Pipe Creek Township in Grissom Air Force Base in Miami County, Indiana — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Lockheed T-33A

52-9563

— Grissom Air Museum —

Lockheed T-33A Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Doda, September 5, 2026

1. Lockheed T-33A Marker

Inscription. Specifications:
Manufacture: Lockheed
Designation: T-33A
Serial Number: 52-9563
Official name: Shooting Star
Nicknames: T-Bird
Function: Subsonic Jet Trainer
Cost: $123,000
Crew: Two, Pilot, and Pilot Trainee
Wingspan: 38ft
Length: 37ft, 9in
Height: 11ft, 8in
Power plant: Allison J33-A-35 turbojet.
Thrust: 5,400lbs.
Empty weight: 8,300lbs
Max T/O weight: 15,100lbs
Service ceiling: 48,000ft
Range: 1275 miles
Armament: 2 Hardstands, with a capacity of 2,000lbs of bombs or rockets (AT-33)
Number Built: 5,691. Canadair and Kawasaki of Japan built an additional 866 T-Birds under license.
Year built: Our T-33, 1952
Year retired: Our T-33, 02/20/1967. The last operator of the T-33, the Bolivian Air Force, retired the type in July 2017, after 44 years of service.

Mission:
P-80 Shooting Star designer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson suggested that a jet trainer could easily be made available by stretching the Shooting Star by 41 inches to accommodate a second cockpit in tandem with the first. Both would be covered by a distinctive, single-piece, seven-foot-long clamshell canopy. The result was the Lockheed T-33A Shooting

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Star, a dedicated trainer that first flew on March 22, 1948, and became affectionately known as the T-Bird. The first aircraft selected to perform with the famous US Air Force Thunderbirds in 1953 was the single seat F-84G Thunderjet. Since there was no seat for a passenger in the F-84, a two seat T-33 joined the team the same year for use as the narrator's aircraft and to provide demonstration rides to the media.

Our T-33A:
This aircraft arrived at then Bunker Hill AFB in 1955 with the 319th Fighter Interceptor Wing and was used primarily as a utility aircraft. Four years later the trainer was reassigned to Bunker Hill's 305th Bombardment Wing and reassumed a training role, providing B-47 bomber co-pilots the opportunity to gain more flight experience. This aircraft was retired and placed on exhibit inside the Main Gate in 1967.

This exhibit is the property of the US Air Force and maintained through your participation in the Grissom Air Museum donor program.

Erected by Grissom Air Museum.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Military. A significant historical date for this entry is March 22, 1948.

Location. 40° 40.117′ N,

Lockheed T-33A and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Doda, September 5, 2026

2. Lockheed T-33A and Marker

86° 7.794′ W. Marker is in Grissom Air Force Base, Indiana, in Miami County. It is in Pipe Creek Township. It is at the intersection of West Hoosier Boulevard and U.S. 31, on the right when traveling west on West Hoosier Boulevard. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1000 W Hoosier Boulevard, Peru IN 46970, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Northern Indiana.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Cessna T-37B (here, next to this marker); Cessna O-2A (a few steps from this marker); McDonnell Aircraft F-101B (a few steps from this marker); EC-135L (a few steps from this marker); Boeing EC-135L (a few steps from this marker); Bell Aircraft Corporation UH-1H-BF (within shouting distance of this marker); Veterans Memorial

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(within shouting distance of this marker); Safe Ramp Tower (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Grissom Air Force Base.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 2, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 16, 2026, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. This page has been viewed 6 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 16, 2026, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.