McDonnell XF-88 Voodoo

MacDonald XF-88 Voodoo Story

World War II (1939-1945) showed American war planners the importance of "escort fighters" to their bomber forces when traversing enemy terrain. The added value of platforms such as the North American P-51 Mustang, the Republican P-47 Thunderbolt and the Lockheed P-38 Lightning were just as important to Allied operations to bomb Germany and Japan as it was to bomb the Joint B-24 Liberator" and Boeing B- 17 "Flying Fortress" bombers were dropped. As technology forced aviation into the jet age, the idea of ??escorting long-range bombers followed.

The McDonnell XF-88 "Voodoo" prototype was in stock for the growing number of incoming U.S. aviation services Long-range penetration bombers provide suitable counterparts.

The XF-88 is classified as a "penetrating fighter" and was developed around the 1946 USAAF (United States Army Air Force) requirement for an aircraft with superior combat capability. The resulting MacDonald design received two working prototypes in the "XP-88" form (by 1948, the Air Force designation model would effectively change it to "XF-88"). The XF-88 features swept wings attached to a streamlined fuselage with triangular air intakes at the root of the wings. The jet of exhaust gases will run under the rear wing, which is traditionally arranged - a single vertical rear wing with a mid-level horizontal plane. Early model shapes had a "V" tail, but this approach was abandoned when wind tunnel testing showed instability problems.

The cockpit of this aircraft is located behind the nose cone assembly in the midship front. The proposed weapon is 6 x M39 20mm cannons, giving the fighter considerable penetration.

Only two airworthy prototypes were produced for the program, as it ran out of steam when the Luftwaffe decided to pursue a different tack and eventually abandoned the idea of ??a penetration fighter. As a result, even though a North American design was originally chosen to meet the requirements, the program was scrapped, with the winner himself backing MacDonald's design.

The completed Voodoo model took the form of the XF-88, XF-88A and XF-88B.

The XF-88 was the first prototype to be equipped with a 3,000-pound thrust Westinghouse J34-13 turbojet engine but lacking weapons. The XF-88A followed, fitted with Westinghouse J-34-22 turbojets, with an earlier version of afterburner. The armament of this fuselage came later.

The XF-88B has a nose-mounted Allison XT38 turboprop with an output of 2,500 horsepower in addition to the turbojet, making it a "compound fighter" design that relies on two propulsion methods. The first flight of this form took place on April 14, 1953.

While the immediate design of the XF-88 Voodoo was defunct, the aircraft and its designation reverted to the McDonnell F-101 "Voodoo" company some time later. Introduced in 1957, with 807 built, the aircraft retains most of the XF-88's shape, including its sleek design, single vertical stabilizer and triangular air intake, and was used during the Vietnam War (1955-1975) use.

The F-101 is a larger missile-armed aircraft modified for the new requirements.

The completed XF-88 prototypes have serial numbers 46-525 and 46-526.

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