Lockheed T2V SeaStar

For the T-1 Jayhawk, see Raytheon T-1 Jayhawk.
T2V-1 / T-1 SeaStar
Lockheed T-1A Seastar in 1965
Role Naval training aircraft
Manufacturer Lockheed
First flight 15 December 1953
Introduction May 1957
Retired 1970s
Primary user U.S. Navy
Number built 150
Developed from T-33 Shooting Star
A T2V-1 (T-1A) SeaStar (foreground)
and a TV-2 (T-33B) Shooting Star in flight in 1954

The Lockheed T2V SeaStar, later called the T-1 SeaStar, was a turbojet trainer aircraft for the U.S. Navy that entered service in May 1957. It was developed from the Lockheed T-33 and powered by one Allison J33 engine.

Design and development

Starting in 1949, the U.S. Navy used the Lockheed T-33 for land-based jet aircraft training. The T-33 was a derivative of the Lockheed P-80 fighter and was first named TO-2, then TV-2 in Navy service. However, the TV-2 was not suitable for operation from aircraft carriers. The persisting need for a carrier-compatible trainer led to a further, more advanced design development of the P-80/T-33 family, which came into being with the Lockheed designation L-245 and US Navy designation T2V. Lockheed's demonstrator L-245 first flew on 16 December 1953 and production deliveries to the US Navy began in 1956.[1]

Compared to the TV-2, the T2V was almost totally re-engineered for carrier landings and at-sea operations with a redesigned tail, naval standard avionics, a strengthened undercarriage (with catapult fittings) and lower fuselage (with a retractable arrestor hook), and power-operated leading-edge flaps (to increase lift at low speeds) to allow carrier launches and recoveries, and an elevated rear (instructor's) seat for improved instructor vision, among other changes. Unlike other P-80 derivatives, the T2V could withstand the shock of landing on a pitching carrier deck and had a much higher ability to withstand sea water-related aircraft wear from higher humidity and salt exposure.

Operational history

The only version of the T2V was initially designated T2V-1 when it entered service, but was redesignated T-1A SeaStar under the 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system, a name under which it would spend the majority of its career.

The T-1A was replaced by the T-2 Buckeye but remained in service into the 1970s.

Survivors

One T-1A is currently (2011) airworthy, based at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (former Williams Air Force Base) in Mesa, Arizona, and being flown for experimental and display purposes. Two examples are preserved on public display in Tucson, Arizona.[2]

Operators

 United States

Specifications (T2V-1)

T-1 Seastar in airworthy condition at Salt Lake City Airport in 1994. Still operational in 2011.

Data from Lockheed Aircraft since 1913[3]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Swanborough p. 297
  2. ↑ Ogden, p. 98
  3. ↑ Francillon 1982, pp. 321–322.
Bibliography

External links

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