The F-89 was an all-weather fighter-interceptor designed to replace the P-61 and the interim F-82. Fairly conventional in design, the F-89's less than stellar career can be attributed primarily to the fact that it was underpowered. The Scorpion did have an unusual (for the time) design feature called decelerons, a control surface that could operate in one piece as an aileron or could be split open to serve as a speed break to allow crews to get into firing position behind a target. The first unit to be equipped with F-89s was the 84th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Hamilton AFB, Calif. The F-89 picked up the unofficial nickname "Stanley Steamer" because of the oversize main landing gear wheels that appeared to have come off of a locomotive. Unique wingtip tanks on the F- 89D carried folding-fin aerial rockets in the front half and fuel in the rear half. Because the engines sat so low to the ground, F-89C and later models featured a retractable inlet screen designed to prevent foreign-object ingestion. A total of 350 F-89Ds were converted to F-89Js under Project Ding Dong. These modifications were done to enable the Scorpion to carry the AIR-2A Genie, which allowed the F-89 to become Air Defense Command's first interceptor to carry nuclear weapons. On July 19, 1957, a Genie was launched from an F-89J, marking the first and only time in history that an air-to-air rocket with a nuclear warhead was launched and detonated. Called Operation Plumb Bob, this test took place at 20,000 ft over Yucca Flats, Nev. The rocket was fired at a point approximately 14,000 ft from the F-89, and the Genie covered this distance in 4.5 seconds. The warhead was detonated by ground command. The F-89 was removed from active-duty Air Force service in 1959. The last of the Air National Guard F-89s were retired in July 1969.
| Contractors: | Northrop Aircraft, Inc. |
| Locations Built: | Hawthorne, Calif. |
| Number Built: (USAF) | 1,052 (1,052) |
| First Flight: | August 16, 1948 |
| First Flight Model: | XF-89 |
| First Flight Location: | Muroc AAF, Calif. |
| First Flight Pilot: | Fred Bretcher |
| Models/Variants: | F-89A, B, C, D, H, J |
| Powerplant: | Two Allison J35-A-35 (or -33A, -41, or -47) turbojets of 7,200 lb of thrust in afterburner |
| Wingspan: | 59 ft 8 in (over tiptanks) |
| Length: | 53 ft 10 in. |
| Height: | 17 ft 6 in. |
| Weight: | 42,241 lb gross |
| Armament: | 52 Mighty Mouse 2.75-in folding-fin aerial rockets (FFARs) in each wingtip pod |
| Accommodation: | Two (pilot and radar operator in tandem) |
| Cost: | $801,602 |
| Max. Speed: | 632 mph |
| Range: | 1,370 mi. |
| Ceiling: | Approx. 49,200 ft. |
Copyright Air Force Association. All rights reserved.