Fighters

A quirky history of fighters

The Johnson Family

	P-38 was a long range interceptor design, but was used mainly as an escort fighter and as a light bomber. In order to get the rapid climb rate required of an interceptor, Kelly Johnson needed two engines in a very clean shape.
	F-80A, the US jet that almost made it into WW2, it had the same low power problems as the English designs. Notice Johnson is reusing the P-38 nose shape
	XF-90, Captain America's plane. Take a P-80 and sweep it back, make it pointy and here you go. But here too is the birth of the ideas for next design
	F-104 The classic lead sled, lots of power and just enough wing. A great plane that the Air Force never took advantage of. It was its generation's F-16
	YF-12 was the ultimate interceptor, a SR-71?A-11 with missiles. To give you an idea, the intercept radar and missile were the Phoenix that the F-14 has used to great effect AND it was delivered in a M3 platform not a M2

**The unconventionals**
	XP-50 Grumman's interceptor. Who says the wing can't be clean?
XP-54	XP-54 "swoose goose". Vultee's speed demon, if the conventional prop fighter is reaching its limits, what do you do to get just a little more? This is it. It had an elevator seat that came down for the pilot.
XP-55	XP-55 Curtis "Ascender", an underpowered design. It had the entire nose swivel up and down to aim the guns
XP-56	Northrop XP-56 "Black bullet". Made of welded magnesium, small and clean, it had problems finding the right engine and with overheating. Same story, not enough power to really bring the concept home.
j7w	J7W shows that the pusher canard design was one of the candidates for the future shape in the 1940s. It wasn't far wrong: put a jet in these things and it will go. The Shinden wad working, it was in early tests in August 1945.
	Go229 A Horton brothers design about to start prototype production at the end of the war. This would have been a potent fighter, but one that demanded a good pilot to keep it within the envelope.
	XP-79A was originally a rocket powered interceptor made of magnesium with a hardened leading edge to cut off enemy bombers' wings. It was redesigned for jet power. Same stability challenges of the early wings.

©Charlie Carey 5/03

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