Lockheed T2V SeaStar

For the T-1 Jayhawk, see Raytheon T-1 Jayhawk.

T2V-1 / T-1 SeaStar
300px
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.

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.

Operators

United States

• United States Navy

Specifications (T2V-1)

File:Lockheed T-1A Seastar N447TV SLC 25.06.94R edited-3.jpg

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

Data from Lockheed Aircraft since 1913

General characteristics

• Crew: Two (student & instructor)
• Length: 38 ft 6½ in (11.75 m)
• Wingspan: 42 ft 10 in (13.06 m)
• Height: 13 ft 4 in (4.06 m)
• Wing area: 240 ft² (22.3 m²)
• Empty weight: 11,965 lb (5,427 kg)
• Loaded weight: 15,500 lb (7,031 kg)
• Max. takeoff weight: 16,800 lb (7,636 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Allison J33-A-24/24A turbojet, 6,100 lbf (27.2 kN)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 504 knots (580 mph, 933 km/h) at 35,000 ft (10,670 m)
• Range: 843 nm (970 mi, 1,560 km)
• Service ceiling: 40,000 ft (12,190 m)
• Rate of climb: 6,330 ft/min (32 m/s)

See also

Related development

• Lockheed T-33
• Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Douglas TA-4 Skyhawk
• Fouga CM.175 Zéphyr
• Grumman F9F-8T Cougar
• North American T-2 Buckeye

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Francillon, René J. Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. London:Putnam, 1982. ISBN 0-370-30329-6.
• Ginter, Steve. Lockheed T2V-1/T-1A Seastar. Naval Fighters #42. Simi Valley, California: Ginter Books, 1999. ISBN 978-0-942612-42-4.
• Ogden, Bob. Aviation Museums and Collections of North America. 2007. Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-385-4.
• Swanborough, Gordon, with Bowers, Peter M. United States Navy Aircraft since 1911. 1990. Putnam Aeronautical Books. ISBN 0-87021-792-5.
• Green, William, with Gerald Pollinger. The Aircraft of the World. New York; Doubleday & Co., 1965. P. 255.
• Green, William, with Dennis Punett. MacDonald World Air Power Guide. London; Purnell & Sons, Ltd. (reprinted by Doubleday), 1963. P. 28.

External links

• Naval Aviation Chronology 1954-1959 chapter from United States Naval Aviation 1910-1995 book.