX. He taught Block 5 of jet engine mechanics there. There were T-33s and T-38s there. I was just a kid then and he'd set me in a T-33 whenever he'd have to go to his classroom for anything on the weekend. I've set in many fighter jets, but the T-33 was the first.

Great info. Thanks for taking time to get the details. Not important if from Wikipedia or otherwise, you did what the snipers didn't do. Really enjoyed it.

Great video! BTW, Major Bong wasn't just a great test pilot, but also the greatested US ace of all time with 40 kills. He was awarded the CMH.

You forgot to mention Richard Bong was a very famous WW2 fighter ace!!

The Trainer version of the P-80, the T-33 was flown by USAF for forty years. The P-80/T-33 was a great success

Good piece of history research. It wasn't computer generated video graphics and it wasn't a computer generated voice. I have seen the T-33 two seater trainer that came from the P-80 and it made me wonder about the P-80. This video was a nice piece of workmanship. It was filled with interesting information on the P-80 and had plenty of good film footage. Thanks for making it.

It's really awesome to look back and see how much you have progressed. I'm a huge fan so keep up the good work. I hope soon you will have a million subscribers.

Used to see these all the time over Fresno,CA in the 1960's. Brings back a bit of nostalgia.

I was a crew chief on a AT-33A at Davis Monthan as a two striper. Serial # 53-4926. It had two 50's in the nose and 2, 2.75 rocket launchers. It also had a Bomb rack for BDU's under the fuselage. Actually went on 4 incentive flights and one was to Hila Bend bombing range. Later I was chosen to work on the Phantom when the t-33's were put in storage

Lulu Belle is with the Smithsonian. It a hand built acft with a polished paint. I've been close and personal with it and it a beautiful bird

In 1963, my Elementary School in Ventura, California had one of these on display! Kids would sometimes manage to climb inside and slide the canopy forward thus getting TRAPPED! Our school had to seal it shut, just to keep the "Dummer" kids out! 😂

So nice to see this. I actually flew back seat of a T-33 at USAF OTS out of Maxwell for a half hour the summer of '67. I also got given the stick for a few minutes. Except for the acrobatics the pilot threw at me, I will always remember that the cockpit was virtually the width of your shoulders. When you looked 90-degrees to either side, you did not see the floor of the cockpit...you saw the ground. That was sooo great!!! Fun ride...

I remember seeing these flying out of Niagara Falls, N.Y. Air Force base many years ago along with F-86 Sabres and later on F-100 Supersabres. Our house was near the base and many times they flew right over our house.

Great videos. Been playing war thunder a lot and been trying to educate myself on the planes I'm working on getting. This was a great one for this plane for sure. Really enjoyed!

There was an odd hybrid of the T-33 and F-80 known as the AT-33 (for Attack Trainer). It had the wing drop points and machine guns of the F with the twin cockpit of the T. I have a bit over 60 hours in it from Ground Attack School at Cannon AFB in late 1969. We were told that the design was cobbled up to give in-theater jet training to transition pilots in Korea. Later de-mothballed about 25 of them for that school at Cannon.

Thanks!!! Excellent video! I am 67 years old and the P80 is the first jet I recall seeing as a very young little boy ♥️. I actually saw B36s flying into Fairchild AFB back then, too. 👍👍👍👍

The F-80 carried its rockets under its wings, and The F-94 Starfire carried rockets in the nose. The F-80 could also carry a pair of bombs, one under each wing, or napalm

20 years ago when I lived in New Mexico I visited some local scrap yards in Tucson Arizonaone of those scrapyards had about fifty ejection seedling outside not knowing what I bought I picked one for $40 I still have it to this day and we'll never part with it after over 10 years of owning it I found out it was out of a t33 and even found the serial numbers

Very cool review. As I grow older I am more fascinated with aircraft history.

just a tidd-bit of info from personally seeing 1 of these P80's up close on the flight line... at a distance of approx. 35 to 40 yrds away it is 1 of the LOUDEST planes I ever heard.. it's so loud while SCREAMING at the top of my lungs I couldn't hear myself... the only other plane that did that was a C-141 star lifter, and that plane had 4 engines..

What is omitted in the end is that the P-80 was deemed more maneuverable than the Me-262.

TAC, You might want to consider breaking up your narrative into 60 second chunks for recording purposes, and then stitch them back together in post production. You started strong, but by the 5-6 minute mark, your narration had become an 'um' festival.

Wow! Didn't know the P-80 was deployed in the Philippines in anticipation of the invasion of Japan! Can you reference this, please? Years ago, during a model contest, I had entered a Bell P-59 Airacomet and two very elderly gentlemen started looking at it. One of them commented, "We were using these in Alaska in 1944." To which I inquired if he meant the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star. The other gentlemen said, "Nope! We were using the P-59 against Japan. We had to insert 2x4s because the font landing gear was weak and could snap if it didn't retract correctly." I was still a bit skeptical until coming across a reference that this was true! The P-59s were deployed to Ladd Airfield, Alaska in October 1944 with the 412 Test Wing. Over the years I learned more from these USAAF vets, sadly they're gone now. I am amazed at the secrecy surrounding the use of American jets during the war!

