Lockheed F-94 Starfire

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_F-94_Starfire

The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was a first-generation jet aircraft of the United
States Air Force. It was developed from the twin-seat Lockheed T-33 Shooting
Star in the late 1940s as an all-weather, day/night interceptor. The aircraft
reached operational service in May 1950 with Air Defense Command, replacing the
piston-engined North American F-82 Twin Mustang in the all-weather interceptor
role.

The F-94 was the first operational USAF fighter equipped with an afterburner and
was the first jet-powered all-weather fighter to enter combat during the Korean
War in January 1953. It had a relatively brief operational life, being replaced
in the mid-1950s by the Northrop F-89 Scorpion and North American F-86D Sabre.
The last aircraft left active-duty service in 1958 and Air National Guard
service in 1959.

The F-94C Starfire was extensively modified from the early F-94 variants. In
fact, it was initially designated F-97, but it was ultimately decided to treat
it as a new version of the F-94. USAF interest was lukewarm, so Lockheed funded
development themselves, converting two F-94B airframes to YF-94C prototypes for
evaluation. To improve performance, a completely new, much thinner wing was
designed, along with a swept tail surface. The J33 engine was replaced with a
more powerful Pratt & Whitney J48, a license-built version of the afterburning
Rolls-Royce Tay, which dramatically increased power, producing a dry thrust of
6,350 pounds-force (28.2 kN) and approximately 8,750 lbf (38.9 kN) with
afterburning. The fire control system was upgraded to the new Hughes E-5 with an
AN/APG-40 radar in a much larger nose. The guns were removed and replaced with
all-rocket armament consisting of four groups of six rockets in a ring around
the nose. The rockets were carried in four panels that could be hinged upwards
and outwards for ground reloading. In flight these rockets were normally hidden
aft of four fold-in doors that folded inwards for combat.

According to Lockheed test pilot Tony LeVier, the F-94C was capable of
supersonic flight in a steep dive with afterburner engaged.

The F-94C was the only variant to be officially named Starfire. With time, the
entire F-94 family has adopted the name. The first production F-94C aircraft
were delivered in July 1951, 387 examples being delivered before May 1954. The
largest problem discovered in service was the nose-mounted rockets, which
blinded the crew with their smoke and fire. The most severe problem associated
with firing the nose-mounted rockets was that the exhaust could cause a flameout
of the jet engine, which could lead to loss of the aircraft. Mid-wing rocket
pods were added, holding 12 rockets apiece. Most of the time, the nose rockets
were not fitted, and the mid-wing pod rockets were the sole armament. This
version of the aircraft was extensively used within the Semi Automatic Ground
Environment (SAGE) air defense system.


Role
All-weather interceptor

National origin
United States

Manufacturer
Lockheed Corporation

First flight
16 April 1949

Introduction
May 1950

Retired
1958 (USAF)
1959 (ANG)

Primary users
United States Air Force
Air National Guard

Number built
855

Unit cost


US$196,248 (F-94B)

US$534,073 (F-94C)

Developed from
Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star

The primary user of the F-94 were the squadrons of Air Defense Command (ADC),
eventually equipping 26 squadrons of interceptors. The first F-94As were
assigned to the 325th Fighter-All Weather Group at McChord AFB and Moses Lake
AFB, Washington. It replaced the propeller-driven F-82F Twin Mustangs that were
in use by its 317th, 318th, and 319th squadrons. The F-82s had been pressed into
interceptor service in 1949 after the Soviet Union displayed the Tupolev Tu-4
strategic bomber, a reversed-engineered version of the B-29 Superfortress, some
of which had landed and were impounded in the Soviet Far East during World War
II. The F-82Fs proved to be an excellent day/night all-weather interceptor, with
long range, but it lacked any logistics support which resulted in a chronic
shortage of parts. The jet-powered F-94As, however, had shorter legs than the
F-82s and relied more on Ground Control Interception Radar (GCI) sites to vector
them to intruding aircraft.

Retirement

The F-94A/B models were replaced in the active-duty inventory beginning in
mid-1954 by a combination of the Northrop F-89C/D Scorpion and the North
American F-86D Sabre interceptors. They were sent to Air National Guard units
where they replaced North American F-80C Shooting Stars and F-51D/H Mustangs,
which in most cases marked the end of the line for the venerable Mustang in
United States military service. When sent to the ANG, the F-94As were sent to
Lockheed for modification to F-94B standards and then returned to the ANG as B
models. Also in the late 1950s, F-94Cs were passed along to the Air National
Guard, supplementing the F-94A/B models. Eventually 22 ANG Fighter-Interceptor
squadrons were equipped with the Starfire interceptor.

The last F-94C was retired by the active-duty Air Force in November 1957 when
the 319th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Bunker Hill Air Force Base, Indiana
converted to the F-89J Scorpion interceptor. The last F-94C Starfires were
phased out of ANG service by the 179th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at the
Duluth Municipal Airport, Minnesota during the summer of 1959 when it converted
to the F-89J Scorpion; the last aircraft being sent to AMARC in December 1959.

Specifications (F-94C Starfire)

General characteristics
Crew: 2
Length: 44 ft 6 in (13.6 m)
Wingspan: 42 ft 5 in (12.9 m)
Height: 14 ft 11 in (4.5 m)
Wing area: 232.8 ft² (21.63 m²)
Empty weight: 12,708 lb (5,764 kg)
Loaded weight: 18,300 lb (8,300 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 24,184 lb (10,970 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney J48-P-5 turbojet Dry thrust: 6,350 lbf (28.2 kN)
Thrust with afterburner: 8,750 lbf (38.9 kN)


Performance
Maximum speed: 640 mph (556 kn, 1,030 km/h, Mach .84)
Range: 805 mi (700 nmi, 1,300 km) combat
Ferry range: 1,275 mi (1,100 nmi, 2,050 km)
Service ceiling: 51,400 ft (15,670 m)
Rate of climb: 7,980 ft/min (40.5 m/s)
Wing loading: 78.6 lb/ft² (384 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.48

Armament

Rockets: 24 or 48 × 2.75 in (70 mm) Mk 4/Mk 40 Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets

Avionics

AN/APG-40 radar



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