Subject: Number Ninety-Four in the Series--Lockheed F-94 Starfire (1 of 3)

From: [email-masked]
Date: 8 Oct 93 14:27:57 GMT

>From [email-masked]

During the 1947 Soviet Aviation Day display at Tushino Airport, a 
surprise appearance was put in by three four-engined long-range 
strategic bombers.  They were early examples of the Tupolev Tu 4, 
which was a bolt-for-bolt copy of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 
several examples of which had been interned in the Soviet Union after 
having been forced to land there during bombing raids against Japan.  
Since the USSR was expected soon to have nuclear weapons, the 
appearance of the Soviet "Superfortresski" was a shock to US military 
planners, since it meant that the US mainland might soon be vulnerable 
to nuclear attack from the air.  

The immediate postwar years had left the USAF without any truly modern 
all-weather fighters to face this new threat.  Early attempts to 
develop jet-powered all-weather fighters ran into a series of snags 
and delays.  The Curtiss XP-87 Blackhawk had been ordered in December 
of 1945, but it ran into developmental difficulties and the project 
was eventually totally abandoned in October of 1948.  The Northrop 
P-89 Scorpion was deemed to have greater promise, but it too ran into 
teething troubles and did not show promise of entering service until 
1952 at the earliest.  Due to the lack of any suitable jet-powered 
replacement, the wartime Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighter was 
forced to soldier on for a few more years.  In order to help fill in 
the gap until the Scorpion could be available, night fighter 
adaptations of the piston-engined North American F-82 Twin Mustang 
were developed and hastily deployed.  

The failure of the Curtiss Blackhawk and the delays in the Northrop 
Scorpion program forced the USAF to consider alternatives.  To solve 
its immediate need for a jet-powered night fighter, in March of 1948 
the USAF approached Lockheed with the prospect of fitting its TF-80C 
two-seat trainer with armament and a Hughes E-1 fire control system.  
The E-1 system incorporated an AN/APG-33 radar installation coupled 
with a Sperry A-1C lead-collision computer.  The USAF was in a hurry, 
and wanted the first production aircraft to be available before the 
end of 1949.  

Lockheed assigned the company designation of Model 780 to the project.  
Clarence R.  "Kelly" Johnson entrusted the development of the new 
fighter to a team headed by Russ Daniell.  Fortunately, the TF-80C 
airframe had sufficient volume to house the fire-control system in a 
modified nose and enough room in the aft cockpit to house the radar 
operator's position and his associated equipment.  Consequently, it 
appeared at first glance that the adaptation of trainer to night 
fighter would be relatively straightforward, and the concept was 
endorsed by the Secretary of Defense in November of 1948.  A Letter of 
Contract was awarded to Lockheed in January of 1949.  The designation 
F-94 was assigned to the project.  

However, early design work soon indicated that the standard Allison 
J33 of the TF-80C would have insufficient power to accommodate the 
additional weight of the fire control equipment and armament, 
resulting in a fighter with a relatively low maximum speed and poor 
climbing performance.  In search of more power, the decision was made 
to switch to an afterburning version of the Allison J33-A-33, rated at 
4400 lb.st.  dry and 6000 lb.st with afterburning.  The afterburning 
engine required a longer and deeper rear fuselage, which pulled the 
center of gravity to the rear.  However, the shift in center of 
gravity was offset by the weight of the E-1 fire control system 
installed in a longer forward fuselage and the APG-32 radar set 
installed in an upswept nose.  An armament of six 0.50-in M-3 machine 
guns had originally been planned, but space restrictions in the 
forward fuselage forced the limitation of the armament to only four 
guns.  The guns were mounted in the lower nose section, with their 
muzzles located just aft of the radome.  The air intakes were 
redesigned and enlarged, the tail surfaces were increased in area, and 
the internal fuel capacity was reduced to 318 US gallons.  However, 
two 165-gallon under-wing tip tanks could be carried, bring total fuel 
capacity to 648 US gallons.  

Two TF-80Cs (48-356 and 48-357) were modified as prototypes for the 
F-94 all weather fighter.  They were designated ETF-80C, which was 
later changed to ET-33A when the TF-80C became T-33A.  They were 
unofficially known as YF-94.  They initially lacked most of the 
operational equipment that was to be fitted to production aircraft.  
The maiden flight took place from the Van Nuys airport on April 16, 
1949, with Tony LeVier and Glenn Fulkerson at the controls.  

Initial flight tests proved that the handling characteristics were 
generally satisfactory, but lots of problems cropped up with the 
afterburner.  At that time, afterburners were a relatively new 
innovation, and there were lots of bugs that had to be ironed out.  
The engine of the YF-94 suffered from frequent flameouts, often with 
very difficult relights.  These problems were eventually solved by 
Allison and Lockheed engineers working together to develop a new 
flame-holder system for the afterburner.  The solution to the 
afterburner problems resulted in the F-94 being cleared for full 
production and service.  

