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118-491: The Northrop F-89 Scorpion is an all-weather , twin-engined interceptor aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Northrop Corporation . It was the first jet-powered aircraft to be designed for the interceptor role from the outset to enter service, as well as the first combat aircraft to be armed with air-to-air nuclear weapons in the form of the unguided Genie rocket. The name Scorpion came from

236-517: A night fighter to replace the Northrop P-61 Black Widow . The preliminary specification, issued to aircraft manufacturers on 28 August 1945, required two engines and an armament of six guns, either 0.60-inch (15 mm) machine guns or 20 mm (0.79 in) autocannons . The revised specification was issued on 23 November; it did not specify jet propulsion, but the desired maximum speed of 530 miles per hour (460 kn; 850 km/h)

354-688: A swept wing configuration, however, the unfavorable low speed characteristics of this wing led to its substitution for a relatively thin straight wing instead. While its straight wings limited its performance, the Scorpion was among the first American fighters to be equipped with guided missiles . During March 1946, the USAAF selected both the N-24 and the rival Curtiss-Wright XP-87 Blackhawk for development, leading to an initial contract for two aircraft, designated XP-89 , being approved on 13 June 1946. On 16 August 1948,

472-644: A factory near Marietta, Georgia , just northwest of Atlanta . Online by mid-1943, the new plant produced hundreds of Consolidated B-24 Liberators and Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers. In mid-1944, the production of the B-24 was consolidated from several different companies (including some in Texas) to two large factories: Consolidated Vultee in San Diego and Ford Motor Company 's Willow Run factory near Detroit, Michigan , which had been specially designed to produce B-24s. For

590-462: A further two aircraft were accepted by the end of the year. Two months later, the Air Force decided to give its endorsement to the programme, albeit with stringent conditions being applied. These included the remaining flight test programme being accelerated, special tests being performed upon early production aircraft to prove the flutter issue had been resolved, and a deadline of January 1951 was set for

708-457: A high number of kills in the type such as Oberleutnant Kurt Welter , who claimed a total of 25 Mosquitos downed during nighttime missions. Other forces did not have the pressing need to move to the jet engine; Britain and the US were facing enemies with aircraft of even lower performance than their existing night fighters. However, the need for new designs was evident, and some low-level work started in

826-520: A medium fighter-bomber. The need for close-in dogfighting spelled the end for the specialised Grumman F-111B , which was armed only with long-range AIM-54 Phoenix missiles for fleet defense against bombers. The Navy instead developed the Grumman F-14 Tomcat , which on top of the heavy Phoenix, retained the Phantom's versatility and improved agility for dogfighting. The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle

944-408: A minimum of eight rockets externally. Further requirements included the ability to ascend to 35,000 feet within 12 minutes and a mission radius of 600 nautical miles. Proposals were submitted by six aircraft companies: Bell Aircraft , Consolidated-Vultee , Douglas Aircraft , Goodyear , Northrop and Curtiss-Wright . The majority of these submissions were powered by jet engines. During March 1946,

1062-483: A radio receiver for land-based guidance for interception. One of the I-15s configured for night operations, fitted with tracer and explosive .30 rounds, scored a daylight double victory against Bf 109s in the closing stages of the war. Nevertheless, some new technologies appeared to offer potential ways to improve night-fighting capability. During the 1930s, considerable development of infrared detectors occurred among all of

1180-714: A similar system was incorporated into the North American X-15 spaceplane. NASA selected Bell to develop and built the LLRV Lunar Landing Research Vehicle , three of which were built in the early 1960s to train the Apollo astronauts to land on the Moon. Bell also designed the rocket engine used in the Apollo LEM Ascent Propulsion System , which was responsible for getting NASA's astronauts off

1298-491: A single static test frame. Two months later, the Air Force officially accepted the first prototype, roughly one year behind schedule. By November 1949, the second aircraft was virtually complete. Around this point, Air Force officials were concerned about the aircraft's poor thrust-to-weight ratio and ordered the implementation of a weight-reduction program, as well as upgrade the engines to the more powerful Allison J33-A-21 fitted with an afterburner . Other major changes included

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1416-462: A small number of Bristol Blenheim aircraft, having been selected for this role as its fuselage was sufficiently roomy to accommodate the additional crew member and radar apparatus; the first prototype system went into service in November 1939, long before the opening of major British operations. These early systems had significant practical problems, and while work was underway to correct these flaws, by

1534-669: A success rate of only one out of 100 targets successfully hit. At the urging of the British, who were looking to purchase US-made aircraft, US day fighters were initially adapted to a night role, including the Douglas P-70 and later Lockheed P-38M "Night Lightning" . The only purpose-built night fighter design deployed during the war, the American Northrop P-61 Black Widow was introduced first in Europe and then saw action in

1652-432: Is a largely historical term for a fighter or interceptor aircraft adapted or designed for effective use at night, during periods of adverse meteorological conditions, or in otherwise poor visibility . Such designs were in direct contrast to day fighters : fighters and interceptors designed primarily for use during the day or during good weather. The concept of the night fighter was developed and experimented with during

1770-643: The Luftstreitkräfte began to introduce long-range heavy bombers , starting with the Gotha G.IV aircraft that gradually took over the offensive. While their early daylight raids in May 1917 were able to easily evade the weak defenses of London, the strengthening of the home defence fighter force led to the Germans switching to night raids from 3 September 1917. To counter night attacks, Sopwith Camel day fighters were deployed in

