Chinooks called in to shift refurbished F-80 Shooting Star

Two Boeing CH-47F Chinook helicopters (serials 12-08869 and 12-08874) belonging to Company B of the Iowa Army National Guard's 171th Aviation Regiment flew from their home-base at Davenport Municipal Airport on April 11 to collect a Korean War-era Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star jet from the Air National Guard paint facility in Sioux City.

An Iowa Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook helicopter picks up a historic F-80 fighter jet from the Air National Guard paint facility in Sioux City, Iowa on April 11, 2023. The helicopter from the Iowa NG B/171 Aviation Regiment based in Davenport, is bringing the jet back to Camp Dodge to be placed on static display. U.S. Air National Guard photo Senior Master Sgt. Vincent De Groot US Air Force

The freshly painted jet was slung underneath one of the Chinook helicopters and transported back to Camp Dodge, Des Moines, the headquarters of the Iowa National Guard. The Korean War-era jet sports markings from the 174th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, the predecessor to the Iowa Air National Guard's 185th Air Refueling Wing, which is based at Sioux City Gateway.

The Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star was the first jet-powered aircraft flown by the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) when it was introduced in the mid-1940s and served with the USAF until 1959. Chile was the final operator of the Shooting Star and the Chilean Air Force retired its final examples of the type in 1974.