Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms By Flag By Year By Tag

McDonnell XF-85 Goblin (Parasite Fighter)

1948 COLD WAR X-PLANE

History

The XF-85 Goblin was an attempt by MacDonald's office to realize the dream of a "parasite fighter" program truly suitable for use in a wartime environment. The basic theory of the Parasite fighter is not new, as German scientists were already trying to develop such a fighter during World War II.

Nonetheless, the XF-85 Goblin would be - at least in the eyes of MacDonald's engineers - the first successful attempt, although the retrieval process proved too impractical in practice, so the program was whittled down to just two prototypes and was completely eliminated.

The XF-85 features a very simple, aerodynamically friendly design with few external features. The system uses a development of the swept wing (developed by the Germans during World War II) with a swept angle of 37 degrees. The goblins are supposed to drop from the bomber, fly to and engage the target as needed, and then return to the bomber by hitting the bomber's retractable hook and trapeze combo. In the event of an emergency on the Leprechaun, a steel rail is installed under the fuselage (along with rails on the wingtips to provide additional landing assistance) for an emergency landing. The XP-85's armament consists of an array of 4 x 12.7 mm (0.50 caliber) machine guns.

Crew accommodation is equivalent to a pilot. Power comes from a J34 turbojet mounted aft of the fuselage, with a protruding air intake at the front of the fuselage. The first flight of the XF-85 Goblin prototype took place on August 23, 1948.

The XF-85 proved to be a stable platform that pilots could fly with little advanced flight knowledge. The only (and major) problem reported by XF-85 pilots was the aircraft recovery process, which proved impractical in practice. The program was scrapped as only two prototypes were built and flown.

One of two XF-85 Goblin prototypes was shipped to the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, for display. Another is the Strategic Air and Space Museum in Ashland, Nebraska.