This book signals a radical departure from Ginter Books' Naval Fighter Series. Previously, Army/Air Force planes were only covered when the aircraft was also in service with the Navy (Naval Fighters #5 North American T-28 Trojan, NF# 8 Lockheed C-121 Constellation, NF #11 Grumman HU-16 Albatross, and NF #14 Convair T-29/C-131 series). Although hookless, there were many unusual post-war/early fifties Air Force developmental airplanes.

Martin XB-51

History

Libis, Scott

Military

Steve Ginter

The first protoype was trucked from El Segundo to Murdoc Dry Lake (Edwards AFB). Its design had been refined into a bulbous shape which gave rise to the nickname "Willy the Whale". While the Air Force held discussions on the A-3's and its possible use, the Naval Air Test Center, Paxtent River, MD and MCAS El Toro were conducting similated night interceptions in which the XF3D-1 repeatedly intercepted and destroyed single-seat jet fighters above 40,000 ft.

Douglas F3D/F-10 Skynight (Naval Fighters Series No 4)

Ginter, Steve

Although the T-28 is not a fighter, it has cut the teeth of many a fighter pilot and seen its share of fighting in a ground support role.

North American T-28 Trojan

The Chance Vought F7U Cutlass was the most radical fighter design ever to achieve fleet service. At the aircraft's unveiling, the press was so stunned by its unusual appearance that the plane was given such nicknames as bat-like, dart-like, praying mantis, preying petrodactyl, giant arrowhead and flying wing. The bold design of the Cutlass gave the Navy a pioneer airframe which was to test and develop many systems that are still in use today.

Chance Vought F7U Cutlass

It was 1944, and a new age in aviation was dawning in the European skies, the jet age. As more German jets appeared in combat, it became a foregone conclusion that Japan would be producing them too. These facts prompted the Navy to issue a requirement for carrier jet fighters. In late 1944 BuAer sent requests to several manufacturers for jet proposals. From all the proposals submitted, BuAer technical desk chose three designs to be developed. This is the story of one of the three: The Chance Vought F6U Pirate.

Chance Vought F6U Pirate

Koehnen, Richard

The Grumman HU-16 Albatross started out as a company venture in the late 1940s and became such a success that it has been used by more than two dozen armed forces throughout the world. It has become one of those hand-me-down aircraft like the venerable DC-3/C-47 and is still in use today.

Grumman HU-16 Albatross (Naval Fighters Series No 11)

The McDonnell F3H Demon is probably the least remembered modern Naval fighter, even though it was our first true all-weather missile fighter. When the weather prevented the agile F8U, F4D and F11F from flying, the Demon could still be launched. A glamorous plane the Demon was not, primarily due to its lack of performance. The F3H remained underpowered throughout its career, so much so that it was tagged by fleet pilots as the "lead sled."

McDonnell F3H Demon (Naval Fighters Series Vol 12)

The T-29/C-131 series of aircraft was one of the military's many cost-saving examples of purchasing existing civil and commercial designs for their utility and transport needs. The first military Conviar-Liner was accepted on March 8, 1950. Military production eventually eclipsed civil production with the last Convair-Liner built being a military Canadair CL-66B, which was delivered on March 3, 1961. This aircraft was the last of 568 military Convair-Liners built.

Convair T-29/C-131 Samaritan (Naval Fighters Series No 14)

In 1953, the mainstay of carrier-based anti-submarine warfare (ASW) forces in the Navy were represented by a pair of Grumman AF-2W and AF-2S Guardians flying as a hunter-killer team and operating from an escort carrier of the Commencement Bay(CVE-105) class. The Guardian's wingspan of 60 feet, length of 43 feet 5 inches and height of 16 feet 7 inches, made it the largest single-engine piston-driven airplane ever to operate from an aircraft carrier.

Grumman Af Guardian

Bob Kowalski

Kowalski, Bob

The "Flying Pancake", "Flying Flapjack", "Flying Saucer", and "Zimmer's Skimmer" were all names used to describe Charles H. Zimmerman's unorthodox V-173 and XF5U-1 aircraft. Two other descriptions: the world's fastest and slowest-flying airplane and the world's first vertical takeoff and landing airplane, might have been used to describe the XF5U1 that was built but never flown. Zimmerman's brainchild was designed to do just that, but was never given the chance.

Chance Vought V-173/XF5U-1

Schoeni, Art

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Books by Steve Ginter