North American's oft-forgotten YF-93A (NA-157) was an advanced version of the F-86A Sabre day fighter designed for the penetration fighter requirement. It was originally designated the F-86C and was designed around NACA flush inlets and an 8,000 lb thrust J48 afterburning engine with three times the fuel of the F-86A, which gave it extremely long range. The two other penetration fighter candidates (the XF-88 and XF-90) had flown much earlier than the YF-93. All three types were not developed beyond the prototypes as the penetration fighter requirement was dropped by the Air Force. The aircraft sported F-86-style wings and tail mated to a new beefy fuselage with added electronics and 6-20mm cannon. The increased weight of the design led to a redesigned and strengthened dual-wheel main undercarriage. Only two-aircraft were built and the NACA flush intakes were replaced on ship one with conventional ram intakes resulting in increased overall performance. After retirement the two YF-93As were utilized at Moffett Field, CA, for further NACA testing before being scrapped.

North American Yf-93a Penetration Fighter

History

Simone, William

Military

Ginter Books

North American's often-forgotten F-107A remains perhaps the most enigmatic of the famous early "Century Series" fighters. The enigma stems from the fact that it was an outstanding and extraordinarily effective war-plane and was, perhaps, the best airplane in the world for its particular job at the time of its late 1956 first flight. Mysteriously, it was never to go into production, even in light of its superior capabilities. The F-107A scored several firsts. Among them were a truly unique flight control system, an advanced inlet system, and the incorporation of a semi-submerged store. It was also the last of a long line of North American fighters to be built.

North American F-107A (Air Force Legends, 203)

Steve Ginter

Created by the famous Lockheed "Skunks Works" and highly publicized at the start of the 1950s, the futuristic XF-90 seemed to epitomize what a supersonic fighter ought to look like. It was one of the first Air Force jets to be equipped with afterburners and the first Lockheed aircraft to exceed the speed of sound. Its handsome good looks captured the public's imagination. Even the creators of the popular Blackhawk comic book series adopted the XF-90 as its hero's jet fighter of choice.
The text covers the design criteria of the 1945 penetration fighter request-for-proposal and the 8 companies that submitted proposals. Lockheed made over 60 design studies for the XF-90 which included delta wings, V-tails, forward swept wings, variable sweep wings, and Navy proposals, many of which are discussed in the book. The text goes on to describe its development and testing and flight testing at Muroc/Edwards AFB by Tony LeVeir, Lockeed's chief test pilot. Also included is an extensive history (14-pages) of the second XF-90's involvement in the nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site and its subsequent retrieval. Additionally, 2-pages are devoted to Blackhawks and 9-pages to XF-90 models.

Lockheed XF-90 Penetration Fighter

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Books by Simone, William

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Simone, William. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

North American Yf-93a Penetration Fighter

North American F-107A (Air Force Legends, 203)

Lockheed XF-90 Penetration Fighter