DONE @p.2 +++ 1:72 F-80E; Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; WaSLw 10; Oldenburg, 1958

[mat]

the paint reacted with the Clearfix I used (instead of the usual white glue) to mount the clear part

Never had that kind of problems. I use Humbrol paint - which still can be found i remote corners of the EU. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Looks great. The tail is very Ilyushin Il-28ish 

Yes, that's what I thought, too! But it's just a shortened F-84F fin, with F-86 stabilizers. After I had added some color trim I even felt the urge to add GDR markings to the aircraft, because it had such an Eastern Block look to it!

[Dizzyfugu]

Decals applied, and the German F-80E looks very attractive! 


1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Pellson]

Damn, you're fast!! 

[Old Wombat]

Damn, you're fast!! 

Actually, Dizzy's been running a bit slow this year.

Normally he'd be on his 4th GB build by now.

[Dizzyfugu]

Well, there have been incidents and distractions lately that limit progress and mojo. I hope that I get my two GB submissions through in time, the photo sessions and the respective picture editing are currently not my favourite aspect of the work... 

[Dizzyfugu]

Finishing touches done, varnish session next.
Pics for the F-96B still not edited, though.

[Dizzyfugu]

The German F-80E was finished yesterday evening, and it looks very good!

[Dizzyfugu]

Just added the first bunch of WiP pics to previous posts. 

[Dizzyfugu]

More WiP pictures (from painting and decal phase) added to the thread.

[Dizzyfugu]

Scenic shots finally done, now picture selection end editing. 

[Wardukw]

Can't wait matey 

[Dizzyfugu]

1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

More to follow soon... 

[Wardukw]

  

[Dizzyfugu]

So, here it finally is, a different interpretation of the Lockheed F-80E "Shooting Star"! 

Some background:
The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of design, production models were flying, and two pre-production models did see very limited service in Italy just before the end of World War II. The XP-80 had a conventional all-metal airframe, with a slim low wing and tricycle landing gear. Like most early jets designed during World War II—and before the Allies captured German research data that confirmed the speed advantages of swept-wings—the XP-80 had straight wings similar to previous propeller-driven fighters, but they were relatively thin to minimize drag at high speed.


1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The Shooting Star began to enter service in late 1944 with 12 pre-production YP-80As. Four were sent to Europe for operational testing (demonstration, familiarization, and possible interception roles), two to England and two to the 1st Fighter Group at Lesina Airfield, Italy. Because of delays in delivery of production aircraft, the Shooting Star saw no actual combat during the conflict. The initial production order was for 344 P-80As after USAAF acceptance in February 1945. A total of 83 P-80s had been delivered by the end of July 1945 and 45 assigned to the 412th Fighter Group (later redesignated the 1st Fighter Group) at Muroc Army Air Field. Production continued after the war, although wartime plans for 5,000 were quickly reduced to 2,000 at a little under $100,000 each. A total of 1,714 single-seat F-80A, F-80B, F-80C, and RF-80s were manufactured by the end of production in 1950, of which 927 were F-80Cs (including 129 operational F-80As upgraded to F-80C-11-LO standards). However, the two-seat TF-80C, first flown on 22 March 1948, became the basis for the T-33 trainer, of which 6,557 were produced.

Shooting Stars first saw combat service in the Korean War, and were among the first aircraft to be involved in jet-versus-jet combat. Despite initial claims of success, the speed of the straight-wing F-80s was inferior to the 668 mph (1075 km/h) swept-wing transonic MiG-15. The MiGs incorporated German research showing that swept wings delayed the onset of compressibility problems, and enabled speeds closer to the speed of sound. F-80s were soon replaced in the air superiority role by the North American F-86 Sabre, which had been delayed to also incorporate swept wings into an improved straight-winged naval FJ-1 Fury.


1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


This prompted Lockheed to improve the F-80 to keep the design competitive, and the result became the F-80E, which was almost a completely different aircraft, despite similar outlines. Lockheed attempted to change as little of the original airframe as possible while the F-80E incorporated two major technical innovation of its time. The most obvious change was the introduction of swept wings for higher speed. After the engineers obtained German swept-wing research data, Lockheed gave the F-80E a 25° sweep, with automatically locking leading edge slots, interconnected with the flaps for lateral stability during take-off and landing, and the wings' profile was totally new, too. The limited sweep was a compromise, because a 35° sweep had originally been intended, but the plan to retain the F-80's fuselage and wing attachment points would have resulted in massive center of gravity and mechanical problems. However, wind tunnel tests quickly revealed that even this compromise would not be enough to ensure stable flight esp. at low speed, and that the modified aircraft would lack directional stability. The swept-wing aircraft's design had to be modified further.

