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The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star is 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, two pre-production models saw limited service in Italy just before the end of World War II.
Richard "Dick" Ira Bong (September 24, 1920 – August 6, 1945) was a United States Army Air Forces major and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II.He was one of the most decorated American fighter pilots and the country's top flying ace in the war, credited with shooting down 40 Japanese aircraft, all with the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
It was the first United States jet fighter squadron to be activated, and spent most of its early existence in experimental testing of the Bell P-59 Airacomet and Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star aircraft. The squadron developed training programs and trained aircrew and ground personnel as cadres for newly formed jet aircraft-equipped units.
In 1947, the squadron was redesignated as the 335th Fighter Squadron, Jet Propelled, as it received the new Lockheed P-80 Shooting Stars. They flew out of Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, until 1949, when they moved to Langley Air Force Base, Virginia and received the North American F-86 Sabre.
The accompanying article described Rhodes as an amateur radio operator and a model airplane manufacturer, who was lauded in the model aircraft community for advances in radio control. The newspaper recounted that Rhodes was walking to his home workshop when he heard a loud "whoosh". He believed that it was from a jet-propelled Lockheed P-80 ...
In this role he participated in the development of the Bell P-59 Airacomet and Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, the first American jet fighters, and in 1943 he became one of the first pilots to fly a jet aircraft. [1] [2] [3] In May 1945 Terhune went to the Southwest Pacific Area as the executive officer of the 58th Fighter Group.
In October 1944, Milo Burcham was killed in the crash of a production P-80, and Tony LeVier filled his office as chief engineering test pilot in January 1945. Just two months into his career as head of this department, he suffered a serious crash on March 20, 1945, when his P-80 lost its tail due to a faulty turbine blade.
For instance, the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star (Pursuit) was redesignated as F-80 (Fighter), while the A-26 medium bomber/attack aircraft was redesignated as the B-26, reusing the designation, the Martin B-26 having retired in the meantime. [5]