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XF-90
The XF-90, like the McDonnell XF-88, was developed to
meet a USAF requirement for a long-range "Penetration Fighter."
Two prototype aircraft were built (S/N 48-687 and 48-688). The
first was powered by two Westinghouse J34 turbojets without afterburners,
but these proved inadequate. The second aircraft was adapted for
afterburning J34s and had better, but not great, performance.
The outbreak of the Korean Conflict prompted to USAF to seek increased
production of currently available aircraft, and the XF-90 never entered
production.
The XF-90 had two unusual features. The first was the location
of the cannon ports located below the engine air intakes in a horizontal
row, three on each side. The second was the variable incidence
empennage. The vertical stabilizer could be tilted back and forth along the
longitudinal axis for horizontal stabilizer adjustment.
(NMUSAF)
Work on the XF-90 was formally terminated in September of 1950.
In 1952, the second XF-90A (46-688) was deliberately destroyed on the ground
during a nuclear test at Frenchman's Flat in Nevada. The first
XF-90A (46-687) was shipped to the NACA laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio in
1953. By this time it was no longer flyable, and was used for
structural testing, exploring the limits of the extremely robust structure
of the design. Presumably it was tested to destruction. In 2003,
the hulk of the second XF-90 (46-688) was recovered by the National Museum
of the US Air Force from the Nevada nuclear test site. It is currently
stored in the museum restoration area.
(Baugher)
The following pictures show some of the recovery, cleanup and
current condition.
Photos supplied by Mark Young.
Click on the
thumbnails below to view larger images.
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