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. |
|
