[1] The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 by lengthening the fuselage by slightly more than 3 feet (1 m) and adding a second seat, instrumentation, and flight controls.

Following on the Bell P-59, the P-80 became the first jet fighter to enter full squadron service in the United States Army Air Forces.

Originally designated the TF-80C, the T-33 made its first flight on 22 March 1948 with Lockheed test pilot Tony LeVier at the controls.

Although primarily intended for export, the U.S. Air Force used a single example of the type for secret overflights of South Vietnam and Laos from 1961, with these flights codenamed FIELD GOAL.

[4] Similar replacement also occurred in the U.S. Navy with the TV-1 (also renamed T-33 in 1962), as more advanced aircraft such as the North American T-2 Buckeye and Douglas TA-4 Skyhawk II came on line.

Several T-33s were assigned to USAF McDonnell F-101 Voodoo, Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, and Convair F-106 Delta Dart units, to include similarly equipped Air National Guard units, of the Aerospace Defense Command as proficiency trainers and practice "bogey" aircraft.

Canadair built 656 T-33s on licence for service in the RCAF—Canadian Forces as the CT-133 Silver Star, while Kawasaki manufactured 210 in Japan.

The RT-33A version, reconnaissance aircraft produced primarily for use by foreign countries, had a camera installed in the nose and additional equipment in the rear cockpit.

In the 1980s, an attempt was made to modify and modernize the T-33 as the Boeing Skyfox, but a lack of orders led to the project's cancellation.

[5] On 21 June 1996, 1 T-33A-5-LO (trainer TR-602) from the Hellenic Air Force piloted by Squadron Leader Ioannis Kouratzoglou successfully intercepted a Turkish F-16C violating Athens FIR by engaging in low-altitude high-G maneuvers.

On January 28, 1951: WW2 Ace Dominic Salvatore Gentile was killed when he crashed in a T-33A-1-LO Shooting Star trainer, AF Ser.