The Air Force Museum Society of Alberta (AFMSA) in Calgary has received a Canadair CT-133 Silver Star, which is set to be unloaded on Wednesday. .“The Canadair CT-133 Silver Star is the Canadian license-built version of the Lockheed T-33 jet trainer aircraft, in service from the 1950s to 2005,” said the AFMSA in a Monday Facebook post. .“It was the result of a 1951 contract to build T-33 Shooting Star trainers for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and went into production in Canada on 13 Sept 1951.”.The AFMSA said it has received this T-33 as part of its planned expansion to add three more Cold War aircrafts to its collection. .It went on to say the T-33 has been used as an advanced jet trainer, ground attack aircraft, and combat support plane. It said this jet retired as “one of the most versatile, successful, and respected jet aircraft ever produced.” .Since 2005, the T-33 had flown in the RCAF and Canadian Forces for 54 years, the longest service aircraft in Canadian history. These jets logged about 2.4 million flight hours. .This aircraft had its engine removed, all fluids drained, and has been on display at the Cold Lake, AB, museum for 10 years. It will be unveiled to people soon after arriving, as the tip tanks need to be reinstalled. .The AFMSA said the T-33 coming to Calgary was one of the final versions of the jet. It was retired from the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment at Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake, where it was used as an ejection seat testbed after 46 years of service..T-33s could hold a crew of one or two people. They measure 11.5 metres long, 3.6 metres high, and have a 12.9 metre wingspan. .They weigh 8,444 pounds when empty and their maximum speed is 920 kilometres per hour. .This announcement comes after the Canadian government said in March it had chosen the F-35 as its preferred replacement for the air force’s dated CF-18 fighters and was open to negotiations with manufacturer Lockheed Martin..READ MORE: Liberals enter final negotiations for buying 88 F-35 fighter jets.“It is critical that current and future Royal Canadian Air Force pilots have the most advanced equipment available to ensure they can deliver on the important work that we ask of them,” said Defence Minister Anita Anand. .Anand said this procurement project, the largest in Canada in more than three decades, will ensure the country can “continue to defend North America, enhance our Arctic sovereignty, and meet our NATO and NORAD obligations in the face of current and emerging threats.”
