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F-89 Scorpion
USAF F-89H Scorpion.
Role	Interceptor
Manufacturer	Northrop Corporation
Designed by	Jack Northrop
First flight	16 August 1948
Introduced	September 1950
Retired	1969
Status	Retired
Primary user	United States Air Force
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 1 Design and development 2 Operational history 3 Variants 4 Operators 5 Survivors 6 Specifications (F-89D) 7 See also 8 References 8.1 Notes 8.2 Bibliography 9 External links

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 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 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 accomodated 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]

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 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

• United States Air Force
• Air National Guard

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, 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 0-32547

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 32536 on the tail

On display at the AirVenture Museum, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

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× 70 mm (2.75 in) "Mighty Mouse" folding-fin aerial rockets
  • 16× 127 mm (5 in) aerial rockets on underwing racks or
• Bombs: 3,200 lb (1,500 kg)

See also

Comparable aircraft

• Avro CF-100
• F-94 Starfire
• Sud Aviation Vautour
• Yakovlev Yak-25
  

Related lists

• List of military aircraft of the United States
• List of fighter aircraft
  

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

• Joe Baugher F-89 pages

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v • d • e USAAS/USAAC/USAAF/USAF fighter designations 1924–1962 Pursuit (pre-1948) Fighter (post-1948) P-1 • P-2 • P-3 • XP-4 • P-5 • P-6 • XP-7 • XP-8 • XP-9 • XP-10 • P-11 • P-12 • XP-13 • XP-14 • XP-15 • P-16 • XP-17 • XP-18 • XP-19 • YP-20 • XP-21 • XP-22 • XP-23 • YP-24 • Y1P-25 • P-26 • YP-27 • Y1P-28 • P-29 • P-30 • XP-31 • XP-32 • XP-33 • XP-34 • P-35 • P-36 • XP-37 • P-38 • P-39 • P-40 • XP-41 • XP-42 • P-43 • P-44 • XP-45 • XP-46 • P-47 • XP-48 • XP-49 • XP-50 • P-51 • XP-52 • XP-53 • XP-54 • XP-55 • XP-56 • XP-57 • XP-58 • P-59 • YP-60 • P-61 • XP-62 • P-63 • P-64 • XP-65 • P-66 • XP-67 • XP-68 • XP-69 • P-70 • XP-71 • XP-72 • XP-73 • (P-74 not assigned) • P-75 • XP-76 • XP-77 • XP-78 • XP-79 • P-80 • XP-81 • P-82 • XP-83 • P-84 • XP-85 • P-86 • XP-87 • XP-88 • P-89 • XF-90 • XF-91 • XF-92 • YF-93 • F-94 • YF-95 • YF-96 • F-97 • XF-98 • F-99 • F-100 • F-101 • F-102 • XF-103 • F-104 • F-105 • F-106 • F-107 • XF-108 • XF-109 • F-110 • F-111 see also: F-24 (redesignation of A-24 in 1948) Pursuit, Biplace PB-1 • PB-2 • XPB-3 Fighter, Multiplace YFM-1 • XFM-2 See also Post-1962 list

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