American F-89 high-speed interceptor

During the Cold War, in order to cope with the possible bomber air strikes of the Soviet Union, the US Air Force proposed that a new interceptor was needed, and the final result of this goal was the birth of Northrop's F-89 Scorpion fighter. The improved model F-89J of this interceptor later became the first and only fighter capable of carrying and launching rockets with nuclear warheads. In the end, with the public's increasing awareness of the power and danger of nuclear bombs, the F-89 only conducted an air-launched experiment of nuclear rockets.

At the beginning of the design, the F-89 was defined as an all-weather jet fighter interceptor, which mainly replaced the propeller-driven Northrop P-6 1 Black Widow fighter and the North American P-82 Mustang fighter. 1945, the aircraft design project was approved. 1948, the first prototype XP-89 successfully completed the test flight. By September 1950, the aircraft was officially unveiled as the latest special interceptor of the US Air Force. The plane adopts two-seat layout, with the pilot in the front seat and the radar operator in the back seat. Its main task is to assist the pilot in the front seat to complete the target positioning, interception and strike tasks. The wingspan is 59 feet (17.98 meters), the conventional cruising speed is 465 miles (748 kilometers)/hour, the top speed can reach 627 miles (1009 kilometers)/hour, the range 1600 miles (2,575 kilometers), and the * * meter has been produced.

The F-89 subsequently introduced a number of modifications, among which the B-D model has a real machine production record, while the E-G model is only in the drawing stage, and the H model redesigned the structure of the wing tip pod. Among them, D-type mass production, a total of 682 aircraft were manufactured. On the basis of D type, F-89J is further developed. Its main purpose is to carry two MB- 1 Elf air-to-air nuclear rockets and four Hayabusa air-to-air missiles in battle. This model produced 350 aircraft and became the first air-to-air nuclear weapon in one fell swoop.

From May 1957 to October 10, the United States conducted a series of nuclear tests at the Nevada proving ground. The test, code-named "Operation Plumb", carried out 29 explosions (27 of which produced nuclear equivalent), which promoted the development of US medium-range and intercontinental missiles and missiles used for anti-submarine and air defense.

1July, 957 19, an F-89J carried two MB- 1 nuclear rockets weighing 820 pounds (372 kilograms) to the Fu Yunru platform in Nevada. The plane was piloted by the pilot, Captain Eric hutcheson, and the radar officer, Captain Alfred Babi. It was launched under the watchful eyes of five air force officers and 1 civilian national defense photographer. 12 seconds later, after the rocket flew at a high speed of 6 miles, the F-89J detonated the nuclear rocket in the air through the fire control system, and the explosion intensity was equivalent to one tenth of that of Hiroshima's "little boy".

The nuclear explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki have proved that a nuclear weapon can easily cause unimaginable damage to a big city, and the nuclear radiation it produces will haunt the surviving victims forever like a ghost. During the period after World War II, despite the obvious destructiveness of nuclear weapons, many people still fantasized about equipping small nuclear weapons on various vehicles or as individual weapons, which greatly promoted the development of the F-89J.

With the continuous upgrading of precision guidance technology, the way of throwing and remotely detonating nuclear weapons at air targets is still too rough and dangerous. Therefore, after the launch test, the launch test of the nuclear rocket was never carried out again, and the six observers who personally experienced the nuclear explosion at the test site in that year were subsequently diagnosed with cancer, but it is uncertain whether the nuclear explosion directly led to this result.

Subsequently, the F-89J served under the US Air Force Air Defense Command (later renamed the US Air Defense Command (ADC)) until 1959 and continued to serve in the US National Guard for ten years. With the gradual reduction of investment in this aircraft, it finally retired from active service in 1969, and this fighter capable of launching nuclear weapons came to an end.