The McDonnell XF-88 Voodoo was a long-range,
twinjet
A twinjet or twin-engine jet is a jet aircraft powered by two jet engine, engines. A twinjet is able to fly well enough to land with a single working engine, making it safer than a single-engine aircraft in the event of failure of an engine. F ...
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...
designed for the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
. Although it never entered production, its design was adapted for the subsequent supersonic
F-101 Voodoo
The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo is a supersonic jet fighter designed and produced by the American McDonnell Aircraft Corporation.
Development of the F-101 began in the late 1940s as a long-range bomber escort (then known as a penetration fighte ...
.
Design and development
The XF-88 originated from a 1946
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
requirement for a long-range "
penetration fighter
The term penetration fighter has been used to describe a long-range fighter aircraft designed to penetrate enemy air defences and attack defensive interceptors. The concept is similar to the escort fighter, but differs primarily in that the aircr ...
" to escort
bomber
A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes
air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles.
There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...
s to their targets. It was to be essentially a jet-powered replacement for the wartime
North American P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed by James H. Kin ...
that had escorted
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...
bombers over Germany. It was to have a combat radius of 900 mi (1,450 km) and high performance. McDonnell began work on the aircraft, dubbed Model 36, on 1 April 1946. On 20 June the company was given a contract for two prototypes designated XP-88.
[Dorr 1995, p. 170.] Dave Lewis was Chief of Aerodynamics on this project.

The initial design was intended to have straight wings and a
V-shaped tail, but
wind tunnel
A wind tunnel is "an apparatus for producing a controlled stream of air for conducting aerodynamic experiments". The experiment is conducted in the test section of the wind tunnel and a complete tunnel configuration includes air ducting to and f ...
tests indicated aerodynamic problems that led to a conventional tailplane being substituted and the wings being swept.
[Peacock 1985, p. 76.] The USAAF confirmed the order for the two prototypes on 14 February 1947,
[Francillon 1979, p. 461.] while a change in designation schemes led to the unflown prototypes being re-designated XF-88 on 1 July 1948, with the type gaining the nickname "Voodoo".
The Voodoo had a low/mid-mounted wing,
swept to 35°. The two engines, specified as
Westinghouse J34
The Westinghouse J34, company designation Westinghouse 24C, was a turbojet engine developed by Westinghouse Aviation Gas Turbine Division in the late 1940s. Essentially an enlarged version of the earlier Westinghouse J30, the J34 produced 3,000 ...
turbojet
The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
s were in the lower fuselage, fed by air intakes in the wing roots and jetpipes beneath the rear fuselage. This made room in the long fuselage for the fuel tanks required for the required long range. The Voodoo's short nose had no radar, being intended to house an armament of six 20 mm (.79 in)
M39 cannon, while the fighter's single pilot sat in a pressurized cockpit and was provided with an ejection seat.
[Francillon 1979, pp. 460–461.][Angelucci and Bowers 1987, pp. 303–304.]
Operational history
The first XF-88 made its maiden flight from
Muroc Field on 20 October 1948, piloted by McDonnell Chief Test Pilot
Robert Edholm.
[Knaack 1978, p. 317.] It was unarmed and powered by non-afterburning J34-13 engines that gave 3,000 lbf (13.37 kN) thrust.
While testing demonstrated adequate handling and the required endurance, the XF-88 proved to be underpowered. This resulted in inadequate performance, with its maximum speed of 641 mph being less than the
F-86A then in production.
[Francillon 1979, p. 461.] In order to improve performance, it was decided to fit the second prototype's engines with McDonnell-designed
afterburner
An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and combat ...
s.
[Dorr 1995, p. 171.] Thus modified, the engines became J34-22s, giving 3,600 lbf (16.05 kN) thrust.
The second prototype, XF-88A, made its maiden flight on 26 April 1949, with the first prototype later modified to the same standard.
The afterburners improved the Voodoo's performance, with the XF-88A reaching 700 mph (1,126 km/h) but at the expense of decreased range owing to increased fuel consumption.
