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L-133 "Starjet"
Role	Jet fighter
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Lockheed
First flight	never flew
Primary user	United States Army Air Forces

The Lockheed L-133 was designed to be the first jet fighter of the US Forces during the first half of World War II.

1 Development
2 Specifications (L-133-02-01)
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

Development[edit]

The Lockheed aviation company was the first in the United States to start work on a jet-powered aircraft, the L-133 design started in 1939 as a number of "Paper Projects" by engineers Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, Willis Hawkins and Hall J Hibbard. By 1940 preliminary work on a company-financed jet fighter had been started, which progressed to several different versions on the drawing board. In the meantime Lockheed were working on an axial-flow L-1000 turbojet engine of their own design, which was intended to power the culmination of the jet fighter project, the Model L-133-02-01.

Throughout World War II, the development of a jet-powered fighter had the potential to bring a decisive advantage in the air battles of the war; as history played out only the Luftwaffe built significant numbers of jet fighters before WWII ended, and they reached service too late to make a difference.

On March 30, 1942, Lockheed formally submitted the L-133-02-01 to the United States Army Air Forces for consideration.^[1] Powered by two L-1000 turbojets and featuring a futuristic-appearing canard design with slotted flaps to enhance lift, the single-seat fighter was expected to have a top speed of 612 mph (985 km/h) in level flight,^[1] but a range of only 310 mi (500 km) ^[2]

The L-133 had a main wing shape that is essentially the outer wing sections of a Lockheed P-38. In many respects the L-133 was far ahead of its time, with futuristic features including:

canard layout
blended wing-body planform
two engines in a very low-drag integral fuselage location

The USAAF considered the L-133 to be too advanced for the time, and did not pursue the project.^[1] The experience gained with the design served Lockheed well in the development of the USAAF's first operational jet fighter, the P-80 Shooting Star. Although entering service after WWII had ended, the P-80 was less advanced than the L-133. Because the USAAF didn't give the L-133 project the go-ahead, the advanced engines intended for the L-133 had long pauses in their development. The most expedient engine choice for the P-80 thus became the Allison J33 based on British centrifugal compressor designs. The P-80 was a cheap-to-build single-engined aircraft with a conventional wing and tailplane design, not using the blended wing-body and canard layout of the L-133.

Specifications (L-133-02-01)[edit]

Data from ^[3]

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 48 ft 4 in (14.73 m)
Wingspan: 46 ft 8 in (14.22 m)
Wing area: 325 ft² (30.194 m²)
Powerplant: 2 × Lockheed L-1000 axial-flow turbojets, 5100 lbf (23 kN) each each

Performance

Maximum speed: 625 mph (985 km/h)

Armament

4 × 20mm nose-mounted cannon

References[edit]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c Norton 2008, p. 221
^ Planes That Never Flew - America's First Jet Fighter, 17:48 min.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3viiJ4g5G8&feature=relmfu -- accessed Aug. 29, 2012
^ Francillon 1982, p. 468

Bibliography

Francillon, René J. (1982). Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. London: Putnam & Company. ISBN 0-370-30329-6.
Norton, Bill. U.S. Experimental & Prototype Aircraft Projects: Fighters 1939-1945. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-58007-109-3.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lockheed military aircraft

Lockheed and Lockheed Martin aircraft

Manufacturer
designations

Basic Model Numbers	L-1 L-2 L-3 L-4 L-5 L-7 L-8 L-9 L-10 L-11 L-012 (L-013 not assigned) L-014 L-015 L-016 L-017 L-018 L-019 L-020 L-021 L-022 L-023 L-024 (L-025 not assigned) L-026 L-027 (L-028 not assigned) L-029 L-030 L-031 L-032 L-033 L-034 L-035 (L-036 not assigned) L-037 (L-038 and L-039 not assigned) L-040 L-041 L-042 L-044 L-045 L-049 L-050 L-051 L-052 L-060 L-061 L-062 L-075 L-080 L-081 L-082 L-083 L-084 L-085 L-086 L-087 L-088 L-089 L-090 L-091 L-092 L-093 L-094 L-092 L-099 L-100 L-133 L-140 L-141 L-193 L-245 L-246 L-300 L-301 L-329 L-351 L-382 L-500 L-645

