Subject: Number Eighty-Six in the Series--North American F-86 Sabre (21 of 23)

From: [email-masked]
Date: 7 Sep 93 16:07:31 GMT

>From [email-masked]

The last of the naval Furies was the FJ-4.  Some people argue that the 
FJ-4 was the best version of the entire F-86 Sabre/FJ Fury series.  
The FJ-4 contained so many changes that at first glance it seemed to 
have very little relationship to the XP-86 that had first flown back 
in 1947.  However, when one looks a little closer, the family ancestry 
is apparent.  

The FJ-4 began its life in June 1953 as company project NA-208 which 
called for two prototypes and as company project NA-209 which was the 
production version.  On October 16, the Navy issued a contract for 132 
examples under the designation FJ-4.  On June 26, 1954, the Navy added 
45 more FJ-4s.  Serials were 139279 and 139280 for the NA-208 
prototypes, and 139281/139323 and 139424/139530 for the NA-209 
production run.  

The Navy had pinned its hopes for a high-performance carrier-based 
fighter on the McDonnell F3H-1N Demon, which was powered by the 
afterburning Westinghouse J40 turbojet.  Unfortunately, the J40 engine 
turned out to be a total disaster.  The J40 did not deliver its 
promised power output, and proved to be totally unreliable.  A rash of 
accidents was traced to in-flight failures of the J-40.  The problems 
with the J-40 proved to be insoluble, eventually forcing Westinghouse 
out of the jet engine manufacturing business altogether.  The failure 
of the J40 project doomed many Navy combat aircraft projects of that 
era which depended on this engine.  In particular, problems with the 
J40 caused the F3H-1N to be deemed unacceptable by the Navy.  

The failure of the J40-powered F3H-1N gave additional impetus to the 
development of the FJ-4 which, it was hoped, could meet or exceed the 
performance once expected of the Demon.  The Navy wanted a maximum 
speed of Mach 0.95 and a combat altitude of 49,000 feet, requirements 
never before having been met without using an afterburning engine.  

The FJ-4 differed from the FJ-3 primarily in having 50 percent more 
internal fuel.  This required that the airframe be almost completely 
redesigned from the ground up, which made the FJ-4 for all practical 
purposes an entirely new aircraft.  The fuselage was made somewhat 
deeper in order to accommodate the additional fuel, resulting in a 
raised aft fuselage which provided the FJ-4 with a "turtledeck" 
appearance reminiscent of the F-84F Thunderstreak.  A thinner "wet" 
wing with a larger area was used.  The wing was reduced to a 
thickness/chord ratio of six percent.  The wing was more highly 
tapered, but the sweepback angle was still 35 degrees.  Thw wing skins 
were milled from solid aluminum plate.  Other wing features included a 
four-degree washout at the wingtip, mid-span control surfaces (all 
earlier Sabres and Furies had their control surfaces on the outer 
wing), inboard high-lift flaps, and a drooping wing leading edge.  The 
drooping wing leading edge could be mechanically-controlled by the 
pilot for improvement in low-speed handling, and played the role of 
the automatic wing slats used by many of the earlier Sabres and 
Furies.  The tail surfaces were also almost completely new.  They were 
much thinner and had mid-span control surfaces.  The undercarriage was 
also entirely new, being levered and having the track increased from 9 
feet to 11 feet 7 inches.  The undercarriage was also redesigned so 
that upon retraction it would leave enough space for an acceptable 
wing box.  

The first FJ-4 (139279) took off on its maiden flight on October 28, 
1954, flown by test pilot Richard Wenzell.  It was powered by a 7650 
lb.st.  Wright J65-W-4 engine, the same engine that powered the FJ-3.  
For some reason, the two prototypes built on the NA-208 contract were 
designated FJ-4, not XFJ-4.  

Production FJ-4s (NA-209 contract) began to appear in February 1955.  
These were powered by the Wright J65-W-16A of 7700 pounds of thrust.  
To save weight, the forward armor was taken off the aircraft, and the 
ammunition was reduced to 576 rounds of 20-mm shells.  

