Furthermore, the plane had low-mounted wings and two Westinghouse J34-13 non-afterburning jet engines, which were fed by wing root air intakes and jets exhaust gases from beneath the rear fuselage, giving room for the huge fuel tanks needed to have the long range needed. The USAAF confirmed the order for the two prototypes on 14 February 1947, but by this time the XP-88 was redesignated XF-88 in compliance with new designation standards. They wanted to stick on straight wings and a V-shaped tail on the plane, but windtunnel testing proved that this configuration was too much trouble aerodynamically and as such they swept the wings backwards 35 degrees and gave it a conventional tail. McDonnell began design work on 1 April 1946, and on 20 June the USAAF was impressed enough that they awarded McDonnell with the contract for 2 prototypes- designated XP-88. The requirements called for a range of 900mi (1450km) and high performance, essentially a jet-powered replacement for the WWII-era P-51D Mustang. They can be considered a sort of early, airborne SEAD- they target airborne defensive interceptors instead of ground-based AA. As a result, the USAAF issued a requirement for a "penetration fighter" to help escort these jet bombers.Ī "penetration fighter" was a term invented to describe airplanes whose job was to pierce enemy air defenses and annoy the hell out of them by preying on their defensive interceptors- similar to an escort fighter except the penetration fighter does not operate in close concert with bombers.
But in the late 1940s, the development of strategic bombers with jet propulsion (even though during this era most of the bombers in use were still prop-driven, like the B-29/Tu-4) means the Mustang was feared too slow to keep up with them, and those planes that were able to keep up couldn't fly for very long before running short on fuel. The US thoroughly enjoyed the presence of the prop-driven P-51D Mustangs over Germany in WWII, which allowed them to escort B-17s and B-24s on bombing missions wherever they wanted to. The plane never went into serial production, but the XF-88 later lent it's name and design to the F-101 Voodoo of the Century series, which went on to have a very successful career and was used by Taiwan and Canada in addition to the US. Today, the discussion topic is the McDonnell XF-88 Voodoo.Ī prototype built to US requirements for a "penetration fighter", one of the two alongside the XF-90 to be built like so. Hello and welcome to this suggestion thread.
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