Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled “Lockheed F-94 Starfire — Cold War Soviet Bomber Interceptor” and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/lockheed-f-94-starfire/.
Lockheed F-94 Starfire — Cold War Soviet Bomber Interceptor
- Thread starter Mike H.
- Start date
Talyn
SAINT
A "Super P-80 Shooting Star", and as many various early jets in the late 40s-early 50's, the F-94 had a very short service life.
Bonus
The P-80 in WW2
www.defensemedianetwork.com
Bonus
The P-80 in WW2
Project Extraversion: P-80 Shooting Stars in World War II | Defense Media Network
Article about Project Extraversion and the four P-80 Shooting Stars that served in Europe before the end of World War II.
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My gosh, been flying for well longer than I want to admit, but that one got by me and would make a great airshow plane (static) based on the last model is interesting. Looks like the business end of a bazooka or flying rocket pod and haven't seen one. But I did go to the Air Force Museum and could have missed it with everything else there...
Mike, I know a bit about the F-80C "Shooting Star" that, I think, was given short shrift in this article. My father was a pilot in the 80th FB Squadron of the 8th Fighter Bomber Wing. His jet went down in the Chuncheun area of Korea on 23 Jan 1951. He is considered MIA/KIA as no remains were found nor recovered. There were several hundred pilots in the 80th FBS who would challenge several of your "historical" comments. While initially designated the "XP-80" and then the "P-80", the F-80C performed numerous recon, air-to-ground and air-to-air combat missions at the onset of the Korean War. Prior to the NK incursion of 25 Jun 50, many of the USAF pilots were flying P-51's out of Clark Field (Philippines) as part of the 18th Fighter Wing. Within days, they were transitioned to F-80's flying out of Kimpo (K-14), Itazuke and Suwon (Japan). There was a brief (and undocumented) period when flaws were found in the F-80's and they were grounded with the pilots reassigned to P-51's. The F-80C returned to service shortly thereafter and continued to fly recon and combat missions until replaced by the F-86 in May 1953. Thereafter, the twin-seat version of the F-80 was used until well into the '60's as a USAF trainer designated the "T-33". Documentation of all of this is not easy to find. But I have the original "80th Fighter Squdron" memory book that details the squadron's history through the first year of the Korean War. I thought you would like to know. I can send a copy of the germane pages if you desire.