THE JET-PROPELLED PLANE FLIES IN U.S.

THE JET-PROPELLED PLANE FLIES IN U.S. The new P-80 Shooting Star is shown in flight in one of the first photographs made of the U.S. Army's first jet-propelled combat plane since its initial flight in January, 1944. Auxiliary fuel tanks mounted on inner shackles and faired into the extreme tips of the wings give the plane a strange appearance. The propeller-less P-80 has a wing-span of 39 feet (11.7 meters) and is only 11 feet four inches (3.4 meters) high from the ground to the tip of the rudder. It is only weight empty is approximately 8,000 pounds (3,632 kg.). Carrying a maximum fuel load for long-range operation, its weight is 14,000 pounds (6,356 kg.). The Shooting Star has a speed in excess of 550 miles (880 km.) an hour, a service ceiling of more than 45,000 feet (13,500 meters) and carries six .50 caliber machine guns. The P-80 is a low-wing, all-metal, single-place craft intended interception and attack of enemy planes at high attitudes. With the use of an interchangeable nose equipped with photographic equipment, the ship can also serve for high speed reconnaissance. The bubble canopy, location of the cockpit forward of the wing, and slender lines of the nose give the pilot excellent visibility for every type maneuver. Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star.