F-89 Scorpion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| F-89 Scorpion | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| USAF F-89H-1-NO Scorpion, 54-264. | |
| Role | Interceptor |
| Manufacturer | Northrop Corporation |
| First flight | 16 August 1948 |
| Introduced | September 1950 |
| Retired | 1969 |
| Primary users | United States Air Force Air National Guard |
| Number built | 1,050 |
| Unit cost | US$801,602 (F-89D)[1] US$988,884 (F-89H) |
The Northrop F-89 Scorpion was an early American jet-powered all-weather interceptor. It has the distinction of being the first combat aircraft armed with nuclear weapons (the Genie rocket) for air-to-air use.
Contents |
[edit] Design and development
The Scorpion stemmed from a 1945 United States Army Air Forces Army Air Technical Service Command specification ("Military Characteristics for All-Weather Fighting Aircraft") for a jet-powered night fighter to replace the P-61 Black Widow.[2] Bell Aircraft, Consolidated-Vultee, Douglas Aircraft, Goodyear, Northrop and Curtiss-Wright all submitted proposals.
Northrop submitted four different designs, prepared by Jack Northrop's team, including a radical flying wing but settled on the N-24, a slim-bodied aircraft with a cantilevered mid-mounted wing and two Allison J35 turbojet engines with afterburners. [2] It was to have radar and a crew of two, with an armament of six 20 mm (.79 in) cannon in a unique trainable nose turret. One of the unusual aspects of the design was the use of Northrop's "Deceleron", a combination aileron/dive brake/flap that could be accommodated in the slim wing design.[2]The unique feature added to the prototype during development was to become a Northrop trademark, still used today on the B-2 Spirit. Contracts for two prototypes were issued in December 1946, while Douglas with their XF3D-1 Skynight and Curtiss for their XF-87 Blackhawk prototypes also were awarded development contracts. [2]
The initial XP-89 prototype made its first flight on 16 August 1948, with test pilot Fred C. Bretcher at the controls. For much of the testing period, Curtiss's entry had been the front-runner for the contract, but a competition fly-off with its main competitors, the Northrop design proved superior.[3]
[edit] Operational history
Production was authorized in January 1949, with the first production F-89A entering USAF service in September 1950. It had AN/APG-33 radar and an armament of six 20 mm (.79 in) T-31 cannons with 200 rpg. The swiveling nose turret was abandoned, and 300 US gal (1,100 l) fuel tanks were permanently fitted to the wingtips. Underwing racks could carry 16 5 in (127 mm) aerial rockets or up to 3,200 lb (1,455 kg) of bombs.
Only eight F-89As were completed before the type was upgraded to F-89B standard, with new avionics. These had considerable problems with engines and other systems, and soon gave way to the F-89C. Despite repeated engine changes, problems persisted, compounded by the discovery of structural problems with the wings that forced a refit of 194 -A, -B, and -C models.
The major production model was the F-89D, which first flew 23 October 1951 and entered service in 1954. It removed the cannon in favor of a new Hughes E-6 fire control system with AN/APG-40 radar and an AN/APA-84 computer. Armament was two pods of 52 2.75 in (70 mm) "Mighty Mouse" FFAR rockets, for a total of 104. A total of 682 were built.
Proposed re-engined F-89s, designated F-89E and F-89F, were not built, nor was a proposed F-89G that would have used Hughes MA-1 fire control and GAR-1/GAR-2 Falcon air-to-air missiles like the F-102 Delta Dagger.
The subsequent F-89H, which entered service in 1956, had an E-9 fire control system like that of the early F-102 and massive new wingtip pods each holding three Falcons (usually three semi-active radar homing GAR-1s and three infrared GAR-2s) and 21 FFARs, for a total of six missiles and 42 rockets. Problems with the fire control system delayed the -H's entry into service, by which time its performance was notably inferior to newer supersonic interceptors, so it was phased out of USAF service by 1959.
The final variant was the F-89J. This was based on the F-89D, but replaced the standard wingtip missile pod/tanks with 600 gal (2,271 l) fuel tanks and fitted a pylon under each wing for a single MB-1 Genie nuclear rocket (sometimes supplemented by up to four conventional Falcon air-to-air missiles). The F-89J became the only aircraft to fire a live Genie as the John Shot of Operation Plumbbob on 19 July 1957. There were no new-build F-89Js, but 350 -Ds were modified to this standard. They served with the Air Defense Command, later renamed the Aerospace Defense Command (ADC), through 1959 and with ADC-gained units of the Air National Guard through 1969.
A total of 1,050 Scorpions of all variants were produced.
[edit] Variants
- XF-89
- First prototype.
- XF-89A
- Second prototype.
- F-89A
- First production version, 8 built.
- F-89B
- Second production version with upgraded avionics.
- F-89C
- Third production version with new engines.
- F-89D
- Main production version which saw deletion of the six 20 mm (.79 in) cannons in favor of 104 rockets in wing pods, installation of new Hughes E-6 fire control system, AN/APG-40 radar and the AN/APA-84 computer. This new system allowed the use of a lead-collision attack in place of the previous lead-pursuit-curve technique. A total of 682 built.