A convenient solution came in the form of the F-80's trainer version fuselage, the T-33, which had been lengthened by slightly more than 3 feet (1 m) for a second seat, instrumentation, and flight controls, under a longer canopy. Thanks to the extended front fuselage, the T-33's wing attachment points could accept the new 25° wings without much further modifications, and balance was restored to acceptable limits. For the fighter aircraft, the T-33's second seat was omitted and replaced with an additional fuel cell. The pressurized front cockpit was retained, together with the F-80's bubble canopy and out fitted with an ejection seat.

The other innovation was the introduction of reheat for the engine. The earlier F-80 fighters were powered by centrifugal compressor turbojets, the F-80C had already incorporated water injection to boost the rather anemic powerplant during the start phase and in combat. The F-80E introduced a modified engine with a very simple afterburner chamber, designated J33-A-39. It was a further advanced variant of the J33-A-33 for the contemporary F-94 interceptor with water-alcohol injection and afterburner. For the F-80E with less gross weight, the water-alcohol injection system was omitted so save weight and simplify the system, and the afterburner was optimized for quicker response. Outwardly, the different engine required a modified, wider tail section, which also slightly extended the F-80's tail.


1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr



The F-80E's armament was changed, too. Experience from the Korean War had shown that the American aircrafts' traditional 0.5" machine guns were reliable, but they lacked firepower, esp. against bigger targets like bombers, and even fighter aircraft like the MiG-15 had literally to be drenched with rounds to cause significant damage. On the other side, a few 23 mmm rounds or just a single hit with an explosive 37 mm shell from a MiG could take a bomber down. Therefore, the F-80's six machine guns in the nose were replaced with four belt-fed 20mm M24 cannon. This was a license-built variant of the gas-operated Hispano-Suiza HS.404 with the addition of electrical cocking, allowing the gun to re-cock over a lightly struck round. It offered a rate of fire of 700-750 rounds/min and a muzzle velocity of 840 m/s (2,800 ft/s).In the F-80E each weapon was provided with 190 rounds.

Despite the swept wings Lockheed retained the wingtip tanks, similar to Lockheed's recently developed XF-90 penetration fighter prototype. They had a different, more streamlined shape now, to reduce drag and minimize the risk of torsion problems with the outer wing sections and held 225 US gal (187 imp gal; 850 l) each. Even though the F-80E was conceived as a daytime fighter, hardpoints under the wings allowed the carriage of up to 2.000 lb of external ordnance, so that the aircraft could, like the straight-wing F-80s before, carry out attack missions. A reinforced pair of plumbed main hardpoints, just outside of the landing gear wells, allowed to carry another pair of drop tanks for extra range or single bombs of up to 1.000 lb (454 kg) caliber. A smaller, optional pair of pylons was intended to carry pods with nineteen "Mighty Mouse" 2.75 inches (70 mm) unguided folding-fin air-to-air rockets, and further hardpoints under the outer wings allowed eight 5" HVAR unguided air-to-ground rockets to be carried, too. Total external payload (including the wing tip tanks) was 4,800 lb (roughly 2,200 kg) of payload


1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The first XP-80E prototype flew in December 1953 – too late to take part in the Korean War, but Lockheed kept the aircraft's development running as the benefits of swept wings were clearly visible. The USAF, however, did not show much interest in the new aircraft since the proven F-86 Sabre was readily available and focus more and more shifted to radar-equipped all-weather interceptors armed with guided missiles. However, military support programs for the newly founded NATO, esp. in Europe, stoked the demand for jet fighters, so that the F-80E was earmarked for export to friendly countries with air forces that had still to develop their capabilities after WWII. One of these was Germany; after World War II, German aviation was severely curtailed, and military aviation was completely forbidden after the Luftwaffe of the Third Reich had been disbanded by August 1946 by the Allied Control Commission. This changed in 1955 when West Germany joined NATO, as the Western Allies believed that Germany was needed to counter the increasing military threat posed by the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies. On 9 January 1956, a new German Air Force called Luftwaffe was founded as a branch of the new Bundeswehr (Federal Defence Force). The first volunteers of the Luftwaffe arrived at the Nörvenich Air Base in January 1956, and the same year, the Luftwaffe was provided with its first jet aircraft, the US-made Republic F-84 Thunderstreak from surplus stock, complemented by newly built Lockheed F-80E day fighters and T-33 trainers.


:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


A total of 43 F-80Es were delivered to Germany in the course of 1956 and early 1957 via freight ships as disassembled kits, initially allocated to WaSLw 10 (Waffenschule der Luftwaffe = Weapon Training School of the Luftwaffe) at Nörvenich, one of three such units which focused on fighter training. The unit was quickly re-located to Northern Germany to Oldenburg, an airfield formerly under British/RAF governance, where the F-80Es were joined by Canada-built F-86 Sabre Mk. 5s. Flight operations began there in November 1957. Initially supported by flight instructors from the Royal Canadian Air Force from Zweibrücken, the WaSLw 10's job was to train future pilots for jet aircraft on the respective operational types. F-80Es of this unit were in the following years furthermore frequently deployed to Decimomannu AB on Sardinia (Italy), as part of multi-national NATO training programs.

The F-80Es' service at Oldenburg with WaSLw 10 did not last long, though. In 1963, basic flight and weapon system training was relocated to the USA, and the so-called Europeanization was shifted to the nearby Jever air base, i. e. the training in the more crowded European airspace and under notoriously less pleasant European weather conditions. The remaining German F-80E fleet was subsequently allocated to the Jagdgeschwader 73 "Steinhoff" at Pferdsfeld Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate, where the machines were – like the Luftwaffe F-86s – upgraded to carry AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs, a major improvement of their interceptor capabilities. But just one year later, on October 1, 1964, JG 73 was reorganized and renamed Fighter-Bomber Squadron 42, and the unit converted to the new Fiat G.91 attack aircraft. In parallel, the Luftwaffe settled on the F-86 (with more Sabre Mk. 6s from Canada and new F-86K all-weather interceptors from Italian license production) as standard fighter, with the plan to convert to the supersonic new Lockheed F-104 as standard NATO fighter as soon as the type would become available.
For the Luftwaffe the F-80E had become obsolete, and to reduce the number of operational aircraft types, the remaining German aircraft, a total of 34, were in 1965 passed through to the Türk Hava Kuvvetleri (Turkish air force) as part of international NATO military support, where they remained in service until 1974 and were replaced by third generation F-4E Phantom II fighter jets.


General characteristics:
    Crew: 1
    Length: 36 ft 9 1/2 in (11.23 m)
    Wingspan: 37 ft 6 in (11.44 m) over tip tanks
    Height: 13 ft 5 1/4 in (4.10 m)
    Wing area: 241.3 sq ft (22,52 m²)
    Empty weight: 10,681 lb (4.845 kg)
    Max. takeoff weight: 18,464 lb (8.375 kg)
    Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0134
    Frontal area: 32 sq ft (3.0 m²)
   
Powerplant:
    1× Allison J33-A-39 centrifugal compressor turbojet with 4,600 lbf (20 kN) dry thrust
        and 27.0 kN (6,070 lbf) thrust with afterburning
 
Performance:
    Maximum speed: 1,060 km/h (660 mph, 570 kn)
    Cruise speed: 439 mph (707 km/h, 381 kn)
    Range: 825 mi (1,328 km, 717 nmi)
    Ferry range: 1,380 mi (2,220 km, 1,200 nmi)
    Service ceiling: 50,900 ft (15,500 m)
    Rate of climb: 7,980 ft/min (40.5 m/s)
    Time to altitude: 20,000 ft (6,100 m) in 4 minutes 50 seconds
    Lift-to-drag: 17.7
    Wing loading: 51.3 lb/sq ft (250 kg/m²)
    Thrust/weight: 0.249 dry
                          0.328 with afterburner

Armament:
    4× 0.79 in (20 mm) M24 cannon (190 rpg)
    2x wing tip auxiliary tanks with 225 US gal (187 imp gal; 850 l) each
    Underwing hardpoints for a total ordnance load of 4,800 lb (2.200 kg), including
    2× 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs, up to 4× pods with nineteen unguided Mighty Mouse FFARs each,
    and/or up to 8× 5" (127 mm) HVAR unguided air-to-ground rockets


1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed P-80E 'Shooting Star', aircraft 'BB-124' of WaSLw (Waffenschule Luftwaffe) 10, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Fliegerhorst Oldenburg, 1958 (What-if/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


A thorough kitbashing build, but the result looks quite plausible, if not elegant? The slightly swept wings suit the F-80 with its organic fuselage shape well, even though they reveal the designs rather baroque shape. There's a sense of obsolescence about the F-80E, despite its modern features? The Luftwaffe markings work well on the aircraft, too, and with the red and blue highlights the machine looks more attractive despite its simple NMF livery than expected.