1888-541: The 84th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron . However, the F-89B experienced considerable problems with both the engines and other systems, resulting in its withdrawal from frontline duties during 1954. The improved F-89C had started to be introduced in September 1951, although the Air Force opted to halt allocations four months later due to issues. Despite repeated engine changes and other modifications, problems had persisted, compounded by

2006-948: 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. This version of the aircraft was extensively used within the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air-defense system. A total of 1,050 Scorpions of all variants were produced. Data from Scorpion with a Nuclear Sting General characteristics Performance Armament Avionics Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Night fighter A night fighter (later known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor post- Second World War )

2124-476: The Battle of Leyte Gulf . Night fighter patrols effectively countered kamikaze attacks timed to arrive during twilight conditions at dawn or dusk . In several cases these USN aircraft were used on raids of their own. Even while the war raged, the jet engine so seriously upset aircraft design that the need for dedicated jet-powered night fighters became clear. Both the British and Germans spent some effort on

2242-528: The First World War but would not see widespread use until WWII. The term would be supplanted by “all-weather fighter/interceptor” post-WWII, with advancements in various technologies permitting the use of such aircraft in virtually all conditions. During the Second World War, night fighters were either purpose-built night fighter designs, or more commonly, heavy fighters or light bombers adapted for

2360-515: The Lichtenstein radar , and in extremely limited numbers, using a 32- dipole element Matratze (mattress) antenna array. This late date, and slow introduction, combined with the capture of a Ju 88R-1 night fighter equipped with it in April 1943 when flown to RAF Dyce , Scotland, by a defecting Luftwaffe crew, allowed British radio engineers to develop jamming equipment to counter it. A race developed with

2478-592: The Luftwaffe ended their bombing efforts. Although night bombing never ended, its intensity was greatly decreased, giving the RAF time to introduce the AI Mk. VIII radar working in the microwave band, and the de Havilland Mosquito to mount it. This combination remained the premier night fighter until the end of the war. As the German effort wound down, the RAF's own bombing campaign

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2596-652: The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II was offered to the US Navy; at the time, the Vought F-8 Crusader had already been accepted as a "day" dogfighter, while the subsonic McDonnell F3H Demon was the Navy's all-weather fighter. The Phantom was developed as the Navy's first supersonic, all-weather, radar-equipped fighter armed with radar-guided missiles. However, compared to early air-superiority designs such as

2714-466: The North Sea in bad weather. The promising implications of the test were not lost on planners, who reorganised radar efforts and gave them increased priority. This led to efforts to develop an operational unit for aircraft interception (AI). The size of these early AI radars required a large aircraft to lift them, and their complex controls required a multiperson crew to operate them. This naturally led to

2832-531: The Pacific , but it was given such a low priority that the British had ample supplies of their own designs by the time it was ready for production. The first USAAF unit using the P-61 did not move to Britain until February 1944; operational use did not start until the summer, and was limited throughout the war. Colonel Winston Kratz, director of night-fighter training in the USAAF, considered the P-61 as adequate in its role, "It

2950-584: The RCAF , was ordered with a 0.6 Mcd night-identification light to enhance its night-interception capabilities. Bell Aircraft As a pilot, Larry Bell saw his first plane at an air show, starting a lifelong fascination with aviation. Bell dropped out of high school in 1912 to join his brother in the burgeoning aircraft industry at the Glenn L. Martin Company , where by 1914 he had become shop superintendent. By 1920, Bell

3068-588: The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) during 1952. Into the 1960s, night fighters still existed as a separate class of aircraft. However, as they continued to grow in capability, radar-equipped interceptors could take on the role of night fighters, thus the class went into decline. Examples of these latter-day interceptor/night-fighters include the Avro Arrow , Convair F-106 Delta Dart , and English Electric Lightning . During this transition period,

3186-494: The SL 11 , the first German airship to be shot down over Britain. This action won the pilot a Victoria Cross and cash prizes totaling £3,500 put up by a number of individuals. This downing was not an isolated victory; five more German airships were similarly destroyed between October and December 1916, and caused the airship campaign to gradually be diminished over the next year with fewer raids mounted. Because of airships' limitations,

3304-1261: The Solomon Islands . The Japanese Navy had long screened new recruits for exceptional night vision, using the best on their ships and aircraft instead of developing new equipment for this role. VF(N)-75 was established as the first USN night fighter squadron on 10 April 1943. Six pilots with six aircraft were sent to the South Pacific on 1 August 1943. A Night Fighter Training Unit (NFTU) was established at Charlestown, Rhode Island , on 25 August 1943 using radar-equipped Douglas SBD Dauntless training aircraft to allow instructors to accompany student pilots. USN carrier-launched fighter combat missions began in January 1944 with six-plane detachments of single-engined Grumman F6F Hellcat and Vought F4U Corsair fighters fitted with compact, microwave-band radar sets in wing-mounted pods. The specially trained night fighter and torpedo planes of Night Air Group 41 (NAG-41) began flying from USS  Independence  (CVL-22) in August 1944. NAG-41 achieved full night status on 1 October 1944 in time to participate in

3422-614: The 3-gigahertz band H2S emissions of RAF bombers – the April 1944 combat debut of the American-designed H2X bomb-aiming radar, operating at a higher 10 GHz frequency for both RAF Pathfinder Mosquitos and USAAF B-24 Liberators that premiered their use over Europe, deployed a bombing radar that could not be detected by the German Naxos equipment. The Bf 109G series aircraft fitted with the Naxos radar detectors also were fitted with

