FICON Friday

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 03/27/2015 at 16:31 • Filed to: planelopnik

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File this under one of the crazier ideas for getting fighter cover on long-range bombing missions. The !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , short for Fighter Conveyor, experimented with different ways to increase the range of the fuel-thirsty fighters by attaching them to long-range bombers. The Tip Tow concept, shown above, was somewhat successful, using a modified B-29 and a pair of EF-84Bs, but wingtip vortices and turbulence made connection quite difficult.

The Tom-Tom project attempted a similar arrangement using a JRB-36F and two RB-84F Thunderstreaks.

Further developments led to testing with an F-84 Thunderstreak slung under a B-36 by a trapeze system. The cockpit and vertical stabilizer fit inside the bomber, so the pilot did not have to remain in the cockpit for the duration of the flight. Hookups were challenging for experienced pilots even in perfect conditions, and the added drag of the fighter reduced the range of the Peacemaker by as much as 10%.

jariten1781 > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 16:43

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I liked the Soviet's version. Strap 'em anywhere.

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 16:45

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Hookups were challenging for experienced pilots even in perfect conditions...

Nuh-uh.

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 03/27/2015 at 16:48

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He's too short to be a pilot. He's not tall enough, either.

ttyymmnn > jariten1781 03/27/2015 at 16:49

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Grounded to the.... Wait. What?

duurtlang > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 16:52

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The cockpit and vertical stabilizer fit inside the bomber, so the pilot did not have to remain in the cockpit for the duration of the flight.

This seems dangerous, as proven by Kurt Russell and Steven Seagal.

jariten1781 > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 16:53

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Apparently there was a working version with 6 fighters attached, though I haven't seen pictures of it so I'm not sure.

E. Julius > Jcarr 03/27/2015 at 16:53

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Laughing so hard at this.

ttyymmnn > duurtlang 03/27/2015 at 16:57

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That whole scenario was perhaps the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. When Steven Seagal said his name was "Austin Travis", I LOL'd.

user314 > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 17:24

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Don't forget the XF-85 Goblin, a fighter small enough to fit in the B-36's bomb bay (Probably. There were no B-36s available for testing before the Goblin was canceled, so a modified B-29 was used. ) Only three successful captures were made out of seven flights.

ttyymmnn > user314 03/27/2015 at 17:25

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I've always wondered about the test pilots who were tasked with flying those insane aircraft of the '50s. "You want me to fly that ??"

user314 > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 21:19

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Yeah, test pilots are a rare breed. There was only one guy that flew the Goblin, McDonnell test pilot Edwin Schoch, and on his first capture flight, he hit the trapeze so hard the canopy was smashed and his helmet and mask were ripped off.