The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was a two-seat, all-weather interceptor used by the US Air Force during the Cold War. Entering service in 1950, it was the first jet-powered aircraft to combine weaponry with an air-to-air radar set. Thus, for more than three years, from 1949 to 1953, it was the first and the only all-weather jet interceptor in service with the US Air Force. As such, it saw useful combat service in the Korean War (1950-1953) and it would be retired in 1959.
The F-94 Starfire was a further development of the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star. Its prototype, the YF-94, flew for the first time on April 16, 1949. It was flown by test pilot Tony LeVier and it was introduced in May 1950 as the F-94A version. The F-94B and F-94C variants would also be produced, to a total of 854 aircraft built. It played an important role in the Cold War, guarding and protecting the United States from the threat of Soviet bomber attacks.
Below, a ventral view of the first jet-powered interceptor as it banks left in the skies in 1956. It has a swept tailplane and it lacks the rocket pods in the wing because it is the first F-94C version.
Technical Characteristics
The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was a two-seat, single-engine monoplane, with straight low-wing design. It had a cylindrical all-metal fuselage, with a tail assembly fitted with a classical straight tailplane (horizontal stabilizer) and conventional fin and rudder. It also featured wing-tip fuel tanks to increase its operational range. The fuselage of the F-94C version had a longer nose and a dorsal ridge, which extended from the tail fin to the cockpit, and a swept tailplane). The landing gear was of the tricycle type, folding up inwardly into wings and fuselage.
The F-94 Starfire was developed into an all-weather interceptor by adding an APG-32 and a Hughes E-1 fire control system (The F-94C had an APG-40 radar and an E-5 FCS) to the original prototype. It was also fitted with a rear seat for the observer. The initial production versions of the F-94 were powered by one Allison J33 turbojet. However the F-94C was equipped with a Pratt & Whitney J48-P-5 centrifugal-flow tubojet engine.
Specifications (F-94B)
Type: all-weather interceptor aircraft
Length: 12.22 m (40 feet, 1 inch)
Wing Span: 11.86 m (38 feet, 11 inches)
Wing Area: 21.81 m2 (235 square feet)
Height: 3.86 m (12 feet, 8 inches)
Power Plant: one Allison J33-A-33 turbojet engine, which produced 6,001 lb of thrust.
Maximum Speed: 975 km/h (606 mph)
Range: 1,455 km (904 miles)
Service Ceiling: 14,630 m (48,000 feet)
Crew: two
Armament: eight 12.7-mm (.50-cal) machine guns; Mk-40 folding-fin aerial rockets.
Avionic: APG-32 radar.
Below, the F-94C Starfire in flight in the skies over California. You can see the wing-mounted rocket pods, each holding 12 Mk-40 rockets + 24 in nose.
The F-94B version flying over the Pacific off the USA's western coast.
Below, the Lockheed F-94 fires a salvo of highly accurate 70-mm rockets.
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