3540-520: The AIR-2 Genie nuclear air-to-air rocket. They served with the Air Defense Command , later renamed the Aerospace Defense Command (ADC), through 1959, and with the Air National Guard , into the late 1960s. The last Scorpions were withdrawn from use in 1969. The origins of the Scorpion can be traced back to a United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Air Technical Service Command specification ("Military Characteristics for All-Weather Fighting Aircraft") for

3658-551: The Air Force conducted a competitive evaluation of the three existing all-weather interceptor prototypes, the XF-87 , the XF-89, and the US Navy's XF3D . The evaluators were qualified night-fighter pilots, radar operators, and experienced maintenance non-commissioned officers . The pilots were not impressed with any of the aircraft and recommended procurement of an interim aircraft that resulted in

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3776-504: The British. Unlike in Britain, where the major targets lay only a few minutes' flight time from the coast, targets in Germany after the occupation of France in 1940 were far from Allied airbases , which gave German air defenses long times to deal with intruding bombers. Instead of airborne radar, they relied on ground-based systems; the targets would first be picked up by radar assigned to a "cell",

3894-648: The F-100 or F-8, the massive Phantom, nevertheless, had enough raw power from its twin J79 engines to prove adaptable as the preferred platform for tangling with agile MiG-17 and MiG-21 fighters over the skies of Vietnam, as well as replacing the US Air Force Convair F-102 Delta Dagger and Convair F-106 Delta Dart for continental interception duties and the Republic F-105 Thunderchief as

4012-580: The F-89A production aircraft. The aircraft was complete by February 1950. After repairs from a crash landing on 27 June 1949, the XF-89 was flown to March AFB to participate in the RKO movie Jet Pilot in February 1950. Shortly afterward, the aircraft crashed on 22 February, killing the observer, when flutter developed in the elevator , and the subsequent vibrations caused the entire tail to break off. Construction of

4130-467: The F-89D was introduced to service. 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 fifty-two 2.75-inch (70 mm) "Mighty Mouse" FFAR rockets. A total of 682 F-89Ds were built. In August 1956, a pair of F-89D interceptors were scrambled from Oxnard Air Force Base to shoot down a runaway F6F-5K drone leading to

4248-733: The Germans attempting to introduce new sets and the British attempting to jam them. The early Lichtenstein B/C was replaced by the similar UHF-band Lichtenstein C-1, but when the German night fighter defected and landed in Scotland in April 1943, that radar was quickly jammed. The low VHF -band SN-2 unit that replaced the C-1 remained relatively secure until July 1944, but only at the cost of using huge, eight-dipole element Hirschgeweih (stag's antlers) antennae that slowed their fighters as much as 25 mph, making them easy prey for British night fighters that had turned to

4366-529: The Luftwaffe and both the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service and Imperial Japanese Army Air Service during World War II, with the first victories for the Luftwaffe and IJNAS each occurring in May 1943. This innovation allowed the night fighters to approach and attack bombers from below, where they were outside the bomber crew's field of view. Few bombers of that era carried defensive guns in

4484-554: The Meteor and Vampire conversions were rapidly followed by a more capable night fighter in the form of the de Havilland Venom , the first model of which having been introduced during 1953. More advanced night fighter models of the Venom would follow, as well as of the navalised de Havilland Sea Venom , which served with the Royal Navy along with other operators. An advanced night-fighter design

4602-608: The Mosquitos during the early 1950s. A similar conversion of the de Havilland Vampire was also introduced; this was originally developed by the company as a private venture and initially ordered by Egypt, instead the RAF took over the order to serve an interim measure between the retirement of the Mosquito night fighter and the Meteor night fighter's introduction. These types were also widely exported; Meteor night fighters were acquired by France, Syria, Egypt and Israel amongst others. Both

4720-556: The Northrop design, as it had the greatest potential for development. The Air Force subsequently canceled the production contract for the F-87 to free up money for the Scorpion. During May 1949, the Air Force issued a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, valued at roughly $ 48 million, which covered the modifications to the second prototype as well as the supply of the first 48 production standard aircraft, spare parts, tooling, ground-handling equipment, and

4838-717: The P-39 was produced shortly before the end of World War II . Called the P-63 Kingcobra , this warplane addressed many of the shortcomings of the P-39, though it was produced too late in the war to make any significant contribution. 2,971 P-63's were built between 1943 and 1945, many delivered to the Soviet Union. Also, by that time, the Army Air Forces already had the superior P-47 Thunderbolt and P-38 Lightning fighter-bombers . In October 1942, The Bell-built twin-jet P-59 Airacomet

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4956-498: The P-59 that was cancelled. The Bell XF-109 was a supersonic vertical takeoff fighter that was cancelled in 1961. Perhaps Bell Aircraft's most important contribution to the history of fixed-wing aircraft development would be the design and building of the experimental Bell X-1 rocket plane , the world's first airplane to break the sound barrier , and its follow-on, the Bell X-2 . Unlike

5074-602: The RAF launched studies into new fighter designs, but gave these projects relatively low priority. By the time of the Soviet bomb test, the night-fighter design was still strictly a paper project, and the existing Mosquito fleet was generally unable to successfully intercept the Tupolev Tu-4 bomber it was expected to face. This led to rushed programs to introduce new, interim night-fighter designs; these efforts led to several night-fighter versions of ubiquitous Gloster Meteor to replace