The first production version of the Starfire was the F-94A.  One 
hundred and nine examples had been ordered in January of 1949.  The 
F-94A was generally similar to the YF-94s, but carried full 
operational equipment.  The seventeen F-94A-1-LOs were practically 
hand-built models constructed from T-33 airframes taken over from the 
production line, but the remainder were started on the production line 
as F-94As.  The machine gun armament could be supplemented by a pair 
of 1000-pound bombs for night bombing missions.  The original 
under-wing tip tanks were replaced in service by Fletcher centerline 
tip tanks with a capacity of 230 US gallons each.  

The first F-94A was accepted by the USAF in December of 1949.  The 
F-94A was the first production fighter to be equipped with an 
afterburner as standard equipment, and it was the first jet-powered 
all-weather interceptor to serve with the USAF.  The F-94A began 
replacing the North American F-82 Twin Mustangs of the 317th Fighter 
Interceptor Squadron at McChord AFB in Washington and the 319th 
Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Moses Lake AFB in Washington in May of 
1950.  However, the F-94As proved to be rather troublesome in service, 
being fraught with engine and electronics problems.  

The next production version of the Starfire was the F-94B.  The F-94B 
was outwardly virtually identical to the F-94A, differing primarily in 
having improved internal equipment and systems.  The nineteenth F-94A 
airframe (49-2497) was modified during production as a testbed for 
these new and improved systems, the aircraft being redesignated 
YF-94B.  These items included a Sperry Zero Reader for bad-weather 
landings, an improved hydraulic system, and a high-pressure oxygen 
system.  The pilot was provided with a more roomy cockpit.  The 
Fletcher center-line wingtip tanks were adopted as standard.  The 
YF-94B flew for the first time on September 28, 1950.  The first 
F-94B-1-LO was delivered to the USAF in January of 1951.  The 
F-94B-5-LO differed by being equipped for Arctic service.  

The first F-94B reached service in April of 1951 with the 61st Fighter 
Interceptor Squadron at Selfridge AFB in Michigan.  A total of 355 
F-94Bs were built.  The F-94B cured most of the engine and electronics 
reliability problems experienced by the F-94A, and proved in service 
to be a thoroughly reliable aircraft with relatively few vices and 
shortcomings.  

Service use of the F-94A/B was primarily with the Continental Air 
Command, which had been set up in December of 1948 as an overall 
command structure to cover the Air Defense Command, the Tactical Air 
Command, plus some fighter squadrons that had previously been assigned 
to the Strategic Air Command.  The Starfire also flew with the Alaskan 
Air Command, protecting the USA from Soviet bombers flying in from 
Siberia.  For three years between 1950 and 1953, the F-94A/B Starfire 
played a vital role in the defense of the continental United States 
from attack by nuclear-armed Soviet Tu 4 bombers.  It was the only 
jet-powered all-weather interceptor available in quantity at that 
time, and filled in a vital gap until more advanced equipment could be 
provided.  After wringing out some initial bugs, the F-94A/B 
interceptors proved to be quite reliable and relatively easy to 
maintain in the field.  However, the Starfire lacked sufficient range 
and adequate climbing speed to make it a really good interceptor, and 
its armament did not pack sufficient punch to be considered really 
effective against bombers.  

Although in retrospect the Soviet long-range bomber threat of the 
early 1950s was greatly exaggerated, this does not take anything away 
from the Starfire, which was able to serve with distinction when 
nothing else was available.  

The Starfire was the first *American* jet-powered all-weather fighter 
to enter combat (the radar-equipped Messerschmitt Me 262B of the 
German Luftwaffe was actually the first jet-powered night fighter to 
participate in combat, taking part in the last-ditch defense of Berlin 
in March of 1945).  The first F-94As to reach the Far East Air Force 
(FEAF) arrived at Itazuke AFB in Japan in March of 1951, equipping the 
68th Fighter Interceptor Squadron.  They were deployed to Japan 
primarily to guard US bases in Japan against attack by Soviet bombers.  
By the end of 1951, this squadron began posting two F-94s on strip 
alert at Suwon AFB in Korea.  They were to be scrambled in case any 
enemy night intruders came South.  During the Korean War, similar duty 
was carried out by the 339th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, which 
converted from F-82Gs to F-94Bs in 1951 at Chitose.  The 319th Fighter 
Interceptor Squadron began operating F-94Bs from Suwon on March 22, 
1952.  

