Aircraft, Fighter

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AIRCRAFT, FIGHTER

AIRCRAFT, FIGHTER. The first American-built fighter, the Thomas-Morse MB-1 Scout, appeared in 1919. The U.S. Army relied on the Curtiss Hawk series until 1930, when the army switched to the Boeing P-26. As world tension generated technical advances, the army switched to the Republic P-35 and the Curtiss P-36 (Hawk 75), all-metal, low-wing monoplanes with enclosed cockpits, retractable landing gear, and heavier armament.

The Army Air Corps's interest in aircraft with close-support and coast defense roles retarded development of U.S. fighters, so that the standard fighters—the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk (1940) and the Bell P-39 Airacobra (1941)—were obsolescent when the United States entered World War II. The first advanced U.S. fighter (ordered 1939) was the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, a twin-engine, 414 mph, twin-tailed plane. The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (1943), used in the ground-support role, was the only radial-engined fighter of the Army Air Force (AAF). Perhaps the war's best fighter, the North American P-51 Mustang, was in British service, where it excelled in a variety of roles before the AAF's need for bomber escorts brought widespread American use. The Northrop P-61 Black Widow (1943) was the first American plane specifically designed as a night fighter.

Unlike Britain and Germany, the United States used no jet aircraft during World War II, although it had begun jet development. The first U.S. jet, the Bell XP-59 Aira-comet (1943), was capable of only 418 mph and was soon relegated to a training role. The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star (553 mph) was the AAF's fastest World War II fighter, but it arrived too late for combat. The last AAF propeller fighter, the P-82 Twin Mustang, saw service in Korea.

The Republic F-84 Thunderjet, the first postwar fighter, evolved into the 693 mph F-84F Thunderstreak, which the Strategic Air Command (SAC) used for escort groups until 1957 and which served as the main fighter-bomber of the Tactical Air Command (TAC) until the F-100C. The North American F-86 Sabre, the Lockheed F-94, and the Northrop F-89 Scorpion overcame the effects of compressibility, used an afterburner, and added night and all-weather capability, respectively.

The Air Force ordered its first supersonic aircraft in the early 1950s. The Century series consisted of the North American F-100 Super Sabre, McDonnell Douglas F-101A Voodoo, Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, and the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. The TAC's first fighter with a bomb bay—the Republic F-105 Thunderchief—was delivered in 1956. Other attack aircraft included the Vought A-7D Corsair II; the Northrop F-5 series; and the Cessna A-37. The Convair 1,526 mph F-106 Delta Dart, an almost fully automatic fighter, appeared in 1956.

A new generation of aircraft began to appear in the 1960s. The first, the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II series (1963), performed both as interceptor and attack plane. Two additional fighters, the General Dynamics F-111, an all-weather fighter-bomber, and the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, replaced the Phantom II. The Eagle (1974) entered service as the air force's frontline fighter. The F-14 Tomcat (1974) entered service as the navy's leading carrier-based, multirole fighter. The versatile General Dynamics (Lockheed Martin after 1992) F-16 Fighting Falcon (1979), designed for air superiority, gradually adopted air support and tactical strike roles. The versatile all-weather F/A-18 Hornet, the nation's first strike-fighter, primarily provided fleet air defense and fighter escort. The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, introduced in 1995, added a new long-range, all-weather, multimission strike-fighter to the navy's arsenal.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Craven, Wesley F., and James L. Cate, eds. The Army Air Forces in World War II. Volume 6, Men and Planes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1955.

Wagner, Ray. American Combat Planes. 3d enl. ed. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1968.

Waters, Andrew W. All the U.S. Air Force Airplanes. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1983.

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