Lockheed T2V SeaStar



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 Navy
 * United States Navy