Canadair T-33

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Canadair T-33

CT-33 Silver Star Mk.3
Type	Military trainer aircraft
Manufacturer	Canadair
Designed by	Lockheed Corporation
Retired	1976
Primary user	Royal Canadian Air Force/ Canadian Forces
Number built	656

The Canadair T-33 is the result of a 1951 contract to build T-33 Shooting Star Trainers for the RCAF. The power plant would be a Rolls-Royce Nene 10 turbo jet instead of the Allison J33 used by Lockheed in the production of the original T-33. A project number of CL-30 was given by Canadair and the name was changed to the Silver Star. The appearance of the T-33 was very distinctive due to large centrally-mounted fuel tanks on each wing-tip. A total of 656 T-33 aircraft were built by Canadair.

1 Operational history
2 Operators
3 Specifications (T-33)
4 References
5 Related content

[edit] Operational history

The T-33 entered service in the RCAF as its primary training aircraft for fighter/interceptors. Its name is an interesting take of the USAF designation "Shooting Star"; the RCAF named it the "Silver Star", in honour of Canada's (and the British Empire's) first flight of a heavier-than-air craft, the AEA Silver Dart.

The T-33 was reliable and had forgiving flight properties. Its service life in the RCAF (& later the Canadian Forces) was very long. Although they had stopped using it as a trainer in 1976, there were still over 50 aircraft in the RCAF's inventory in 1995. The youngest of these aircraft was then 37 years old and had exceeded its expected life by a factor of 2½. Their uses at this time were Communication, Target towing & enemy simulation. The designation of the Silver Star in the Canadian Forces was CT-133.

[edit] Operators

[edit] Specifications (T-33)

This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.

General characteristics

Crew: 1-2
Length: 37 ft 8 in (11.48 m)
Wingspan: 42 ft 5 in (12.93 m)
Height: 11 ft 8 in (3.55 m)
Wing area: ()
Empty weight: 8,440 lb (3,830 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 16,800 lb (7,630 kg)
Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce Nene 10 turbojet, 5,000 lbf (22 kN)

Performance

Maximum speed: 570 mph (500 knots, 920 km/h)
Service ceiling: 47,000 ft (14,000 m)

For an explanation of the units and abbreviations in this list, please see Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/Units key.

[edit] References

Francillon, René. Lockheed Aircraft Since 1913. London: Putnam, 1982. ISBN 0-370-30329-6.
Pickler, Ron and Milberry, Larry. Canadair: The First 50 Years. Toronto: Canav Books, 1995. ISBN 0-921022-07-7.