Lockheed L-133 - Misplaced Pages

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"Lockheed L-133 Starjet" redirects here. Not to be confused with Lockheed JetStar.

L-133 "Starjet"

Role	FighterType of aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Lockheed Corporation
Primary user	United States Army Air Forces

The Lockheed L-133 was an exotic design started in 1939 which was proposed to be the first jet fighter of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. The radical design was to be powered by two axial-flow turbojets with an unusual blended wing-body canard design capable of 612 mph (985 km/h) in level flight. The USAAF rejected the 1942 proposal, but the effort speeded the development of the USAAF's first successful operational jet fighter, the P-80 Shooting Star, which did see limited service near the end of war. The P-80 was a less radical design with a single British-based Allison J33 engine, with a conventional tail.

Development

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 L. "Kelly" Johnson, Willis M. Hawkins and Hall L. 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 was working on an axial-flow L-1000 turbojet engine of their own design, which was intended to power the culmination of the twin-engine 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 Germany built significant numbers of jet fighters before the war ended, but they reached service in the Luftwaffe too late to make a difference.

On 30 March 1942, Lockheed formally submitted the L-133-02-01 to the USAAF for consideration. 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, but a range of only 310 miles (500 km)

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

canard layout;
blended wing-body planform; and,
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. 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 combat service after the war 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-engine 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)

Data from

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 48 ft 4 in (14.73 m)
Wingspan: 46 ft 8 in (14.22 m)
Wing area: 325 sq ft (30.194 m)
Powerplant: 2 × Lockheed L-1000 axial-flow turbojets , 5,100 lbf (23 kN) thrust each

Performance

Maximum speed: 625 mph (985 km/h, 543 kn)

Armament

4 × 20mm nose-mounted cannon

References

Notes

^ Norton 2008, p. 221
"America's First Jet Fighter". Planes That Never Flew. Season 1. Episode 3. 2003. Discovery Channel. Retrieved 15 December 2023 – via YouTube.
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

Lockheed and Lockheed Martin aircraft and spacecraft

Transports

Vega family	1 & 2 Vega 3 Air Express 4 Explorer 5 Vega 6 7 Explorer 8 Sirius 8-D, E & G Altair 9 Orion DL.1 Vega
Electra family	10 Electra 12 Electra Junior 14 Super Electra 414 Hudson 18 Lodestar 37 Ventura 43 Harpoon
Constellation family	Constellation L-049 L-649 L-749 L-1049 L-1249 L-1649 Starliner C-69 C-121 EC-121 XB-30
C-130 Hercules family	C-130 C-130J AC-130 DC-130 HC-130 EC-130 EC-130H KC-130 LC-130 MC-130 WC-130 E-130J L-100
L-188 Electra family	L-188 P-3 EP-3 CP-140 P-7
Other types	C-5 C-141 Excalibur JetStar L-1011 Tristar RAF L-2000 Saturn Vega Starliner R6V

Fighter-bombers

Lightning family	P-38 XP-49 XP-58
Shooting Star family	F-80 F-94 T-33 T2V
Starfighter family	XF-104 F-104 NF-104A CL-288 CL-1200
Raptor family	YF-22 F-22 FB-22 X-44 MANTA
Other types	A-4AR A-9 F-16 F-21 F-35 F-117 XFM-2 XF-90 YP-24

Reconnaissance

Blackbird family	A-12 SR-71 Blackbird YF-12 M-21 D-21
Maritime patrol	Hudson PV-1 Ventura PV-2 Harpoon P2V/P-2 Neptune S-3 Viking P-3 Orion CP-140 Aurora P-7 LRAACA
Other crewed	CL-400 U-2 YO-3 Quiet Star TR-1 TR-X
UAVs	Aequare AQM-60 Cormorant (UAV) Desert Hawk Desert Hawk III Fury MQM-105 Polecat RQ-3 RQ-170 SR-72 X-44 (UAV)

Trainers

Helicopters

Experimental

Light aircraft

Missiles

Engines

J37/T35

Model
numbers

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
- A/D
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
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44
45
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51
52
60
61
62
75
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
99
100
104
105
122
129
133
136
137
140
141
144
149
170
171
182
185
186
188
189
193
199
200
204
206
207
210
212
222
244
245
246
249
282 (I)
282 (II)
285
286
288
293
295
296
298
300
301
320
322
325
329
330
331
346
349
351
379
380
382
389
400 (I)
400 (II)
402
407
414
422
437
449
475
480
489
500
520
522
549
580
595
622
645
649
680
685
704
749
760
780
785
822
823
840
849
880
901
915
934
949
977
980
981
984
985
995
1000
1010
1011
1020
1026
1049
- A
1060
1080
1090
1132
1149
1195
1200
1201
1235
1236
1237
1249
1329
1400
1449
1549
1600
1649
1700
1800
1980
2000
2329

Vega	1 2 3 4 5 6 7–10 11 12–14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27–32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43

Not assigned

USAAS/USAAC/USAAF/USAF fighter designations 1924–1962, and Tri-Service post-1962 systems

1924 sequences
(1924–1962)

Pursuit (1924–1948)	P-1 P-2 P-3 P-4 Curtiss P-4 Boeing 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-39E 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 XP-59 P-59 P-60 P-61 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-74 P-75 P-76 P-77 P-78 P-79 P-80 P-81 P-82 P-83 P-84 P-85 P-86 P-87 P-88 P-89 P-90 P-91 P-92
Fighter (1948–1962)	F-38 F-39 F-40 F-47 F-51 F-59 F-61 RF-61C F-63 F-80 F-81 F-82 F-83 F-84 F-84F/J F-84H F-85 F-86 F-86C F-86D/G/K/L F-87 F-88 F-89 F-90 F-91 F-92 F-93 F-94 F-95 F-96 F-97 F-98 F-99 F-100 F-100B F-101 F-102 F-102B F-103 F-104 XF-104 F-104S NF-104A F-105 F-106 XF-106 F-106 F-107 F-108 F-109 F-110 F-111 F-111B F-111C F-111K AFTI/F-111A EF-111A
Pursuit, biplace	PB-1 PB-2 PB-3
Fighter, multiplace	FM-1 FM-2
Non-sequential	F-24 P-322 P-400

Tri-service sequence
(1962–present)

Main sequence	F-1 F-1C/D F-1E/F F-2 F-3 F-4 F-4K/M F-5 G F-6 F-7 F-8 F-9 F-9F–J F-10 F-11 F-12 F-12C F-13 F-14 F-15 F-15E F-15EX F-15J F-15 STOL/MTD F-16 F-16XL NF-16D F-17 F/A-18 F/A-18E/F EA-18G F-19 F-20 F-21 F-22 YF-22 FB-22 F-23
Non-sequential	F-35 F-35I X-35 F-117

Covert designations

Related designations

FV-12

Not assigned • Unofficial • Assigned to multiple types
See also: "F-19" • 1919–1924 sequence

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