5192-449: The USAAF announced that the N-24 had been selected. It was inspected on 25 September, at which point the USAAF expressed some reservations. The inspectors believed that the radar operator needed to be moved forward, closer to the pilot, with both crewmen under a single canopy , the magnesium alloy components of the wing replaced by aluminum alloy , and the fuel tankage directly above the engines moved. Other changes were made in response to

5310-533: The USAAF selected the Curtiss-Wright XP-87 Blackhawk , adapted from its proposed XA-43 attack aircraft and the Northrop N-24, one of four designs submitted by the company. The N-24, designed by Jack Northrop , was a slim-bodied, swept-wing aircraft with a two-person, pressurized cockpit and conventional landing gear . To reduce drag , the two Allison J35 turbojet engines were buried in

5428-466: The XP-89 was completed in 1948. Pending the availability of either turret under development, an interim six-gun fixed installation, with 200 rounds per gun, was designed for the underside of the nose. The thin wing had an aspect ratio of 5.88, a thickness-to-chord ratio of 9% and used a NACA 0009-64 section, which was selected for its low drag at high speed and stability at low speeds. A further advantage of

5546-606: The adoption of more powerful afterburner -equipped Allison J33-A-21 turbojet engines, AN/APG-33 radar, and the Hughes E-1 fire-control system . During September 1950, the Scorpion entered service with the United States Air Force (USAF), its sole operator. Only 18 F-89As were completed as it was quickly superseded by the more capable F-89B configuration, most of the changes being avionics-based, that arrived in June 1951. It

5664-405: The aircraft's elevated tail unit and high-mounted horizontal stabilizer , which kept it clear of the engine exhaust. The Scorpion was designed by Northrop in response to a specification issued by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during August 1945. Internally designated as the N-24 , it was originally designed with a relatively slim fuselage, buried Allison J35 turbojet engines, and

5782-445: The altitude, with much greater bomb loads. They flew fast enough that the time between detecting them and the bombers reaching their targets left little time to launch interceptors to shoot them down. Higher altitude bombers also required extremely large and heavy antiaircraft guns to attack them, badly limiting the number of guns available. At night, or with limited visibility, these problems were compounded. The widespread conclusion

5900-443: The arrival of the Beaufighter , which offered significantly higher performance than the pre-war Blenheims; it was the highest performance aircraft capable of carrying the bulky early aircraft interception radars used for night fighter operations, and quickly became invaluable as a night fighter. Over the next few months, more and more Beaufighters arrived and the success of the night fighters roughly doubled every month until May, when

6018-425: The bombers over a cell in a short period, the vast majority of the bombers flew right over them without ever having been plotted, let alone attacked. German success against the RAF plummeted, reaching a nadir on 30/31 May 1942, when the first 1,000-bomber raid attacked Cologne , losing only four aircraft to German night fighters. In 1942, the Germans first started deploying the initial B/C low UHF -band version of

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6136-428: The closing stages of the war, including the US contract for the Northrop F-89 Scorpion . When the Soviet plans to build an atomic bomb became known in the west in 1948, this project was still long from being ready to produce even a prototype, and in March 1949, they started development of both the North American F-86D Sabre and Lockheed F-94 Starfire as stop-gap measures. All of these fighters entered service during

6254-424: The company was in financial difficulty. Textron purchased the Bell Aerospace division on 5 July 1960. Bell Aerospace was composed of three divisions of Bell Aircraft, including the helicopter division. Bell Aerospace Textron continued to play a significant role in NASA's mission to land men on the Moon in the 1960s. Bell designed and built the Reaction Control system for Project Mercury 's Redstone command module and

6372-443: The development of the Lockheed F-94 Starfire from the training version of the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star . The F-89 was the fastest of the three contenders, although it was in last place in cockpit arrangement and ease of maintenance. One pilot claimed that the XF-89 was the only real fighter and compared the XF-87 to a medium bomber and the XF3D to a trainer . The full Committee on Evaluation overruled those evaluators, preferring

6490-411: The discovery of structural problems with the wings that led to the grounding of the F-89 and forced a refit of 194 -A, -B, and -C models. On 22 September 1952, all Scorpions, save for those involved in flight testing, were grounded until the following year. The F-89C left active service with the Air Force in 1954, it was operated by the Air National Guard as late as 1960. The definitive production model

6608-408: The early 1950s. In the Korean War, after the Starfire proved to be ineffective against the latest Soviet-supplied aircraft, Marine Corps Douglas F3D Skyknights shot down six aircraft, including five Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s without loss, as the MiG-15s lacked radar to shoot down individual fighters, though they were effective against bomber formations at night. During the immediate postwar era,

6726-436: 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

6844-415: The engines, external ("ice tong") mass balances for the elevator, pending the design of internal mass balances, and the addition of exhaust deflectors to the fuselage to reduce the turbulence and the consequent flutter. These modifications were initially applied to the second prototype to validate their effectiveness. On 28 September 1950, the first F-89A was accepted by the Air Force for evaluation purposes;

6962-508: The fighters, typically Focke-Wulf Fw 190s , were equipped only with a direction finder and landing lights to allow them to return to base at night. For the fighter to find their targets, other aircraft, which were guided from the ground, would drop strings of flares in front of the bombers. In other cases, the burning cities below provided enough light to see their targets. Messerschmitt Bf 109G variants had G6N and similar models fitted with FuG 350 Naxos "Z" radar receivers for homing in on

7080-437: The final resolution of this issue. As a result of increased unit costs, in part due to modifications, the number of production aircraft on order was reduced somewhat. Production aircraft were equipped with the AN/APG-33 radar and an armament of six 20-millimeter T-31 cannon with 200 rounds per gun. The swiveling nose turret was abandoned, and 300-US-gallon (250 imp gal; 1,100 L) fuel tanks were permanently fitted to