The F-80 was a great trainer for future jet pilots. I got 130 hours in F80's at Williams AFB in 1952, but You didn't mention the T-33, which was a F-80 with a second cockpit. I maintained my instrument rating with many hours in the back seat of a T-bird under the hood. After graduation from Willy I never had an opportunity to fly an F-80 again, but the T-33 was my favorite plane during my tour in Korea and back in Arizona as instructor pilot in F-84's at Luke AFB.

My father, a WWII pilot, joined the Tennessee Air National Guard (TANG) in the 50s and used to take his 12 year old boy with him on Saturdays when he went to the hanger in Nashville to hang out with his friends. The ramp rat, me, would go around the parked airplanes, crawl in and pretend to fly. I didn't get a pilot's license until 1991, at the age of 46. The TANG was flying RF-51F's just after the Korean war. Around 1056 my dad and several other TANG pilots went to Oklahoma to learn how to fly jets. When he came back the TANG in Nashville had a camera version of the F80 along with the two seat version, the T33. a short time later they migrated to the Republic RF-84F and he flew those for a few years until becoming an FAA Air Traffic Controller. At that point he couldn't keep his TANG flight hours out. Besides, he was "old" then, 41 I believe. The TANG went to C-97s after that then C-130s. Dad died in November 2003 and his "ramp rat" is now 75 and owns 1/5th of a Piper Cub, the same type of aircraft I took my first ride in at the age of 3. Don't believe me? Check this out. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZXh21YViiJY.html :-) John

Don’t forget the T-33 that was based on the F-80. That trainer was used for quite some time after they phased out the fighter.

My dad was a P80 pilot... loved the plane, transitioned to the F86, didn’t like the way it flew... went back the P80... when it was phased out, so was his flying position. Prior to that he was a P51 pilot.

The P-80 was the first production fighter. The first flying US fighter plane was the Bell P-59 whose design was a flop.

I love your history lessons. Keep it up and ignore those perfect, professional arm-chair critics.

The worst thing this has was no airbrakes

Are you just winging this dude? Love it!

The F-80 was the first American jet fighter used in combat but the Bell P-59 Airacomet was Americas first actual jet fighter but was only used in testing and never saw combat.

I built this model as a young boy, totally enamored by the Jet Age. It wasn't until many years later that I realized my dream.

Excellent informative video, thank you.

Your facts are excellent. I look forward to great things

The plane shown at 11:09 is an F-84 with a wingtip fuel tank replaced by a sampling pod containing filters to pick up airborne atomic debris after nuclear tests. The technician is shown removing the filter.

I was in the USAF in the late 1950's, I was 2 years in Turkey & 1 year in Germany. Kelly Johnson was from Ishpeming, Michigan in the upper peninsula of Michigan. The navy airplane, the GUARDIAN was built too late for world war two. Heinkel had a jet in 1941 but luckily competition and favoritism made jets in Germany come too late in WW2.

the same day that the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the top American Ace of Aces Richard I Bong, climbed into a P-80 to take off on a test flight for Lockheed, having been taken out of combat by Gen Arnold. Several minutes later the plane's engine failed, and Bong, too low to bail out (the plane had no ejection seat then) died in the crash.

Lockheed F-94 fired rockets out of the nose; F-80, no,

The first engine wasn’t destroyed by FOD, it burned up because the engineers didn’t heed the British’ warnings to make the exhaust tunnel from thicker metal so on the first runs it melted through and caught fire.

The T-33 variant was a common sight at AF Bases in the 60's and 70's. They were everywhere at Peterson AFB in Colorado. I'm sure a lot of pilots trained in them.

You should update your video tagline and add 'viable' to it. The first jet fighter the US produced was the P-59 Airacomet.

The flaw in the Me-262 vs. P-80 argument is that the Me-262's jet engines were horribly unreliable, had a service life, when they worked, of only 10 - 14 hours and there were TWO of them that were trying to kill the pilot.

We had one of these in 1955 at goose bay Labrador in front of our air sea rescue squadron.

Didn't know much about the p80. This fills a gap thanks. Pretty airplane

The old P/F-80 was a good early jet. Thanks for the look back. 👍

You can see the evolution of flight helmets in this video. At first, the pilots wore leather or cloth helmets to protect themselves from cold and noise. Soon after that, due to the introduction of ejection seats the designers gained inspiration from M1 Steel Helmet infantry concept to create dedicated outer shell for the leather or cloth helmets to protect the pilot from debris and impact. Then, the outer shell of the helmet became the basis of the modern flight helmets.

Except the first us jet fighter was the Bell P-59 Airacomet. The F- 80 Shooting Star was the first US jet to see squadron service.

It was a step behind the ME 262 from the start, specifically no swept back wings You would think they would have designed that feature in.