Initially, the F-94 Starfires operating in Korea were there only to 
protect their bases from night-flying enemy intruders.  They were 
forbidden to operate over enemy territory, lest their sensitive radar 
fire control systems fall into enemy hands.  However, mounting losses 
of B-29 bombers following the Chinese and North Korean development of 
night interception tactics finally led to the lifting of this 
restriction in January of 1953.  In that month, the Starfires of 319th 
Fighter Interceptor Squadron began flying defensive patrols in advance 
of the night-flying bombers.  On the night of January 30, 1953, an 
F-94B flown by Capt B. L. Fithian as pilot and Lieut S. R. Lyons 
as radar operator shot down an unseen Lavochkin La-9 piston-engined 
fighter, scoring first blood for the Starfire.  The Korean-based 
Starfires destroyed three more enemy aircraft during the next six 
months, but one F-94B was destroyed on the night of June 12 when it 
collided with a Polikarpov Po-2 biplane.  

F-94B-5-LO serial number 51-5502 was modified to test the radar and 
guidance system of the F-99 (later IM-99) Bomarc missile.  The radar 
and armament in the nose were deleted and replaced by the 
needle-shaped nose of the Bomarc.  

Three Air National Guard units, the 121st FIS (DC ANG), the 142nd FIS 
(Maine ANG) and the 148th FIS (Pennsylvania ANG), operated the F-94A/B 
while they served on active duty during the Korean War callup.  
However, these Starfires were retained by the USAF when these ANG 
squadrons returned to State control on October 31, 1951.  

The A and B versions of the Starfire were phased out of USAF squadrons 
by mid-1954 as more advanced interceptors such as the Northrop F-89C/D 
Scorpion and the North American F-86D Sabre became available in 
quantity.  As they left USAF service, they were passed along to Air 
National Guard units.  F-94A/Bs reentered ANG service in June of 1953 
when Starfires replaced F-51H Mustangs in the 137th FIS of the New 
York ANG.  Before being transferred to the ANG, the F-94A/B Starfires 
had their cockpits widened to improve the chance of a successful 
ejection in the event of trouble.  The original narrow cockpit had 
resulted in several unfortunate accidents during emergency ejections.  

In ANG service, a number of F-94As were fitted with a pair of twin-gun 
pods on the wing leading edge, bringing the total number of 
forward-firing 0.50-inch machine guns to eight.  

When I was in high school back in 1957, I went on a class trip to 
Philadelphia to visit Independence Hall and the Franklin Institute.  
On our way back home to the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland, we 
stopped the bus somewhere in Delaware and got off to get a bite to 
eat.  The restaurant happened by chance to be near the end of an 
airport runway.  While I was walking back to the bus, suddenly a pair 
of F-94Bs doing a formation takeoff under full afterburner screamed 
off the runway less than a hundred yards over my head.  It sounded 
like a thousand howling banshees.  I'll never forget that sight and 
sound as long as I live.  

The F-94A/B served with the following ANG squadrons: 101, 102, 103, 
109, 114, 116, 118, 123, 131, 132, 133, 134, 136, 137, 138, 139, 175, 
178, 179, 180, and 190.  The last Starfires left ANG service in 1959.  

A design study for a two-seat radar combat trainer based on the F-94B 
was initiated under the company designation L-199, but it never got 
past the drawing board.  

The prototype YF-94 (48-356) is on display at Lackland AFB in Texas.  

Serials of the F-94A/B Starfire: 

ETF-80C->ET-33A 48-356 and 357 converted to YF-94 Starfire 
49-2479/2495 	Lockheed F-94A-1-LO Starfire 
49-2479/2495 	Lockheed F-94A-1-LO Starfire 
49-2496 	Lockheed F-94A-5-LO Starfire 
49-2497 	Lockheed YF-94B Starfire 
49-2498/2588 	Lockheed F-94A-5-LO Starfire 
50-805/876 	Lockheed F-94B-1-LO Starfire 
50-878/954 	Lockheed F-94B-1-LO Starfire 
51-5307/5512 	Lockheed F-94B-5-LO Starfire 

Specifications of the F-94B Starfire: 

One Allison J33-A-33 or -33A turbojet rated at 4400 lb.st. dry and 
6000 lb.st with afterburning.  Wingspan 37 feet 6 inches (38 feet 11 
inches with wingtip tanks), length 40 feet 1 inches, height 12 feet 8 
inches, wing area 234.8 square feet.  Weights: 10,064 pounds empty, 
13,474 pounds loaded, 16,844 pound maximum.  Maximum speed 606 mph at 
sea level.  Initial climb rate 6850 feet per minute.  Service ceiling 
48,0-00 feet.  Normal range 665 miles, maximum range 905 miles.  Armed 
with four 0.50-inch M-3 machine guns in the nose.  

Sources:

  Lockheed Aircraft Since 1913, Rene J. Francillon, Naval Institute Press,
  1987.

  Fighters of the United States Air Force, Robert F. Dorr and David Donald,
  Temple Press Aerospace, 1990.

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

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