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Northrop F-89 Scorpion

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"P89" redirects here. For the semi-automatic pistol, see Ruger P series.

Template:Infobox Aircraft The Northrop F-89 Scorpion was an early American jet-powered all-weather interceptor. It has the distinction of being the first aircraft armed with nuclear weapons (the Genie rocket) for air-to-air use.

Design and development

The Scorpion stemmed from a 1945 United States Army Air Forces specification for a jet-powered night fighter to replace the P-61 Black Widow. Bell Aircraft, Consolidated-Vultee, Douglas Aircraft, Goodyear, Northrop, and Curtiss-Wright all submitted proposals.

Northrop submitted a proposal labeled N-24, a slim-bodied aircraft with a cantilevered mid-mounted wing and two Allison J35 turbojet engines with afterburners. It was to have radar and a crew of two, with an armament of six 20 mm cannon in a unique trainable nose turret. Contracts for two prototypes were issued in December 1946.

The initial XP-89 prototype made its first flight on 16 August 1948, with test pilot Fred C. Bretcher. A unique feature added to the prototype during development was the deceleron, a two-part aileron that could split open to act as an air brake; this feature was to become a Northrop trademark, still used today on the B-2 Spirit. For much of the program Curtiss's XF-87 Blackhawk had been the front-runner for the contract, but in testing the Northrop design proved superior.

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 T-31 20 mm cannon with 200 rounds per gun. The swiveling nose turret was abandoned, and 300 US gallon (1,100 L) fuel tanks were permanently fitted to the wingtips. Underwing racks could carry 16 five-inch 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 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 first and 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.

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 with removed cannon and new Hughes E-6 fire control system with AN/APG-40 radar and an AN/APA-84 computer, 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 RRAF rockets.
F-89J
Last production version developed from F-89D by replacing the standard wingtip missile pod/tanks with fuel tanks and fitted a pylon under each wing for a single MB-1 Genie nuclear rocket, 350 rebuilt from F-89D.
DF-89A
F-89As converted into drone control aircraft.
DF-89B
F-89Bs converted into drone control aircraft.

Operators

 United States

Survivors

File:F89J.jpg
F-89J s/n 52-2129 on display at the Air Power Park and Museum in Hampton, Virginia.

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.[1]
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, inBurlington, 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.
F-89J s/n 52-1927
On display at the Castle Air Museum, 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
On display at the AirVenture Museum, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Specifications (F-89D)

F-89 3-view
F-89 3-view

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2

Performance

Armament

  • Rockets:
  • Bombs: 3,200 lb (1,500 kg)

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

  1. ^ [1]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to F-89 Scorpion.
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