F6D Missileer
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| F6D Missileer | |
|---|---|
 Artist's conception of the F6D-1 Missileer in flight. |
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| Type | Fleet defense fighter |
| Manufacturer | Douglas Aircraft Company |
| Maiden flight | n/a |
| Status | Canceled December 1961 |
| Primary user | United States Navy |
| Number built | None |
| Developed from | F3D Skyknight |
The United States Douglas F6D Missileer was a proposed carrier-based fleet defense fighter aircraft, designed in response to a 1959 US Navy requirement. [1]
Contents |
[edit] Design
The F6D-1 would have weighed approximately 50,000 pounds (22,650 kg). It would have been powered by two Pratt & Whitney TF30-P2 non-afterburning turbofan engines which were more fuel efficient than the turbojets common at the time. It would have had subsonic performance, but a loiter time of six hours on station 150 nautical miles (280 km) from its carrier. Of conventional design with straight wings, and the engines in pods at the root, it looked like a larger version of the company's earlier F3D Skyknight. The Missileer's radar was to be the Westinghouse AN/APQ-81 pulse Doppler set, with a range of 120 nm (220 km) and "track while scan" capability. It was to be able to engage up to six targets simultaneously with Bendix AAM-N-10 Eagle air-to-air missiles, with a range of 100 nm (185 km). The Eagle was to have a choice of conventional or nuclear warhead.
The Navy quickly developed doubts about the slow "missile truck" concept. The F6D-1 would have been helpless after launching its missiles, lacking defensive armament, speed, or maneuverability to defend itself, and despite its cost it was useless for any role other than air defense. It was cancelled in December 1960.
The Navy was eventually forced to participate in the TFX joint-services program that resulted in the General Dynamics F-111B. The Eagle missile was also cancelled, but after strenuous objections by the Navy, the technology was transferred to Hughes Aircraft for the AIM-54 Phoenix missile. The F6D-1's missile and radar technologies were both later used, in evolved form, first in the abortive F-111B and later in the Grumman F-14. The TF30 would also be used in the two supersonic fighters with an afterburner, and turbofans are now commonplace in military jets.
[edit] Specifications (XF6D-1, as designed)
Data from The American Fighter [1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 3
- Length: 53 ft (16.15 m)
- Wingspan: 70 ft (21.33 m)
- Height: 18 ft 1 in (5.51 m)
- Wing area: 630 ft² (58.52 m²)
- Loaded weight: 50,000 lb (22,680 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 60,000 lb (27,216 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-2 turbofans, 10,200 lbf (45.5 kN) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 546 mph (879 km/h)
- Thrust/weight: 0.41
Armament
- Missiles: 6× AAM-N-10 Eagle air-to-air missiles
[edit] See also
Related development
Comparable aircraft
Related lists
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
[edit] Bibliography
- Angelucci, Enzo. The American Fighter. Sparkford, Somerset: Haynes Publishing Group, 1987. ISBN 0-85429-635-2.
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