A Brief History
On November 8, 1950, early in the Korean War, a U.S. Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star, America’s first operational jet fighter, flown by U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Russell Brown, shot down a Soviet-built MiG-15 piloted by a North Korean pilot, in the first air-to-air combat between jet planes in aviation history.
Digging Deeper
The F-80 was a reliable and rugged airplane whose service life with the USAF lasted into 1975 and longer elsewhere, however, it was outclassed by the MiG-15. The Shooting Stars fighting in Korea were effective at shooting down piston-engine communist airplanes (Yak-9, IL-10), but their air-to-air record for shooting down MiGs was 6 for 13 of their own losses. After the superior F-86 was deployed to Korea, the F-80 was reassigned as an effective fighter-bomber providing air support to ground troops.
History and Headlines Fact: More jet pilots were trained in the T-33 2-seat version of the Shooting Star than any other trainer aircraft in history. Over 6,500 of them were built and flown by numerous allied countries. Of particular interest, the author of this lil’ history chip once got a chance to fly a USAF T-33!
Question for students (and subscribers): Do you prefer the F-80 or MiG-15? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Cleaver, Thomas McKelvey. MiG Alley: The US Air Force in Korea, 1950–53. Osprey Publishing, 2019.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="6369 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=6369">34 Comments
I always wonder how they come up with names of the models of planes. Is it similar to car models?
God bless the USAF, our military and our veterans! — DAVID WARDLE
They come up with the weirdest names… Thank you USAF.
The p-80 was an amazing aircraft, but it really wasn’t used for long in the upcoming wars
Jets are great and all, but nothing beats the class of late war US piston planes.
MMMMmmmmmm P-51D, I’m lookin’ at you!
I’m not too knowledgeable about jets and planes but nonetheless it’s cool the US jet outclassed the Soviet jet.
It would be a rush to be so high up while fighting.
I know this was the first Jet vs jet air to air combat but i was under the impression that the Germans invented a jet during WWI and that they were the first to use it in combat. So i guess i would have expected it to have happened earlier in history.
salute the millitary
Jets most defiantly changed the way wars were fought, this advancement helped remove many soldiers from the front lines and helped save lives.
That’s a neat looking photo of the plane. What an accomplishment for Lieutenant Russell Brown. That would be cool to fly the first fighter plane and to take down the enemy plane.
Pretty impressive for Russell Brown to be the first person to use a jet in combat.
Kudos to the USAF!
Amazing that we had these dog fights still really impressive today
i would have been excited and nervous to be in one of the first fighter jets, very exciting to see the production we have made since then. air warfare has changed a lot.
The pilots of these plan must have been daredevils to go at those speeds and shoot other speeding planes.
Still amazing to see the evolution of planes. Jets changed things, maybe for the better (or worse in terms of war)
At home I am employed at nursing home where I have become very close with the residents. One of my residents was a member of the “Flying Aces.” And he was a very successful fighter pilot in World War II. This story is especially interesting to me because of my close relationship with a WWII veteran.
these pilots were the firsts to fly this fast and shoot weapons of this magnitude they were very brave
Go America! This is a great example of the evolution of aircraft!
Both the F80 and its opponent, the Mig15 were powered by British designed engines. The F80 used the Goblin engine and the Mig15 the reverse engineered Rolls Royce Nene. Go America indeed.
What a blunder the Brits made in providing a good working jet engine to the Soviets. That was more than naïve, it was stupid!
They made a great deal of things back then not always the first time but soon later we USA could build anything.
Man they jets of that time sure had some character to them! The f80 was replaced by an amazing plane also the sabre!
It’s just amazing how quick these planes become out of date and a new version comes out all the time it seems like.
The development of jets changed the whole war, shots coming from the air and ground! After one jet came out they were already working on the next big thing, an upgrade.
It’s amazing to see how quick they are able to create new weapons. Planes changed the game in wars because not only was there a ground battle but in the air as well.
Technology changes so quickly, its amazing
love how air combat has evolved
Year by year we keep getting new weapons it seems like.
Technology has advanced so much in aviation.
It is incredible that the soldiers were able to adapt to all the changing technology of the time.
I know a few people that were in the military, and I don’t think any of them flew in anything like this or even flew period.
It amazes me how quickly we can advance our technology.