Lockheed-California Temporary Design Numbers	CL-282 CL-288 CL-295 CL-320 CL-325 CL-329 CL-346 CL-379 CL-400 CL-407 CL-475 CL-595 CL-704 CL-760 CL-823 CL-901 CL-915 CL-934 CL-981 CL-984 CL-985 CL-1026 CL-1195 CL-1200 CL-1400 CL-1600 CL-1700 CL-1800 CL-1980

By role

Airliners and civil transports	Vega Sirius Altair Orion Electra Electra Junior Super Electra Lodestar Constellation (L-049 L-649 L-749) Super Constellation (L-1049 L-1249) Starliner Saturn Electra L-402 JetStar L-100 L-1011

Military transports	Y1C-12 Y1C-17 Y1C-23 Y1C-25 C-36 C-37 C-40 C-56 C-57 C-59 C-60 C-63 C-66 C-69 UC-85 UC-101 C-104 C-111 C-121 C-130 / C-130J / HC-130 / KC-130 / LC-130 / MC-130 C-139 C-140 C-141 C-5 JO XRO R2O R3O XR4O R5O R6O / R6V R7O / R7V R8V / GV / UV TriStar

Attack and bombers	Y1A-9 A-28 A-29 XB-30 B-34 B-37 AC-130 A-4AR F-117 FB-22

Drones/UAVs	Q-5 Q-12/D-21 MQM-105 P-175 RQ-3 RQ-170 See also: DC-130

EW and reconnaissance	O-56 F-4 F-5 F-14 YO-3 EC-121 EC-130 / EC-130H WC-130 EP-3 RB-69 U-2 / TR-1 A-12 SR-71 PO / WV XW2V

Fighters	XFM-2 XPB-3 YP-24 P-38 XP-49 XP-58 P/F-80 XF-90 F-94 F-97 F-104 (F-104 variants) YF-12 F-16 YF-22 F-22 F-35 FO XFV

Helicopters	CL-475 XH-51 AH-56 VH-71

Maritime patrol	PBO PV P2V P-2 P3V P-3 P-7 S-3 CP-122 CP-140

Trainers	AT-18 T-33 T-40 TO / TV T2V / T-1

Experimental	M-21 NF-104A QT-2 Senior Prom XC-35 XF-104 VZ-10 / XV-4 X-7 X-17 X-26B X-27 X-33 X-35 X-44 X-55 X-56

Names

v t e USAAS/USAAC/USAAF/USAF fighter designations 1924–1962

Pursuit (pre-1948) Fighter (post-1948)	P-1 P-2 P-3 P-4 P-5 P-6 P-7 P-8 P-9 P-10 P-11 P-12 P-13 P-14 P-15 P-16 P-17 P-18 P-19 P-20 P-21 P-22 P-23 P-24 P-25 P-26 P-27 P-28 P-29 P-30 P-31 P-32 P-33 P-34 P-35 P-36 P-37 P-38 P-39 P-40 P-41 P-42 P-43 P-44 P-45 P-46 P-47 P-48 P-49 P-50 P-51 P-52 P-53 P-54 P-55 P-56 P-57 P-58 P-59 P-60 P-61/C P-62 P-63 P-64 P-65 P-66 P-67 P-68 P-69 P-70 P-71 P-72 P-73 P-74¹ P-75 P-76 P-77 P-78 P-79 P-80 P-81 P-82 P-83 P-84 P-85 P-86/D P-87 P-88 P-89 F-90 F-91 F-92 F-93 F-94 F-95 F-96 F-97 F-98 F-99 F-100 F-101 F-102 F-103 F-104 F-105 F-106 F-107 F-108 F-109 F-110 F-111/B

Pursuit, Biplace	PB-1 PB-2 PB-3

Fighter, Multiplace	FM-1 FM-2

¹ Not assigned See also: F-24 • F-117 • P-400 • post-1962 sequence

v t e Lists relating to aviation

General	Aircraft manufacturers Aircraft engines manufacturers Gliders Airlines defunct Airports Civil authorities Museums Registration prefixes Rotorcraft manufacturers Timeline

Military	Air forces Weapons Experimental Missiles Unmanned

Accidents/incidents	Commercial airliners by location Fatalities by death toll General aviation Military

Records	Airspeed Altitude Distance Endurance Firsts Large Most-produced aircraft Most-produced rotorcraft

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Lockheed L-133

Contents

Development[edit]

Specifications (L-133-02-01)[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Talk About Lockheed L-133

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