Northrop F-89 Scorpion

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 02/26/2014 at 11:03 • Filed to: planelopnik

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Designed as an all-weather interceptor, the Scorpion was one of the first US jet fighters armed with guided missiles, and the first to be armed with air-to-air nukes. The Scorpion first flew in 1950, and served until 1969.

highmodulus > ttyymmnn 02/26/2014 at 11:07

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needs more fuel storage

pauljones > ttyymmnn 02/26/2014 at 11:11

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For a jet of its era, it certainly had one hell of a long lifespan, flying well into the life of the F-4, a superior interceptor in every way.

I think, though, that one of my favorite jets from that era was the F-94C Starfire

pauljones > pauljones 02/26/2014 at 11:11

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Jake The Skull > ttyymmnn 02/26/2014 at 11:21

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Air to Air nukes.

Because fuck you.

Bad Idea Hat > Jake The Skull 02/26/2014 at 11:21

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Came here to say that.

The entire idea still strikes me as insane.

ttyymmnn > pauljones 02/26/2014 at 11:25

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That whole era of aviation fascinates me.

ttyymmnn > Jake The Skull 02/26/2014 at 11:26

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Exactly. But what better way to shoot down the hordes of Russian bombers coming over the Pole than to blow up a nuke in the middle of the formation?

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > ttyymmnn 02/26/2014 at 11:26

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There's an F-89 at the Bradley Air Museum here in CT. Two things always struck me about that plane; the main gear wheels are HUGE and the enclosed wingtip rocket pods. I don't think any fighter after that had those pods. The later F-94 had internal rockets in flip-up panels in the nose; another bizarre design never seen again.

ttyymmnn > highmodulus 02/26/2014 at 11:32

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Those early jets devoured fuel voraciously. They needed all the fuel they could get.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > ttyymmnn 02/26/2014 at 11:44

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The 2nd photo reminded me of one of my all-time fav fighters, the F4U.

pauljones > ttyymmnn 02/26/2014 at 11:45

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I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that it was one of last exciting eras of aviation. You had the early years around the 1910s and 1920s where it was fascinating because of the sheer novelty of air power, and how it might be used in any number of ways. It was new, it was exciting, and seeing the ways in which we experimented with it was fascinating.

After that, it was the 1930s-1940s. We had gotten the hang of these airplane things, and we thought we were set. Then came the era that lasted until the 1960s, when the jet revolution was in full swing, and we were almost back at square one. It gave us aircraft like these, that just absolutely looked like the future. After that, from the 60s to the 80s, we got the bigger, better, faster generation of jets like the F-14 and F-15. And, finally, we now have what I call the ice cold professional generation, where aircraft are more lethally efficient than we can imagine, but lack the kind of soul and sense of adventurousness that the older jets had.

ttyymmnn > pauljones 02/26/2014 at 11:57

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I think you summed that up brilliantly.

Racescort666 > pauljones 02/26/2014 at 12:21

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This is absolutely true for military aircraft but unfortunately not for commercial and private. Avionics have certainly changed a lot but it feels like design hasn't really changed that much from the 70s. Sure, there are a handful of composite aircraft out there but I feel like they are kind of a novelty compared to the workhorses of the industry.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > ttyymmnn 02/26/2014 at 23:52

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Rocket pods!