My favorite is the FJ-4 “Fury Four”, although the Commonwealth CA-27 Sabre mk33 is a very close second:
http://f-86.tripod.com/fj4.htm
The Navy commissioned North American to push its Fury/Sabre design one more step, one more step in a line that started with the FJ-1 in 1947 and progressed through the whole family of F-86s, the FJ-2, a navalized ’86, and FJ-3’s. What they created was the finest single seat day jet fighter without an afterburner that would ever be built. Curiously, the prototype didn’t even carry an “X” moniker as the Navy skirted around constraints on the number of new designs.
The Fury Four however was a new plane. It was not an F-86 variation or a new..better..FJ-3. Here’s why. The Navy wanted a dayfighter with more loiter time and range (They got fifty percent more, a range of 2,000 plus miles, due in part to the redesign that enabled the FJ-4 to carry 50 percent more internal fuel than the FJ-3). They got this by enlarging and reshaping the FJ-3 fuselage and creating a “wet” wing by milling it out of a single piece of aluminum.
More on that in a bit. The tail surfaces were of new design and thinner, a dorsal fin shaped the upper fuselage aft of the cockpit. All this was wrapped around a J65-W-16A engine that developed 7,700 lbs. of thrust. Also, the wheelbase was widened by two feet, and the undercarriage was a new stronger gear and with that an ability to handle greater side loads. She was the first fighter equipped with a liquid oxygen system and gave the pilot the range of the fuel tanks! The Fury Four was equipped for in-flight refueling, and armed with Sidewinders and 20 mm cannons. The guns didn’t drag along the problems that they had in the FJ-2 and 3, and harmonized nicely at 2,000 feet. The plane flew like on rails in the gunnery pattern.
So now let’s get back to that wing. A new wing of spectacular design. It had inboard high lift flaps, a controllable drooping leading edge (serving up sweet slow flight characteristics), and mid span control surfaces. While the wing retained the 35-degree sweep of earlier FJ’s, the chord ratio was only six percent and more highly tapered. Brig. Gen. Jay Hubbard, USMC, the high time FJ-4 pilot, liked to say that the wing “thought it was a delta.” She easily slid into supersonic flight. An airframe that could have handled a bigger powerplant, a wing that would have loved it.
One gets a glimpse of this knowing that a couple of FJ-4s (the FJ-4Fs) were tested with an supplemental 5,000 lbs. thrust rocket engine, and on one flight went 1.41 Mach and reached 71,000 feet.
FJ-4 pilot Dick Percival said he felt that when he strapped in that it was “part of him” and never felt that sense in future Crusader and Phantom tours. Nor did ex Blue Angel Chuck Hiett who helped to guide the “Four” through the Fleet Introduction Program. He says, “You wore the plane like a glove. Its maneuverability made it a fighter pilot’s dream.” That came with the bird’s terrific rate of roll. Robert Dorr reports that at a reunion of Pax River types, Ace and Test Pilot Marion Carl was asked what was the greatest fighter-plane he flew and responded, “Oh, the FJ-4, of course.” Carl had flown ’em all.
The FJ-4 had one final act in its evolution: as an attack plane, the FJ-4B. The wings were strengthened with six hard points. These variously could handle bombs, Bullpup air to surface missiles, fuel tanks, and the “Buddy” refueling package. Also new was a LABS bombing system allowing for tactical nuclear weapons delivery and a extra set of speedbrakes. 222 of the FJ-4Bs were assigned to Navy and Marine attack squadrons. Again, the FJ-4B filled a gap as F9F Panthers and AD Skyraiders were retired while awaiting the splendid A-4.
As an aside, imagine this… the A-4C also had the same 7,700 lb.s.t. J65-W-16A engine (US-built Armstrong-Siddley Sapphire 100), and the A-4E (1963) replaced this with the 8,400 lb.s.t. J52, which was developed to produce 11,200 pounds thrust in the A-4M (1970 -408 variant). What if the FJ-4 were also fitted with the J52-P-408 (A-4M engine), or even the 8,400 lb.s.t. & 1965 9,300 lb.s.t. versions?
Specifications of the FJ-4 Fury:
Engine: One Wright J65-W-16A turbojet rated at 7700 lb.s.t.
Dimensions: wingspan 39 feet 1 inch, length 36 feet 4 inches, height 13 feet 11 inches, wing area 338.66 square feet.
Weights (FJ-4): 13,210 pounds empty, 20,130 pounds takeoff (clean), 23,700 pounds takeoff.
Weights (FJ-4B): 13,778 pounds empty, 28,000 pounds gross.
Performance: Maximum speed: 680 mph at sea level, 631 mph at 35,000 feet.
Combat ceiling: 46,800 feet.
Initial climb rate: 7660 feet per minute. Climb to 30,000 feet in 6.3 minutes.
Takeoff run to clear 50 foot obstacle 4250 feet.
Combat range: 1485 miles (clean), 2020 miles with two 200-gallon drop tanks and 2 Sidewinders.
Combat radius: 518-840 miles.
Armament: Four 20-mm cannon and up to 3000 pounds (6000 pounds for the FJ-4B) of underwing ordnance, including up to four Sidewinder AAMs.
Specification of the Commonwealth Sabre Mk.32:
Engine: One CAC-built Rolls-Royce Avon 26 turbojet rated at 7500 lb.st.
Performance: Maximum speed: 700 mph at sea level, 672 mph at 10,000 feet, 607 mph at 38,000 feet.
Initial climb rate: 12,000 feet/minute. Service ceiling: 55,000 feet.
Tactical radius: 290 miles (clean), 400 miles (with 2 drop tanks and two Sidewinder AAMs).
Maximum range with two 200-gallon drop tanks: 1150 miles.
Weights: 12,120 pounds empty, 15,990 pounds normal loaded (clean), and 18,650 pounds maximum.
Dimensions: Wingspan 37 ft. 1 1/4 inch, length 37 ft. 6 inches, height 14 ft. 4 3/4 inches, wing area 302/26 square ft.
Armament: Two 30-mm Aden cannon (162 rounds each) and two AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared-homing air-to-air missiles. Underwing loads could include two 500-lb bombs and two 100 Imp. Gall. drop tanks.
During the “bad old days” of the “Cold War”, Bears overflew US ships all the time.
I remember in late 1987, in the Indian Ocean when I was aboard CV-61 USS Ranger. We were having our “steel beach” relaxation day, and we were overflown by a Bear at probably ~2,000 feet altitude.
It was escorted by a French F-8 Crusader… Clemenceau was in the area, and we were covering each other during replenishments, etc (our Captains had visited each other’s ships earlier).
Check out this thread: http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/topic/5479
Another USN vet posted a nice pic of a Bear (suitably escorted) which overflew his carrier just ahead of a formation of the carrier’s planes (it was during a show for visiting dignitaries).
Fairchild made two:
C-82 Packet
C-119 Flying Boxcar (with auxiliary Viper)
C-119G
C-119J Discoverer/Corona satellite retrieval aircraft
Sign In