Seventeen FJ-4s were completed in 1955, followed by 113 in 1956.  The 
first squadron to use the FJ-4 was Marine Squadron VMF-451.  By March 
of 1957, all 152 aircraft on the first contract had been delivered.  
All of these aircraft went to three Marine Fighter Squadrons, VMF-232, 
VMF-235, and of course VMF-451.  

The FJ-4B was the ground attack version of the FJ-4, and was in fact 
built in larger numbers than the original FJ-4.  It was similar in 
concept to the F-86H Sabre, although there was no direct relationship 
between the two aircraft other than their common ancestry.  The FJ-4B 
differed by being strengthened to take six underwing ordinance 
stations capable of carrying a total of up to 6000 pounds of fuel 
tanks, rockets, or bombs.  The FJ-4B was also fitted with an 
additional pair of speed brakes underneath the fuselage near the tail.  
These brakes were linked to the main brakes and were used to reduce 
speed during low-level attacks.  These brakes were automatically 
closed when the undercarriage was lowered.  The FJ-4B was equipped 
with the Low Altitude Bombing System (LABS), and was capable of 
carrying an atomic bomb.  

Twenty-five FJ-4Bs had been added onto the original Navy NA-209 
contract on July 26, 1954, and the first example flew on December 4, 
1956.  Serials were 139531/139555.  Forty-six more FJ-4Bs were ordered 
under contract NA-229 on November 2, 1954.  Serials were 141444 thru 
141489.  The last one was completed in August of 1957.  

Demand for the ground-attack Fury was such that Contract NA-244 was 
placed on April 5, 1956 calling for an additional 184 FJ-4Bs, but this 
was latter cut back to 151 aircraft.  Serials were 148493 to 143643.  
These were delivered between July 1957 and May 1958.  

The last FJ-4B was delivered in May of 1958, bringing the total to 
222.  The FJ-4B Fleet Introduction Program began at Moffett Field in 
California in 1957, with emphasis being on the perfection of 
techniques for toss-bombing with nuclear weapons.  

The FJ-4B was equipped to deliver the Martin ASM-N-7 Bullpup 
air-to-surface guided missile.  The Bullpup was an eleven-foot long 
missile driven by an Aerojet General solid rocket motor.  Total weight 
of the missile was 571 pounds and it was equipped with a 250-pound 
high explosive warhead.  Maximum speed of the Bullpup was about Mach 2 
and its effective range was approximately three miles.  Up to five 
Bullpups could be carried underwing on the FJ-4, with the starboard 
inner station carrying a guidance transmitter pod.  The Bullpup was 
redesignated AGM-12B in 1962.  

After launch, the Bullpup was guided to its target by the FJ-4B pilot 
by watching a flare in the missile's tail and operating a miniature 
control stick to send guidance radio control signals to the missile.  
I have no experience in such matters, but I would imagine that 
attempting to steer the Bullpup to its target while at the same time 
trying to fly your own plane and avoid getting shot down would be more 
than a handful for most people.  I remember reading somewhere (sorry, 
don't remember where) that the Bullpup was not all that successful 
when used in Vietnam, and was quickly withdrawn from operational 
service.  

The FJ-4B served with Naval Attack Squadrons VA-55, VA-56, VA-63, 
VA-116, VA-126, VA-146, VA-151, VA-192, VA-212, and with Marine Attack 
Squadrons VMA-212, VMA-214, and VMA-223, all with the Pacific Fleet.  

Another Fury development was the FJ-4F which appeared in April of 
1957.  It began its life in August of 1955 as company project NA-234, 
and eventually evolved into project NA-248.  This project involved the 
mounting of a 5000 pound thrust Rocketdyne AR-1 rocket engine over the 
tailpipe of the second and fourth production FJ-4s (139282 and 
139284).  The AR-1 rocket motor was fueled by a mixture of hydrogen 
peroxide and JP-4.  Although the project actually began earlier, the 
rocket-boosted Fury was pursued with renewed vigor because US 
officials had grossly overestimated the high-altitude performance 
capabilities of the Tupolev Tu-16 (Badger) and the Myasishchev Mya-4 
(Bison) bombers which had appeared for the first time at the 1956 
Tushino air show in the Soviet Union.  The FJ-4F aircraft were flown 
both with and without a specially instrumented nose cone.  Sometimes, 
a supplementary flush-mounted ventral fuel tank was also fitted.  The 
FJ-4F set an unofficial speed/altitude record of Mach 1.41 and 71,000 
feet.  Although the performance of the FJ-4F was impressive, the 
project was not pursued any further.  