7198-544: The first aircraft ever that was explicitly designed from the outset to function as a night fighter, the Northrop P-61 Black Widow . Avionics systems were greatly miniaturised over time, allowing the addition of radar altimeter , terrain-following radar , improved instrument landing system , microwave landing system , Doppler weather radar , LORAN receivers, GEE , TACAN , inertial navigation system , GPS , and GNSS in aircraft. The addition of greatly improved landing and navigation equipment combined with radar led to

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7316-466: The first aircraft was scheduled for 14 months (July 1948) from signing and the second two months after that. During June 1948, an engineering acceptance inspection found that numerous discrepancies were present in the first prototype, specifically related to stability and structural integrity; remedial changes were incorporated on the second prototype. On 16 August 1948, the first prototype performed its maiden flight at Muroc Army Air Field ; this milestone

7434-620: The first engine until March 1942. Also, General Henry "Hap" Arnold had forbidden use of wind tunnels to test and optimize the design, but later relented somewhat, only allowing the group to use the low-speed tunnel at Wright Field , Ohio . Bell engineers could only guess at the performance characteristics. Originally intended initially as a production aircraft, the P-59 nevertheless became an important experimental testbed for jet technology, providing invaluable data for development of later jet airplanes. During World War II, Bell also built heavy bombers under license from other aircraft companies at

7552-456: The first night fighters. After lack of success while using darts and small incendiary bombs to attack Zeppelins from above, ultimately a Lewis gun loaded with novel incendiary ammunition , was mounted at an angle of 45° to fire upwards, to attack the enemy from below. This technique proved to be very effective. After over a year of night Zeppelin raids, on the night of 2–3 September 1916, a BE2c flown by Captain William Leefe Robinson downed

7670-399: The first radar-equipped, single-seat night fighter in the world. It served with 245 and 247 Squadrons briefly and unsuccessfully before being sent to India to 176 Squadron, with which it served until the end of 1943. A similarly radar-equipped Hawker Typhoon was also developed, but no production followed. German aircraft interception radar efforts at this point were about two years behind

7788-433: The first time. Initially, these systems were unwieldy, and development of IR systems continued. Realizing that radar was a far more practical solution to the problem, Robert Watson-Watt handed the task of developing a radar suitable for aircraft use to 'Taffy' Bowen in the mid-1930s. In September 1937, he gave a working demonstration of the concept when a test aircraft was able to detect three Home Fleet capital ships in

7906-423: The flaps, and the landing gear were hydraulically powered. The thin wing dictated tall, thin, high-pressure (200  psi (1,379  kPa ; 14  kgf/cm )) mainwheel tires, while the low height of the fuselage required the use of dual wheels for the nose gear. On 21 May 1947, the terms of the initial contract were revised and formalized, at which point the price was increased to $ 5,571,111. The delivery date of

8024-411: The following year with the development of the single engine P-39 Airacobra, which 9,588 were built. Putting their previous experience with Allison engines to good use, the P-39 placed the engine in the center of the aircraft, with the propeller driven by a long shaft through which a 37mm cannon was also mounted, firing through the propeller's spinner. Due to persistent development and production problems,

8142-410: The former Consolidated plant at 2050 Elmwood Avenue in North Delaware area of Buffalo. Bell was the third major aircraft builder to occupy the site. The factory complex was originally built in 1916 for the Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Company , and during World War I had been considered the largest airplane factory in the world. Bell's first military contract followed in 1937 with the development of

8260-408: The horizontal stabilizer forward solved the problem. Another major change occurred when USAAF revised its specification to delete the rear gun installation on 8 October. Another mock-up inspection was held on 17 December, and the inspectors suggested only minor changes, though the fuselage fuel tanks were still above the engines. Northrop's efforts to protect the fuel tanks were considered sufficient, as

8378-428: The ill-fated YFM-1 Airacuda , an unconventional bomber-destroyer powered by two Allison -powered pusher propellers . The YFM-1 incorporated groundbreaking technology for the time, with gyro stabilized weapons sighting and a thermionic fire control system. Including the prototype, just 13 Airacudas were produced, and these saw only limited service with the USAAC before being scrapped in 1942. Bell enjoyed much success

8496-447: The low- to mid-VHF band FuG 217/218 Neptun active search radars, as were Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-6/R11 aircraft: these served as radar-equipped night-fighters with NJGr 10 and NJG 11 . A sole Fw 190 A-6 Wk.Nr.550214 fitted with FuG 217 is a rare survivor. The effective Schräge Musik offensive armament fitment was the German name given to installations of upward-firing autocannon mounted in large, twin-engined night fighters by

8614-440: The lower fuselage , directly behind their air intakes, and they exhausted underneath the rear fuselage. The horizontal stabilizer was mounted just above the junction of the vertical stabilizer with the fuselage and had some dihedral . On 13 June 1946, an initial $ 4 million contract for two aircraft, designated XP-89 , along with a full-scale mock-up, was approved. However, the mock-up construction had commenced immediately after

8732-527: The major forces, but in practice, these proved almost unusable. The only such system to see any sort of widespread operational use was the Spanner Anlage system used on the Dornier Do 17 Z night fighters of the Luftwaffe . These were often also fitted with a large IR searchlight to improve the amount of light being returned. Immediately prior to the opening of the war, radar was introduced operationally for