- YF-89E
- One off prototype to test the Allison YJ71 engine.
- F-89F
- Proposed version with new engines, never built.
- F-89G
- Proposed version equipped with Hughes MA-1 fire control and GAR-1/GAR-2 Falcon air-to-air missiles, never built.
- F-89H
- Version with E-9 fire control system, six GAR-1/GAR-2 Falcon missiles and 42 Folding Fin Areal Rockets (FFAR).
- F-89J
- Last production version, developed from F-89D by replacing the standard wingtip missile pod/tanks with fuel tanks. Underwing hardpoints allowed for carriage of up to two AIR-2|MB-1 Genies, or at least four Falcon missiles, or a combination (though this was not generally done in practice). A total of 350 rebuilt from F-89D.
- DF-89A
- F-89As converted into drone control aircraft.
- DF-89B
- F-89Bs converted into drone control aircraft.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Survivors
There are 19 complete F-89s currently on display in the United States.
- F-89B s/n 49-2434
- On display at the USAF History and Traditions Museum at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas.
- F-89D s/n 52-1862
- On display at the Heritage Park, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska painted in the historic markings of 53-2433.[4]
- F-89D s/n 52-1959
- On display at the Air Force Test Center Museum, Edwards Air Force Base, California.
- F-89D s/n 53-2463
- On display at the Museum of Aviation, Warner Robbins Air Force Base, Georgia.
- F-89D s/n 53-2494
- On display at the home base of the 158th Fighter Wing, Vermont Air National Guard, Burlington ANGB, Burlington, Vermont.
- F-89H s/n 54-0298
- On display at Dyess Linear Air Park, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.
- F-89H s/n 54-0322
- On display at the Hill Aerospace Museum, Hill Air Force Base, Utah.
- F-89H s/n unknown, displayed as 53-2677
- On display at the Minnesota Air National Guard Museum, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
- F-89J s/n 52-1911
- On display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. This aircraft was the last F-89 remaining in service when it was transferred to the Museum from the Maine Air National Guard in July 1969.[5]
- F-89J s/n 52-1927
- On display at the Castle Air Museum (former Castle AFB), Atwater, California.
- F-89J s/n 52-1941
- On display at the Peterson Air & Space Museum, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.
- F-89J s/n 52-1949
- On display at the March Field Air Museum, March Air Reserve Base, Riverside, California.
- F-89J s/n 52-2129
- On display at the Air Power Park and Museum, Hampton, Virginia.
- F-89J s/n 53-2463
- F-89J s/n 53-2465
- On display at the home base of the 119th Fighter Wing, North Dakota Air National Guard, Fargo, North Dakota.
-
F-89J s/n 53-2547
- On display at the home base of the 120th Fighter Wing, Montana Air National Guard, Great Falls, Montana. This jet fired the live Genie described above.
- F-89J s/n 53-2610
- On display at the Air Force Armament Museum, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
- F-89J s/n 53-2674
- On display at the Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona.
- F-89J s/n unknown, marked as 53-2536 on the tail
- On display at the AirVenture Museum, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
[edit] Specifications (F-89D)
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 53 ft 10 in (16.4 m)
- Wingspan: 60 ft 5 in (18.4 m)
- Height: 17 ft 6 in (5.3 m)
- Wing area: 606 ft² (56.3 m²)
- Empty weight: 24,200 lb (11,000 kg)
- Loaded weight: 42,250 lb (19,200 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 46,800 lb (21,200 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Allison J35-A-35A afterburning turbojets
- Dry thrust: 5,600 lbf (24.9 kN) each
- Thrust with afterburner: 7,400 lbf (32.9 kN) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 636 mph (553 knots, 1,020 km/h)
- Range: 1,367 mi (1,188 nm, 2,200 km)
- Service ceiling: 49,200 ft (15,000 m)
- Rate of climb: 8,360 ft/min (42.5 m/s)
- Wing loading: 69.7 lb/ft² (340.4 kg/m²)
- Thrust/weight: 0.35 (3.4 N/kg)
Armament
- Rockets:
- 104× 2.75 in (70 mm) "Mighty Mouse" folding-fin aerial rockets
- 16× 5 in (127 mm) aerial rockets on underwing racks or
- Bombs: 3,200 lb (1,500 kg)
[edit] See also
Comparable aircraft
Related lists
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
[edit] Bibliography
- Davis, Larry and Dave Menard. F-89 Scorpion in action (Aircraft Number 104). Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., 1990. ISBN 0-89747-246-2.
- Knaack, Marcelle Size. Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems, Volume 1, Post-World War Two Fighters, 1945-1973. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History, 1978. ISBN 0-912799-59-5.
- Swanborough, F. Gordon. United States Military Aircraft Since 1909. London: Putnam, 1963. ISBN 0-87474-880-1.
- United States Air Force Museum Guidebook. Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio: Air Force Museum Foundation, 1975.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: F-89 Scorpion |
|
||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
