About This File
(Royal) Hellenic Air-Force Lockheed R/T-33A Shooting Star
Overview
The Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star was the first jet aircraft to enter service with the Royal Hellenic Air Force (HAF), marking the dawn of the jet age in Greece upon its arrival in 1951, where it earned the affectionate nickname "the Teacher" (η Δασκάλα). The HAF operated a total of at least 180 aircraft of this type. They served as jet trainers and multipurpose liaison, utility, and target-towing aircraft from 1951 until their retirement in 2000.
The first T-33s arrived in July 1951 at Elefsis Air Base, revolutionizing Greek military aviation training. The then Royal Hellenic Air Force (RHAF) had put in place an ambitious plan to form 10 jet fighter squadrons in just 6 years. These were to be manned exclusively by young pilots with fresh minds, free from any previous propeller aircraft mentality. Until the acquisition of the T-37B/C in the 1960s, the T-33s flew on a 24-hour schedule. Because they were used as the primary jet trainers, they were the undisputed tools with which the RHAF Air Training Command produced about 600 fresh jet pilots in 6 years.
In their early years, and until the advent of the F-84G fighter-bombers, the T-33s were also assigned interception and fighter-bomber duties. Later, during periods of increased vigilance, they took on a secondary close air support role. By the time the 10th jet fighter squadron was formed, training needs had relaxed. The T-37s then undertook intermediate training tasks from the "T-birds," meaning that over the next 21 years (until 1977), about 600 more jet fighter pilots completed their advanced and operational training syllabus on the T-33.
Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, the fleet of approximately 129 Lockheed-built T-33A airframes was reinforced by 31 former RCAF Silver Stars of both Marks: the Mk1 (essentially identical to the T-33A) and the Canadair-built Silver Star Mk3 (known in the HAF simply as the T-33 Mk3). The former RCAF planes were assigned "Americanized" serial numbers by adding the number 5 to their original Canadair construction number. Later, in the 1970s, the Hellenic Air Force took delivery of 22 former Luftwaffe T-33s which—for a now-forgotten reason—were assigned serial numbers almost identical to those of previously delivered T-33s. These 22 jets, along with the very first delivered airframes (50430, 50434, and 50435), were the only HAF T-33s with a 5-digit serial number; all others had exactly 6 digits.
By 1977, the T-33s were relieved of their primary training duties following the delivery and introduction of the T-2E Buckeye. However, they remained in HAF service, continuing their careers as mail carriers, VIP transports, technical personnel transports for repairing jets deployed at remote air bases, communication relay aircraft, target tugs, chaff dispenser carriers, and adversary aircraft.
The other most prominent role of the T-33 was training frontline fighter pilots in air-to-air gunnery, training ground-based air defense crews, and primarily supporting the operations of the NATO Missile Firing Installation (NAMFI) on the island of Crete. The T-33s designated for this particular role belonged to 222 Squadron. Unlike the standard Silver or "South East Asia" camouflage schemes of the rest of the fleet, these NAMFI support planes were painted in highly visible, bright Orange colour.
The HAF also deployed the RT-33A variant. These aircraft featured specialized nose-mounted camera arrays and were operated initially by the 337th Fighter Bomber Squadron, and later by the specialized 348th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron from 1954 to 1958.
The HAF officially retired its final operational T-33s in 2000, logging exactly 49 years of continuous service. The fleet's flight hours surpassed 450,000 (with the NAMFI support planes accumulating around 23,000), and losses were limited to just 15 airframes, demonstrating one of the best flight safety records in the HAF jet inventory.
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
1. 1. Copy the contents of the "To Mods Folder" to your SF2 Mod root directory of choice, which is typically: C:\Users\user\Saved Games\ThirdWire\StrikeFighters2.
2. For those who may find loading times excessive, the .jpg files in the texture folders can be reduced to 50% of their size without sacrificing too much surface detail.
RHAF/HAF Shooting Star Inventory (See tables in the README for a comprehensive list) of all known serials.
Our team release includes the decals of all known jets in the HAF inventory, namely:
129 Lockheed built T-33A's:
20 Lockheed built RT-33A's :
6 Lockheed built, P&W J-33 engine powered Silver Star Mk1's:
25 Canadair built, RR Nene 10 engine powered Silver Star MK3's :
Features:
- Seven variants included:
1. Original T-33A: Features the factory-fitted Lockheed ROCAT (Rocket Catapult) ejection seat.
2. Later T-33A: Features the retrofitted Martin-Baker Mk5 ejection seat.
3. NAMFI Support T-33A: Features the retrofitted Martin-Baker Mk5 ejection seat, training ordnance only, and chaff dispenser capabilities.
4. RT-33A: Specialized reconnaissance variant.
5. Former RCAF T-33 Mk3: Features the factory-fitted Lockheed ROCAT ejection seat and the K-14C gyro gunsight.
6. Former RCAF T-33 Mk3: Features the retrofitted Martin-Baker Mk5 ejection seat and the K-14C gyro gunsight.
7. NAMFI Support T-33 Mk3: Features the retrofitted Martin-Baker Mk5 ejection seat, K-14C gyro gunsight, training ordnance only, and chaff dispenser capabilities.
- Six Hi-Res colour schemes: Thoroughly researched historic depictions of the R/T-33A fielded by HAF Wings and
Squadrons with all new 4k textures.
- Specular colour and Normal (bump) maps on all models.
- Historically accurate serials.
- Dedicated Flight Parameters representing the handling and flying characteristics of the T-33 within the limits of
the SF2 Flight Model.
- Completely Re-vamped cockpit textures with hi-res gauges and other parts.
- Practice munitions for the NAMFI variant, along with the live munitions of the other variants (All courtesy of Ravenclaw_007).
Flying the T-33 Shooting Star:
It is noted that the so called "Flight Model" of this release has undertaken a total revamp compared with the legacy T--33 FM of previous releases, so for users familiar with the legacy "FM" this may be a brief reason for unrest. Just be as smooth and light on the controls as possible and respect the jet's age and characteristics.
Animations:
Animation key 0: canopy opening
Credits:
ErikGen: For the original aircraft
Kesselbrut: For the original cockpit
Alfa2: Dedicated Flight Model, authentic Decals, period Loadouts, Beta Testing.
Sophocles: Skins, re-textured cockpit.
Guest Contributors:
GKABS: For his Excellent Pilot figures
Ravenclaw_007: For the MB Mk5 ejection Seat, and the legendary set of extremely high quality weapons.
Thirdwire: Texture templates for damage textures
Agreement
THIS AIRCRAFT MOD OR ANY PARTS OF IT ARE TO BE EXCLUSIVELY HOSTED BY COMBATACE.COM AND MUST NOT BE HOSTED OR POSTED FOR DOWNLOAD ON ANY OTHER WEB SITE. THIS PACKAGE AND ANY PARTS HEREIN MAY NOT BE UPLOADED AS PART OF ANOTHER MOD NOR MUST THEY BE SOLD OR OFFERED FOR SALE EITHER IN PART OR AS A WHOLE WITHOUT OUR EXPRESS PERMISSION.
Alfa2 and Sophocles
August 2026