8850-497: The mission, often employing radar or other systems for providing some sort of detection capability in low visibility. Many night fighters of the conflict also included instrument landing systems for landing at night, as turning on the runway lights made runways into an easy target for opposing intruders . Some experiments tested the use of day fighters on night missions, but these tended to work only under very favourable circumstances and were not widely successful. The war would see

8968-496: The night fighter role. The Camels' Vickers guns were replaced by Lewis guns mounted over the wings, as the flash from the Vickers tended to dazzle the pilot when they were fired, and synchronised guns were considered unsafe for firing incendiary ammunition. Further modification led to the cockpit being moved rearwards. The modified aircraft were nicknamed the "Sopwith Comic". To provide suitable equipment for Home Defence squadrons in

9086-591: The north of the UK, Avro 504 K trainers were converted to night fighters by removing the front cockpit and mounting a Lewis gun on the top wing. With little money to spend on development, especially during the Great Depression , night-fighting techniques changed little until just prior to World War II . In the meantime, aircraft performance had improved tremendously; compared to their First World War counterparts, modern bombers could fly about twice as fast, at over twice

9204-593: The offensive role. The capture in July 1944 of a Ju 88G-1 night fighter of NJG 2 equipped with an SN-2 Lichtenstein set, flown by mistake into RAF Woodbridge , revealed the secrets of the later, longer-wavelength replacement for the earlier B/C and C-1 sets. The Luftwaffe also used single-engined aircraft in the night-fighter role, starting in 1939 with the Arado Ar 68 and early Messerschmitt Bf 109 models, which they later referred to as Wilde Sau (wild boar). In this case,

9322-454: The only alternative was redesigning the entire aircraft. The XP-89 had a thin, straight, mid-mounted wing and a crew of two seated in tandem . The slim rear fuselage and the high-mounted horizontal stabilizer led to Northrop employees calling it the Scorpion—a name later formally adopted by the Air Force. The intended armament of four 20-mm M24 cannon in a small nose turret was not ready when

9440-643: The only part of Bell Aircraft still producing aircraft when Bell was purchased by the Textron Corporation . That part of Textron is now known today as Bell Helicopter . After a series of successful helicopter designs, the UH-1 Iroquois became the most famous helicopter of the War in Vietnam , and Bell Helicopter still designs and manufactures helicopters today. Lawrence Bell died in 1956, and for several years afterwards

9558-552: The original turbosupercharger was deleted from production models, instead using a single-stage, single-speed supercharger, as was standard on all other Allison-powered products, with the exception of the P-38. The P-39 performed poorly at high altitudes compared to newer, late-war designs. Most Allied forces thought the Airacobra effective only for ground attack roles, as demonstrated by a few U.S. Army Air Forces units that flew P-39s, such as

9676-422: The position of the horizontal stabilizer also proved to be unsatisfactory, as it was affected by the engine exhaust, and it would be "blanked-out" by airflow from the wing at high angles of attack . It was moved halfway up the tail, but its position flush with the leading edge of the vertical stabilizer proved to cause extra drag through turbulence and reduced the effectiveness of the elevators and rudder . Moving

9794-401: The production models was suspended until the reasons for the accident were discovered. Engineering and wind tunnel tests revealed that the geometry of the rear fuselage and the engine exhaust created flutter-inducing turbulence aggravated by the exhaust's high-frequency acoustic energy. Fixes for the problem involved the addition of a "jet wake fairing" at the bottom rear of the fuselage between

9912-486: The property of the Lockheed Corporation , which has used it for producing C-130 Hercules , C-141 Starlifter , and C-5 Galaxy transport planes . Although Bell designed several more fighter plane designs during and after WW II, none of these ever entered mass-production. The XP-77 was a small fighter using non- strategic materials ; it was not successful. The XP-83 was a jet escort fighter similar in layout to

10030-442: The prototype performed its maiden flight from Muroc Army Air Field . Following competitive evaluations of the XP-89, officials opted to cancel the competing XP-87 to concentrate resources on the Scorpion, it having proven to be the fastest aircraft evaluated and was viewed as the most promising. Various alterations and improvements were made following a fatal accident on 22 February 1950; prior to this, officials had already specified

10148-455: The radar would then direct a searchlight to "paint" the target, allowing the fighters to attack them without on-board aids. The searchlights were later supplanted with short-range radars that tracked both the fighters and bombers, allowing ground operators to direct the fighters to their targets. By July 1940, this system was well developed as the Kammhuber Line , and proved able to deal with

10266-484: The replacement of the nose gun turret by the Hughes -designed six-gun nose, AN/ARG-33 radar, and Hughes E-1 fire-control system , permanent wingtip fuel tanks , and the ability to lower the complete engine for better maintenance access. The new nose added 3 feet (0.91 m) to the length of the aircraft. It was redesignated YF-89A to reflect its role as a pre-production testbed to evaluate equipment and changes planned for

10384-577: The rest of the war, Bell's Marietta plant , under the management of Carl Cover and James V. Carmichael concentrated on producing B-29s, producing 668 of them by the time contract expired in the fall of 1945. Bell ranked 25th among United States corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. As the postwar defense industry downsized, Bell consolidated its operations at the Wheatfield plant, near Buffalo. The aircraft factory in Marietta later became

10502-510: The results from wind tunnel and other aerodynamic tests conducted. The swept wings proved less satisfactory at low speeds, and a thin straight wing was selected, instead. Delivery of the first prototype was scheduled for November 1947, 14 months after the inspection. The requested alterations to the design were formalized in a series of change orders issued to Northrop. Another mockup presentation took place in December 1946. Further changes included

