Current and Finished Projects > Profiles and Pixels
Apophenia's Offerings
apophenia:
--- Quote from: robunos on April 17, 2024, 04:42:21 AM ---... how about Lightning flying surfaces on a Vought Crusader fuselage . . . ? ...
--- End quote ---
That works! So, not slender, but two hybrids ...
Bottom USMC 'F-8EE' Lightsader with Lightning F.6 wings
Top RAF 'Crusadning' with Vought variable-incidence wings
For the latter, I've cheated and stuck an F-8-like main gear into the 'paunch'.
robunos:
Nice . . . many thanks . . . :smiley: 8)
cheers,
Robin.
apophenia:
There is a meandering "Ideal USAF air superiority fighter for the Vietnam War" thread over on SPF. I've pretty much concluded that there was no such animal at the time.
So, with an unintended prompt from Robin, I've decided to make one. (Anyone else here watch My Mechanics on YouTube?)
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Lockheed F-112A Starfire IIs Over Vietnam
After intial US Navy combat successes over Vietnam with Vought F-8C carrier fighters, the USAF officially requested that Lockheed study a hybrid F-104 variant using the wings of the Crusader. NASA had already wind tunnel tested models of an F-104 fuselage fitted with a Vought variable-incidence wing. The results were not particularly inspiring but these tests still formed the basis for an new 'VNASF' (Vietnam Air Superiority Fighter) under the DOD designation XF-109.
However, Lockheed recommended two major changes - dropping the T-tail (which was 'blanked' by the high-mounted wing) and dispensing with variable-incidence - which the Air Force had already concluded was neither practical for the svelte Starfighter airframe nor especially desirable for a land-based fighter. Lockheed's proposal was given the go-ahead. Six pre-production development airframes were ordered for trials but, due to operational urgency, production fighters were also ordered straight off the drawing board.
Lockheed quickly developed its 'fixed wing' derivative - now re-designated as the YF-112. [1] This design simply mounted the Vought wing on top of the F-104's upper longerons. A revised aft fuselage was also required to mount an entirely new tailplane. As a result, only the forward fuselage of the YF-112 remained identical to that of the parent F-104 airframe. However, aside from tail surfaces, much of the existing tooling could still be used to construct the new fighter. Lockheed requested that the name Lightning be applied to the F-112. But the USAF preferred the name Starfire II - after the Lockheed F-94 which had finally retired from ANG service a decade earlier.
Having been ordered off the drawing board, production of the F-112A actually outstripped that of the YF-112s. The first 'prototype' YF-112 had been created by modifying existing Starfighter components to be fitted with F-8C wings modified by Ling-Temco-Vought (which acted as a subcontractor on the VNASF project). However, with production F-112A arriving early, the remaining five YF-112 development airframes were simply cancelled in favour of a similar number of additional F-112A fighters.
Into the Fray Over SE Asia
To gain experience, Lockheed F-104Cs of the 479th Tactical Fighter Wing had deployed to Ubon RTAFB in NE Thailand in 1965. The first fully-operational F-112A Starfire IIs arrived at Udorn in August 1968 where they re-equipped the 435 Tactical Fighter Squadron. The 435 TFS relocated to Da Nang in the north of South Vietnam later in that same year.
Top A F-112A-LO-1 Starfire II of the 435 TFS while based at Ubon RTAFB. This aircraft carries twin AIM-9C Sidewinder missiles beneath its fuselage.
Bottom MiG-Killer - A 435 TFS F-112A-LO-4 Starfire II based at Da Nang. Note the 'kill' mark under the canopy. This aircraft has an inflight refuelling probe fitted and carries AIM-9E Sidewinders on its twinned underwing pylon racks. A rear-warning-radar antenna has been added to the tail fin.
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[1] Reportedly, the planned YF-109 designation was changed to YF-112 to avoid any potential confusion between 'F-104' and 'F-109' in hand-written records.
Gingie:
Love this one!
Jeffry Fontaine:
It reminds me of the Lockheed CL-1200 Lancer proposal to replace the F-104 Starfighter in some ways, the larger tail not so much but the high-mounted wing definitely.
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