The P-80/F-80 was the second jet fighter of america. The first ever jet fighter built was the P-59. Tho it never saw actual combat

i have a great uncle Howard Midbust whom my grandmother (his first cousin) said died testing america's first jet. never learned the plane's name I wonder how to track/ verify. his history ends around 43 44 in New Guinea piloting b-25s as far as i can follow so far

The P/F-80 went on to become a great trainer aircraft in the T-33. I actually know someone who flies and really enjoys his T-33.

Lockheed used parts of existing aircraft to expedite the construction and development of the prototype. For instance, the cockpit and nose section of the P-38 was adapted for use in the YP-80. The early P-80s were real widow makers as were the F-104s, another cutting edge Lockheed aircraft, of a generation later.

Saw one of these the other day in Waukesha wisconsin flying with a t38.

Thank u for the vid!!

I am flabbergasted that the only remaining jet power unit was lent-out after the first one was destroyed! I hope they had a third one in the factory lol

Short life, but without it those first pilots would've never gotten that early stick time in a jet. It paved the way for modern jet fighters.

Thanks for speaking slowly. Thanks for not using a computer voice. Thanks for the info.

Thanks. Good info; well presented.

The mascot came from the comic BUT the name actually came from the tar factory that was up wind from where Kelly Johnson setup the facility in Burbank.

The stammering aside, great video. Next time maybe break it down into sections and do extra takes until it works.

Warthunder pilots really hate fighting this, but love flying it

A little rough around the edges, but pretty good for a first try! It was informative and interesting.

I think the main reason Skunkworks go its name because the first location of the project was a large tent near a foul-smelling plastic's factory. Was a one-off jet craft for a British jet engine.

This is only the 3rd video made by this fella that I've seen, and I just have to say...His information and his accompanying footage of prototypes ect is excellent. I think he really 2X, needs to polish the delivery of his descriptive audio. He needs to keep reading and re-reading his material to practice his delivery until he's comfortable and it's smooth.

Here is a piece of trivia. The trainer for the P-80, the T-33 was actually faster than the fighter variant. Strange I know lol. Good stuff, thank you.

Excellent video 😊!

My favorite jet fighter. Lots of great rare video. I narrate my own videos too. Much harder than it seems. Good job!

Such a nice looking early jet fighter👍😊

Excellent video.

Great video, good work, thanks

The F-80C did not fire rockets out of its nose! The F-94C Interceptor did. The F-80C had underwing zero-length launchers for its rockets.

Respect the short docu. Great knowlege

The Me262 was faster than the P-80, but I wonder what they mean by better acceleration, since supposedly the Me262 would flame out if the throttles were moved too quickly. Also an engine in a 262 was good for about 24 or 25 flight hours before burning out. The centrifugal-flow engine in a P-80 was much more reliable. Also remember that the P-80 was getting pretty close in performance to the Me262 on only one engine, where the Messerschmitt used two.

Damned British engine technology though and transfer of the designs during WW2.

The first jet fighter produced by the U.S. wasn't actually the F-80, it was the P-59 Airacomet, which first flew in October of 1942. Although the P-80 was the first American Jet to be mass produced and see combat operations.

My favorite jet, ps enjoying the video's

there is one of these sitting at the bowing green airport in ohio... i use to play on it when i was a kid...

There is a relationship in basic design between the P-80 and the U-2. Maybe some of the same engineers from Skunk Works.

Real quick- The "Skunk Works" division of Lockheed was a name given by employees in reference to the noxious fumes constantly pouring out of the workshop, not because of a cartoon. They were working with advanced experimental composites & coatings in a cramped, windowless space for secrecy purposes, and it smelled pretty horrible= Skunk Works.

From what I read, Lt. Brown shot down the MiG in a dive, since the F-80 couldn't outrun it.

Enjoyed it,lots of good info.

A channel with an A+ name like Atomic Cafe deserves better voiceover

Turned into the T-33 trainer that flew into the 80’s.

The singer Gary Numan used to fly a Shooting Star.

8:47 No, you should believe the report the MIg survived the attack. The Russians have opened their archives after the Cold War and historians have had access to much new information about the Korean War and especially about the air war.

They knew they had a second fuel pump. No pilot would never not know their aircraft to forget something as simple as that. They lost their fuel pump during critical flight and lost control due to stall.

Great narration and video. Also i am starting with my youtube channel making tutorial drawing about jets, tanks, ships, robots and girls. You are doing great. I watched most your videos. Good stuff. Just like to note on the skunk work origins. They say the area they work smell "stinky". Everytime phone call they jokenly or sarcastic replied "skunk works".

Another fine example of us lovely Brits sharing our technology.....so Harry, what about that A-Bomb stuff old chap???

Messerschmit's design for an Me 262 HGIII was pretty similar to this

Maybe do an item on the English Electric lighting. 👍

The public understanding of the history of the P80ha been confused by secrecy. Their bashing in southern Italy I discovered some thirty years back but many denied by many writers. Thankyou.

Bell P59: Do I mean nothing to you?

it almost saw combat in ww2 . some p51 pilots reported a me262 sighting over Europe in 1945 a p80 was dispatched to take it out . by the time the p80 got there the German jet was gone already