There are some vague reports of an FJ-5 version being planned.  It was 
supposed to have been a competitor of the Grumman F9F-9 (F11F-1) 
Tiger, and has been described as having a pointed nose and having the 
engine air intake mounted above and behind the pilot (similar to North 
American's F-107 project).  Although details are sketchy, I am 
assuming that supersonic level flight performance was envisaged.  
However, this project never got past the paper stage.  

The FJ-4B's final operational cruise with the Navy took place aboard 
the USS Lexington (CV-16) in early 1962.  Although it is not widely 
known, two FJ-4B squadrons actually carried out some combat sorties 
over the Plan of Jars in Laos during this cruise.  According to some 
reports, on one of these missions, sometime during late February or 
early March of 1962 (the exact date is uncertain), one of VA-146's 
Furies was hit by antiaircraft fire and limped back to the carrier, 
only to crash on the deck.  The pilot survived, but the aircraft was a 
total loss.  If this report is true, then the Fury was the first US 
Navy aircraft to be lost in Southeast Asia.  Unfortunately, it was not 
to be the last.  

On October 1, 1962, the US Defense Department adopted a uniform 
designation system for both Navy and USAF aircraft.  Under this 
system, the FJ-4 Fury was redesignated F-1E and the FJ-4B as AF-1E.  
By this time, the F-1Es and AF-1Es no longer served with operational 
Navy or Marine squadrons, all of the survivors having been transferred 
to reserve units.  AF-1E Furies remained with the Naval Air Reserves 
until the mid 1960s until they were finally withdrawn.  

FJ-4B 143565 was operated for a time under the civilian registry of 
N400FS (later N9255) by Flight Systems International of Mojave, 
California on various military contract duties.  

Specifications of the FJ-4 Fury: 

One Wright J65-W-16A rated at 7700 lb.st.  Dimensions: wingspan 39 
feet 1 inch, length 36 feet 4 inches, height 13 feet 11 inches, wing 
area 228.66 square feet.  Weights (FJ-4): 13,210 pounds empty, 20,130 
pounds takeoff (clean), 23,700 pounds takeoff (ground support).  
Weights (FJ-4B): 13,778 pounds empty, 28,000 pounds gross.  Maximum 
speed: 680 mph at sea level, 631 mph at 35,000 feet.  Combat ceiling: 
46,800 feet.  Initial climb rate: 7660 feet per minute.  Climb to 
30,000 feet in 6.3 minutes.  Takeoff run to clear 50 foot obstacle 
4250 feet.  Combat range: 1485 miles (clean), 2020 miles with two 
200-gallon drop tanks and 2 Sidewinders.  Combat radius: 518-840 
miles.  Armament consisted of four 20-mm cannon and up to 3000 pounds 
(6000 pounds for the FJ-4B) of underwing ordinance.  

Sources:

  F-86 Sabre in Action, Larry Davis, Squadron/Signal Publications, 1992.

  The North American Sabre, Ray Wagner, MacDonald, 1963.

  The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and Peter Bowers, Orion, 1987.

  The World Guide to Combat Planes, William Green, MacDonald, 1966.

  The World's Fighting Planes, William Green, Doubleday, 1964.

  Flash of the Sabre, Jack Dean, Wings Vol 22, No 5, 1992.

  F-86 Sabre--History of the Sabre and FJ Fury, Robert F. Dorr, Motorbooks
  International, 1993.

  Fury-The Navy's Sabre, Robert F. Dorr, Air International vol 44 No. 1

  The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft Armament, Bill Gunston, Orion,
  1988.

Joe Baugher		AT&T Bell Laboratories   	
2000 North Naperville Road      Naperville, Illinois 60566-7033