[Angelucci and Bowers 1987, p. 304.] Despite this, the XF-88 was chosen against the
Lockheed XF-90 and
North American YF-93 for the USAF's Penetration Fighter requirement, with planned production versions to use more powerful
Westinghouse J46 engines.
(A 1948 order for 118 F-93s had been cancelled in 1949.
[Dorr and Donald 1990, p. 152.]) Changes in Air Force priorities, together with a shortage of money, led the penetration fighter to be cancelled in August 1950.
[Knaack 1978, p. 135.]
The first prototype was modified to XF-88B standard as a propeller-research vehicle. The model propeller
[https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19930090296.pdf p.9] was driven by a nose-mounted
Allison T38
The Allison T38 (company Model 501) was an early turboprop engine developed by Allison Engine Company during the late 1940s. The T38 became the basis for the very successful family of Allison T56 turboprop engine.
Design and development
Develop ...
turboprop
A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller.
A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...
which was used to assist in the climb as well as to reach the test conditions. The aircraft was used to test three propellers through
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...
,
to speeds slightly exceeding
Mach 1.0,
the first propeller-equipped aircraft to do so.
The propeller was tested in level flight to about M 0.9 with the help of the turbojet afterburners, and to just over M 1.0 in a dive.
McDonnell also proposed a naval version of the XF-88, a two-seat operational trainer, and a
reconnaissance
In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...
variant but none were built.
Both prototypes were scrapped by
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...
.
Experience of the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
led the USAF to reconsider its plans for penetration fighters and led to a new specification for a long-range fighter, General Operational Requirement (GOR) 101 being issued in February 1951. A considerably enlarged version of the design was chosen to meet this requirement later that year, the revised design becoming the
F-101 Voodoo
The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo is a supersonic jet fighter designed and produced by the American McDonnell Aircraft Corporation.
Development of the F-101 began in the late 1940s as a long-range bomber escort (then known as a penetration fighte ...
,
[Knaack 1978, pp 135–136.] the first production version of which flew on 29 September 1954.
[Peacock 1985, p. 77.]
Operators
;
*
McDonnell - never reached service
Variants
;XF-88
:Company designation Model 36C.
First prototype, powered by 3,000 lbf (13.38 kN)
Westinghouse J34
The Westinghouse J34, company designation Westinghouse 24C, was a turbojet engine developed by Westinghouse Aviation Gas Turbine Division in the late 1940s. Essentially an enlarged version of the earlier Westinghouse J30, the J34 produced 3,000 ...
-13 engines. Unarmed.
;XF-88A
:Company designation Model 36D.
Second prototype, fitted with J-34-22 engines with primitive afterburners. Later fitted with armament. First prototype also modified to this standard.
;XF-88B
:Company designation Model 36J.
Modification of first prototype with 2,500 shp (1,865 kW)
Allison XT38 turboprop
A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller.
A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...
engine in nose, and retaining its jet engines. First flown 14 April 1953.
Specifications (XF-88A)
See also
References
Notes
Bibliography
* Angelucci, Enzo and
Peter Bowers. ''The American Fighter''. Sparkford, Somerset, UK: Haynes Publishing Group, 1987. .
* Dorr, Robert F. "McDonnell F-88/F-101 Variant Briefing". ''Wings of Fame'', Volume 1. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1995. .
*Dorr, Robert F. and Donald, David. ''Fighters of the United States Air Force''. London: Temple, 1990. .
* Francillon, René J. ''McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920''. London: Putnam, 1979. .
* Knaack, Marcelle Size. ''Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems: Volume 1 Post-World War II Fighters, 1945-1973.''. Washington, D.C.: Office of Air Force History, 1978. .
* Peacock, Lindsay. "The One-O-Wonder". ''
Air International
''AIR International'' is a British aviation magazine covering current defence aerospace and civil aviation topics. It has been in publication since 1971 and is currently published by Key Publishing Ltd.
History and profile
The magazine was fir ...
'', Volume 29, No. 2, August 1985, pp. 75–81, 93–95. ISSN 0306-5634.
{{Authority control
F-088 Voodoo
McDonnell F-88 Voodoo
Twinjets
Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United States
Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear
Mid-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1948