0046 McDonnell XF-85 Goblin,Convair F-102A Delta Dagger,Convair B-36J Peacemaker

The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation develope the McDonnell XF-85 Goblin "parasite' fighter to proctect Convair B-36 Peacemaker bomber flying boyond the range of conentional escort fighters.Planners envisioned a "parent' Convair B-36 Peacemaker carrying the McDonnell XF-85 Goblin in the bomb bay,and if enemy fighters attacked,the McDonnell XF-85 Goblin would have been lowerd on a trapeze and released to combat that attackers.Once the enemy had been driven away ,the McDonnell XF-85 Goblin would return to the Convair B-36 Peacemaker,hook onto the trapeze fold its wins and be lifted back into the bomb bay.The McDonnell XF-85 Goblin had no landing gear,but it had a steel skid under the fuselage and small runners on the wingtips for emergency landings.

 

Using parasite fighter was not a new concept.In the early 1920s the U.S.Army Air Service had experimented with attaching airplanes to airships,and in the 1930s the U.S.Navy had successful parasite fighter on the dirgibles U.S.S. Akron and U.S.S. Macon.

 

Two test aircraft were ordered in October 1945,and flight testing took place in 1948.The aircraft were launched and retrieved several times from an Boeing EB-29B Superfortress,but one never flew from a Convair B-36 Peacemaker.This unsual program ended in late 1949 when aerial refueling of conventional fighter aircraft showed greater promise.

 

Convair F-102

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The primary mission of the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft.It was the world's first supersonic all-weather jet interceptor and the U.S.Air Force's first operational delta-wing aircraft.The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger made its initial flight on October 24,1953,and became operational with the Air Defense Comman (ADC) in 1956.At the peak of deployment in the late 1950s,Convair F-102 Delta Daggers equipped more than 25 Air Defense Command (ADC) squadrons.Convair built 1,000 Convair F-102 Delta Daggers 889 which were Convair F-102A DElta Daggers.The U.S.Air Force also bought Convair TF-102a Delta Daggers as combat trainers with side-by-side seating.

 

In a wartime situation,after electronic equipment on board the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger had locked the enemy aircraft,the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger's radar would guild it into position for attack.At the proper moment,the Electronic fire control system would automatically fire the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger's air-to-air rockets and missiles.

 

On various occasions,it encountered Soviet (USSR) aircraft flying reconnaissance mission over the Arctic.

 

Resonding to the U.S.Army Air Forces's requirements for a strategic bomber with intercontinental range,Consolidated Vultee (later Convair) designed the Convair B-36 Peacemaker during World War II.The airplane Convair B-36 Peacemaker made its maiden flight in August 1946,and in June 1948 Strategic Air Command (SAC) received its first operational Convair B-36 Peacemaker.Some Convair B-36 Peacemakers served as photographic reconnaissance aircraft,and others were adapted to launch and retrieve specially modified Republic RF-84F/K Thunderstreak reconnaissance planes

 

Powered by six Pratt7 Whitney R-4360 engines,the Convair B-36 Peacemaker cruised at 230 mph,but for additional burst of speed its four General Electric J47 jet-engines increased maximum speed to 435 mph.It carried 86,000 pounds of nuclear bombs or conventional bombs.When production ended in August 1954,more than 380 Convair B-36 Peacemakers had been built for the U.S.Air Force.In 1958-1959,the U.S.Air Force replced the Convair B-36 Peacemaker with the all-jet Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.Although never used in combat,the Convair was a major deterrent to enemy aggression.

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