The New York Air National Guard Lockheed T-33B Shooting Star trainer that is on display at one of the entrances to the Westchester County Airport.
The T-33 is on loan from the United States Navy and was on display at the U.S.S. Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, in New York City, during the 1990's, as a TV-2. Painted with serial number 53053, Nigel Howarth has discovered that it carries United States Navy serial number 141538 and has carried United States Air Force serial number 55-3053, and civilian registration number N13007, for the New York City Education Board, from 1966 to 1972.
The New York Air National Guard 137th Fighter Interceptor Squadron flew radar-equipped F-94 Starfires, which had the same airframe as the T-33, from the Westchester County Airport, from June 1953 until 1958, when they received F-86 Sabres. They were the first of six New York Air National Guard squadrons to receive the F-94, which replaced their North American F-51H Mustangs, and some of these were painted in different paint scheme, than the one that is shown in these photos, with a lighting stripe running along the sides of the fuselage, starting above the air intake and ending before the tail.(1)
A closeup of the T-33 cockpit and the air take for its jet engine. The T-33, which had a maximum speed of 594 mph (956 km/h),(3) and the F-94 shared the same fuselage as the T-33, which was based on that of the P-80C Shooting Star, but lengthened 26" in front of the wing and 12" behind it.
The tail of the T-33, showing the unit's insignia. Later, the defensive role of intercepting Soviet bombers, armed with nuclear weapons, was transferred to the Nike missile bases that were to encircle New York City, including the one at White Plains, which was designated Nike missile site NY-09. Used in the 1950-53 Korean War, the F-94 Starfire, with a maximum speed of 640 mph (1,030 km/h),(2) was the world's first two-seat aircraft to break the sound barrier, though it did this while in a dive.
The plaque at the base of the display.