Page 3 - Air Forces Monthly - September 2017

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Time’s up

for the T-Bird

One of the last four operational T-33s before the type’s retirement from Bolivian service on
July 31. Anthony Pecchi

L ALTO INTERNATIONAL Airport in La Eastern Bloc counterpart, the MiG-15UTI, expired equipment and a lack of spares
Paz is well known among civil aviation another development of a Korean War-era had reduced the fleet to four. While
Eobservers as the highest international fighter. At least 40 different nations flew the Bolivia is officially retiring its T-33s without
airport in the world, at an elevation of T-Bird, some of them also in combat roles. replacement, pilots of the type have
over 13,000ft (4,000m). It was also, until So good was the Shooting Star for its expressed hope that a successor will be
recently, home to the very last military T-33 intended purpose that it was still in found in the A-29 Super Tucano, which
Shooting Stars. The final four of these jets widespread service into the early 1980s. has already been evaluated at La Paz.
– first flown in prototype form in 1948, and In the middle of that decade it was almost After almost 70 years in service, the end
developed from the Lockheed P-80 that resurrected by Boeing – in much revised has come for the T-33 – in military hands,
flew four years earlier – were operated form – as the Skyfox, re-engined with twin at least. It deserves to be remembered
by Escuadrón de Caza 311 of the Fuerza Garrett turbofans. Ultimately, 6,557 T-33 as a pioneer, every bit as important
Aérea Boliviana (FAB, Bolivian Air Force). series aircraft were completed, including 656 in post-war aviation history as the
Consigning another combat aircraft to the by Canadair and 210 by Kawasaki. Bolivia Canberra, MiG-21 or F-4 Phantom II. AFM
history books seems to be a fairly regular initially acquired 18 of the Canadian jets,
occurrence these days. But the ‘T-Bird’ was which had begun life as CT-133 Silver Star
something different: a genuine milestone Mk3s, and it was a Canadian company,
in aviation history, it was the first practical, Kelowna Flightcraft, that provided the
purpose-built jet trainer and schooled survivors with a much-needed avionics
generations of jet pilots across the Western upgrade between 1999 and 2002. Thomas Newdick
world. In terms of numbers of operators, Only nine FAB T-Birds were still operational Email at:
the T-33 is perhaps only challenged by its by late 2015, but within a year, time- edafm@keypublishing.com
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