XF 85 SERIAL NUMBER

On 19Р’В MarchР’В 1945, McDonnell's design team led by Herman D. The USAAF rejected this proposal, citing increased drag, and hence reduced range for the composite bomber-fighter configuration. The initial concept for the Model 27 was for the fighter to be carried half-exposed under the B-29, B-35 or B-36. Top view of the XF-85, with the hook extended over top of the canopy The company's Model 27 proposal was completely reworked to meet the new specifications. Although a number of aerospace companies studied the feasibility of such aircraft, McDonnell was the only company to submit a proposal to the original 1942 request and later revised requirements. By January 1944, the Air Technical Service Command refined the RfP and in JanuaryР’В 1945, the specifications were further revised in MX-472 to specify a jet-powered aircraft. On 3 December 1942, the USAAF sent out a Request for Proposals (RfP) for a diminutive piston-engined fighter. Other late-war rocket-powered parasite fighter projects such as the Arado E.381 and Sombold So 344 were unrealized 'paper projects'. Later in World War II, the Luftwaffe experimented with the Messerschmitt Me 328 as a parasite fighter, but problems with its pulsejet engines could not be overcome. After that attack, the squadron, based in the Crimea, carried out a tactical attack on a bridge over the river Dnieper at Zaporozhye, which had been captured by advancing German troops. In August 1941, these combinations flew the only combat missions ever undertaken by parasite fighters РІР‚вЂњ TB-3s carrying Polikarpov I-16SPB dive bombers attacked the CernavodР”С“ bridge and Constantsa docks, in Romania. Starting in 1931, aircraft designer Vladimir Vakhmistrov conducted experiments in the Soviet Union as part of the Zveno project during which up to five fighters of various types were carried by Polikarpov TB-2 and Tupolev TB-3 bombers. Navy had a short-lived operational parasite fighter, the Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk, aboard the airships Akron and Macon. The concept of a parasite fighter had its origins in 1918, when the Royal Air Force examined the viability of Sopwith Camel parasite fighters operating from R23 airships. The USAAF considered a number of different options including the use of remotely piloted vehicles before choosing parasite fighters as the most viable B-36 defense. Pilot fatigue had also been a problem during long fighter escort missions in Europe and the Pacific, giving further impetus to innovative approaches. The development cost for longer-ranged fighters was high, while aerial refueling was still considered risky and technologically difficult. These fighters could not match the range of the Northrop B-35 or Convair B-36, the next generation of bombers developed by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). The 1947 successor to the USAAF, the United States Air Force (USAF), continued to examine the concept of parasite aircraft under Project MX-106 'Tip Tow', Project FICON and Project 'Tom-Tom' following the cancellation.Р”Вuring World War II, American bombers such as the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Consolidated B-24 Liberator and Boeing B-29 Superfortress were protected by long-range escort fighters such as the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and North American P-51 Mustang. The XF-85 was swiftly canceled, and the prototypes were thereafter relegated to museum exhibits. Flight tests showed promise in the design, but the aircraft's performance was inferior to the jet fighters it would have been facing in combat, and there were difficulties in docking. The prototypes were built and underwent testing and evaluation in 1948. The XF-85 was a diminutive jet aircraft featuring a distinctive egg-shaped fuselage and a forked-tail stabilizer design. This was to address the limited range of existing interceptor aircraft compared to the greater range of new bomber designs. The XF-85 was a response to a United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) requirement for a fighter to be carried within the Northrop XB-35 and B-36, then under development. Two prototypes were constructed before the program was terminated. The XF-85's intended role was to defend bombers from hostile interceptors, a need demonstrated during World War II. It was intended to be deployed from the bomb bay of the giant Convair B-36 bomber as a parasite fighter. The McDonnell XF-85 Goblin was an American prototype fighter aircraft conceived during World War II by McDonnell Aircraft.

XF 85 SERIAL NUMBER

XF-85 serial number 46-523 in the National Museum of the United States Air Force

Xf-85