10620-422: The small raids by isolated bombers the RAF was carrying out at the time. At the urging of R.V. Jones , the RAF changed their raid tactics to gather all of their bombers into a single " stream ". This meant that the ground-based portion of the system was overwhelmed ; with only one or two searchlights or radars available per "cell", the system was able to handle perhaps six interceptions per hour. By flying all of

10738-538: The so-called Cactus Air Force on Guadalcanal in 1942–43. However, the Soviet Air Force used their Lend-Lease P-39s primarily in the air-to-air role, where they found it to excel as a front-line fighter against some of the best pilots and aircraft of the Luftwaffe . The Soviet-flown P-39s were the main reason that the aircraft is credited with highest number of individual kills attributed to any U.S. fighter type. A somewhat larger and more powerful version of

10856-556: The so-called Battle of Palmdale , in which they fired all their rockets but failed to damage the Hellcat drone. 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 Convair F-106 Delta Dart . The subsequent F-89H, which entered service in 1956, had an E-9 fire control system like that of

10974-412: The straight wing was that it could accommodate heavy weights at the wingtips. The wing could not fit the circular-type (rotating) spoilerons used in the P-61, so Northrop used the " decelerons " designed for the unsuccessful XP-79 prototype . These were clamshell-style split ailerons , which could be used as conventional ailerons, as dive brakes , or function as flaps as needed. All flying surfaces,

11092-491: The targets and illuminate them with the searchlight, allowing Hurricanes adapted for night flying to shoot them down visually. This proved almost impossible to arrange in practice, and the Cat Eye fighters had little luck during the closing months of 1940. The Turbinlite squadrons were disbanded in early 1943. By early 1941, the first examples of a production-quality radar, AI Mk. IV, were beginning to arrive. This coincided with

11210-489: The time the Blitz opened in August 1940, the night fighter fleet was still in its infancy. Through this period, the RAF experimented with many other aircraft and interception methods in an effort to get a working night fighter force. One attempt to make up for the small number of working radars was to fit an AI to a Douglas Havoc bomber which also carried a searchlight in its nose. These Turbinlite aircraft were intended to find

11328-616: The time. The general assumption of a quick war meant no need existed for strategic attacks. Things changed on 22 September and 8 October 1914, when the Royal Naval Air Service bombed the production line and hangars of the Zeppelin facilities in Cologne and Düsseldorf. Although defences had been set up, all of them proved woefully inadequate. As early as 1915, a number of B.E.2c aircraft (the infamous "Fokker Fodder") were modified into

11446-483: The topic, but as the Germans were on the defensive, their work was given a much higher priority. The Messerschmitt Me 262 , the first operational jet fighter in the world, was adapted to the role, such as the installation of on-board FuG 218 Neptun high-VHF band radar and Hirschgeweih ("stag's antlers") antennae; intercepts were generally or entirely made using Wilde Sau methods, rather than AI radar-controlled interception. Several Me 262 pilots were able to attain

11564-430: The use of light bombers as the preferred platform for aircraft interception radars, and in May 1939, the first experimental flight took place, on a Fairey Battle . The war opened on 1 September 1939, and by this time, the RAF were well advanced with plans to build a radar – then called 'RDF' in Britain – equipped night-fighter fleet. The Aircraft Interception Mk. II radar (AI Mk. II) was being fitted experimentally to

11682-527: The use of the term all-weather fighter or all-weather fighter attack, depending on the aircraft capabilities. The use of the term night fighter gradually faded away as a result of these improvements making the vast majority of fighters capable of night operation. At the start of the First World War , most combatants had little capability of flying at night, and little need to do so. The only targets that could be attacked with any possibility of being hit in limited visibility would be cities, an unthinkable target at

11800-523: The usual designations for American aircraft, the X-1 models were successive (mostly identical) units of the X-1 program: the X-1, X-1A, X-1B, X-1C, X-1D, and X-1E. Bell went on to design and produce several different experimental aircraft during the 1950s. These helped the U.S. Air Force and the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) explore the boundaries of aircraft design, and paved

11918-624: The ventral position. An attack by a Schräge Musik -equipped fighter was typically a complete surprise to the bomber crew, who would only realise that a fighter was close by when they came under fire. Particularly in the initial stage of operational use until early 1944, the sudden fire from below was often attributed to ground fire rather than a fighter. Rather than nighttime raids, the US Army Air Forces were dedicated to daytime bombing over Germany and Axis allies, that statistically were much more effective. The British night-bombing raids showed

12036-528: The way for the founding of NASA and the exploration of outer space . The X-2 Starbuster achieved Mach 3 (2,100 mph) and a height of 126,000 ft in 1955, blazing a technological trail for the development of spacecraft. Bell played a crucial role in the development of rocket propulsion after WWII, spearheaded by the likes of some of the most brilliant minds in rocket science like Walter Dornberger (ex-commander of Nazi Germany Peenemünde Army Research Center ) and Wendell Moore. Bell developed and fielded

12154-460: The wingtips. Underwing racks could carry 16 5-inch (130 mm) aerial rockets or up to 3,200 lb (1,451 kg) of bombs. Only 18 F-89As were completed, all of which being delivered within FY1951; they were mainly used for tests and trials, seeing little operational use. They were soon upgraded to F-89B standard, being outfitted with new avionics. During June 1951, the Scorpion entered service with

