F-89 Scorpion

F-89 Scorpion
Formation of three F-89Ds of the 59th Fighter Squadron, Goose Bay, Labrador
Role	Interceptor
Manufacturer	Northrop Corporation
Designer	Jack Northrop
First flight	16 August 1948
Introduction	September 1950
Retired	1969
Primary user	United States Air Force
Number built	1,050 and 2 prototypes
Unit cost	US$801,602 (F-89D) US$988,884 (F-89H)

The Northrop F-89 Scorpion was an American all-weather interceptor built during the 1950s, the first jet-powered aircraft designed as such from the outset to enter service. Though its straight wings limited its performance, it was among the first United States Air Force (USAF) jet fighters equipped with guided missiles and notably the first combat aircraft armed with air-to-air nuclear weapons (the unguided Genie rocket).

The Scorpion stemmed from a United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Air Technical Service Command specification ("Military Characteristics for All-Weather Fighting Aircraft") for a night fighter to replace the P-61 Black Widow. The preliminary specification, sent to aircraft manufacturers on 28 August 1945, required two engines and an armament of six guns, either .60-caliber (15 mm) machine guns or 20-millimeter (0.79 in) . The revised specification was issued on 23 November; it did not specify jet propulsion, but the desired maximum speed of 530 miles per hour (850 km/h) virtually dictated that all the submissions would be jet-powered. The aircraft was to be armed with aerial rockets stored internally and six guns split between two flexible mounts, four guns forward and two in the rear. Each mount had to be capable of 15° of movement from the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. Each mount's guns were to be automatically controlled by radar. For ground attack, it had to be capable of carrying 1,000-pound (450 kg) bombs and to be able to carry a minimum of eight rockets externally.Bell Aircraft, Consolidated-Vultee, Douglas Aircraft, Goodyear, Northrop and Curtiss-Wright all submitted proposals. In March 1946, the USAAF selected the Curtiss-Wright XP-87, adapted from their proposed XA-43 attack aircraft, and Northrop's N-24 design, one of four submitted by the company.