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North American FJ-4 Fury

1955 COLD WAR

History of the North American FJ-4 Fury

The U.S. Navy learned a lot from its decks in the early years of using fighter jets. These types replaced the tried and tested propeller-driven wagons used to victory in World War II (1939-1945), albeit obsolete. These aircraft retained some usefulness in the coming Korean War (1950-1953), but were more or less replaced with the advent of the jet age.

Early forms of jet fighters used simple straight-wing designs and were fitted with early turbojets with limited performance and reliability. Fighters eventually took over this mantle, paving the way for a whole new generation of thoroughbreds, eventually adopted by the United States Air Force (USAF), United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC).

The classic American swept-wing fighter of this period was the North American F-86 Saber, which was developed to counter the new Soviet Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-15 swept-wing fighter line that appeared on the Korean battlefield. North America worked with the U.S. Navy to develop a similar Sabre shipboard version to become the FJ-2 Rampage, an improved version of the 1947 straight-wing FJ-1 Rampage. However, the FJ-2 was not a long-term solution for the US Navy, and additional work resulted in an upgraded FJ-3 model line, switching to the more powerful Wright J65 series engines - licensed copies of British Armstrong Sidley Sapphire turbojets . While only 200 FJ-2 Fury variants were adopted (and subsequently transferred from USN inventory to the USMC), 538 of the FJ-3 brand arrived, followed by another 194 missile-supporting FJ-3M variants. All of this work resulted in the pinnacle of the Fury series - the FJ-4 - which retains the Fury name, the general form and function of the FJ-2/-3, and the powerplant of the JF-3.

In general, however, the brand has made enough changes that it has become a staple of the U.S. Navy in its own right.

The FJ-4 was fitted with an all-new wing with folded sections for improved carrier storage. The landing gear was further revised, a wider track was added for better ground travel, and the nose bone was revised to the extent of the new wing design.

The interior space of the wings is also reserved for additional fuel storage to increase the range of the Thirsty Jet. More fuel storage comes from a slightly raised dorsal ridge that deepens the hull. The tail surface has been thinned to reduce drag while maintaining the necessary agility, which is helpful for any fighter breed.

To lighten the load on the new aircraft (and improve performance slightly), the magazine for the 4 x 20mm side fuselage guns has been reduced from 648 to 576 rounds on the FJ-3 model. Some armor has also been eliminated by protection, which still includes cockpit armor in the pilot's position, bulletproof front windshield and self-sealing fuel tanks.

Equipped with 7,700 lb thrust Wright J65-W-4 series turbojets, two XFJ-4 prototypes were completed to the above criteria. The first flight was recorded on October 28, 1954, after the Korean War ended in 1953, and then a YFJ-4 reserved by North America for development work. This resulted in the delivery of the first production-quality FJ-4 Furys, powered by Wright J65-W-16A turbojets (7,700 lb thrust), for the US Navy service.

150 examples of this type were produced for the single-seat fighter-bomber role, and deliveries began in February 1955.

The base fighter-bomber was followed by 222 special ground attack close air support (CAS) variants in the form of the FJ-4B. These include dive brakes for rapid deceleration, landing gear for added weight due to the implementation of two additional under-wing hardpoints (six in total) to act as ammunition carriers on the wider battlefield . The aircraft is approved for conventionally dropped munitions and missile launches against ground targets, and supports the transport of AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missiles.

An oft-forgotten aspect of the F-4B is its ability to fire nuclear bombsa mass required for most Cold War-era aircraftand comes with specialized delivery equipment to match. The total ammunition load for the FJ-4 could reach 3,000 pounds.

There is only one other major - albeit limited - variant name, the "Fury 4" series. These are two modifications of the FJ-4 fighter-bomber with a hybrid propulsion design, with an American Rocketdyne AR-1 rocket engine positioned above the conventional engine exhaust to provide an additional 5,000 pounds of thrust. This arrangement is limited to short-range flight, but could prove suitable for fast interception roles.

The U.S. Navy wanted six FJ-4s modified in this way for testing, although only two were eventually realized.

The FJ-4 became the F-1E after the service-wide transition to the new aircraft designation system. The attack-oriented FJ-4B is the AF-1F.

With the J65 engine, the FJ-4 has a top speed of 680 mph. The range is increased to 2,020 miles by carrying external drop tanks. The refueling probe under the port wing can also perform in-flight refueling operations for extended mission duration.

The plane's service ceiling is listed at 46,800 feet, while the climb rate is 7,660 feet per minute.

Ultimately, the JF-4 Fury model completed its service life in a very short period of time - such was the nature of early turbojet fighters. The last form was phased out in the 1960s, and none of the exports were beyond USN/USMC use. A total of 374 such examples were built.