12272-556: The world's first nuclear-tipped Air-to-Surface cruise missile, the GAM-63 RASCAL in 1957. Wendell Moore developed the Bell rocket belt , utilizing peroxide monopropellant rocket engines. While the rocket belt failed to be commercially developed, the rocket technology proved invaluable in future Bell programs. Bell's crowning achievement in the realm of rocketry was the Agena rocket engine. The Agena

12390-524: Was a 12,000 lbf bi-propellant rocket that is considered to this day to be one of the most reliable rockets ever built. 360 units were produced starting in the late 1950s and it was responsible for inserting into orbit most of the satellites launched by the United States in the 1960s. Helicopter development began at Bell Aircraft in 1941 with the Bell Model 30 first flying in 1943. Bell Helicopter became

12508-487: Was a good night fighter. It did not have enough speed". The United States Navy (USN) Project Affirm was established at Naval Air Station Quonset Point on 18 April 1942 to develop night fighting equipment and tactics. Aircraft selection was limited to single-engine, single-seat planes by the requirement to be capable of operating from aircraft carriers . Urgency for the night-fighting role increased when Japanese aircraft successfully harassed naval forces on night raids in

12626-647: Was also an interceptor with enhanced agility, but did not carry the Phoenix in preference to the role of an air-superiority fighter. The reduced size and costs of avionics have allowed even smaller modern fighters to have night-interception capability. In the US Air Force's lightweight fighter program, the F-16 was originally envisaged as inexpensive day fighter , but quickly converted to an all-weather role. The similar McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet in its CF-18 variant for

12744-548: Was booming, but he still wanted to run his own company. Although he could raise local capital, he knew he would not be able to compete with either Consolidated or Curtiss-Wright , the two major aircraft builders also based in Buffalo. Fortunately, in 1935 Fleet decided to move Consolidated Aircraft to San Diego , and Bell stayed behind to establish his own company, the Bell Aircraft Company, on 10 July 1935, headquartered in

12862-459: Was challenging to meet via alternative means. The aircraft was to be armed with aerial rockets stored internally and six guns split between two flexible mounts, four guns forward and two in the rear. Each mount had to be capable of 15° of movement from the aircraft's longitudinal axis; each mount's guns were to be automatically controlled by radar. For ground attack, it had to be capable of carrying 1,000-pound (454 kg) bombs and to be able to carry

12980-608: Was eventually introduced to RAF service in 1956 in the form of the Gloster Javelin , a delta wing aircraft capable of performing rapid ascents and attaining an altitude of 45,000 feet. However, due to rapid advances in aircraft capabilities, the Javelin quickly became considered to be outdated and the type was retired during 1968. In Canada , Avro Canada developed its own night fighter, the CF-100 Canuck , which entered service with

13098-513: Was growing. The Mosquitos had little to do over the UK, so a number of squadrons were formed within No. 100 Group RAF and fitted with special systems, such as Perfectos and Serrate , for homing-in on German night fighters. The British also experimented with mounting pilot-operated AI Mark 6 radar sets in single-seat fighters, and the Hurricane II C(NF), a dozen of which were produced in 1942, became

13216-490: Was reached nine months later than originally scheduled. One month prior to this first flight, the USAF changed its designation for fighter aircraft from "P" to "F". The XF-89, which was fitted with 4,000 lbf (18 kN) Allison J35-A-9 turbojets, quickly proved to be fundamentally underpowered. Initial flights were performed with conventional ailerons as the decelerons were not installed until December. Several months earlier,

13334-510: Was soon followed by the F-89C, which featured engine upgrades. During 1954, the definitive F-89D was introduced, which installed a new Hughes E-6 fire control system with AN/APG-40 radar and an AN/APA-84 computer in place of the cannon armament, being instead armed with 2.75-inch (70 mm) "Mighty Mouse" FFAR rocket pods . The final variant to enter service was the F-89J, which was typically armed with

13452-543: Was that " the bomber will always get through ", and the Royal Air Force invested almost all of their efforts in developing a night bomber force, with the Central Flying School responsible for one of the most important developments in the period by introducing " blind flying " training. The Spanish Republican Air Force used some Polikarpov I-15s as night fighters. Pilot José Falcó had equipped his fighter with

13570-449: Was the F-89D. While it performed its first flight on 23 October 1951, quantity production was disrupted by the issues encountered on early models, resulting in major structural modifications, after which full production was resumed during 1953. Approximately 170 F-89Ds, the majority of which having been built prior to the resumption of production, were retrofitted to bring them up to the same standard as later-built aircraft. On 7 January 1953,

13688-580: Was the F-89J, which was based on the F-89D, but replaced the standard wingtip missile pod/tanks with 600-US-gallon (500 imp gal; 2,300 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

13806-513: Was the first American jet aircraft to fly. Unfortunately, performance was below expectations, roughly on par with contemporaneous propeller-driven aircraft, an outcome generally attributed to the extremely short development timeframe required by the USAAF, as well as the intense secrecy imposed on the project. Design had begun in September 1941, during which time the Bell team was guided mostly by theory, as General Electric would not finish and begin testing

13924-563: Was vice president and general manager of Martin, then based in Cleveland . Feeling that he deserved part ownership, in late 1924, he presented Martin with an ultimatum. Mr. Martin refused, and Bell quit. Bell spent several years out of the aviation industry, but in 1928 was hired by Reuben H. Fleet at Consolidated Aircraft , in Buffalo, New York , where he was guaranteed an interest in the company. Before long, Bell became general manager and business

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