Advertisements

Aviation / Aerospace

McDonnell XF-88 Voodoo

Escort Fighter / Penetration Fighter Prototype [ 1948 ]

Though a failed design in itself, the McDonnell XF-88 Voodoo did go on to become the successful F-101 Voodoo aircraft of the Cold War years.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 11/18/2017 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]

Advertisements

World War 2 (1939-1945) showcased to American warplanners the importance of "escort fighters" for their bomber forces when traversing over enemy terrain. The value added by such platforms as the North American P-51 "Mustang", the Republic P-47 "Thunderbolt", and the Lockheed P-38 "Lightning" was as much a deciding factor for the Allies in the bombing campaign against Germany and Japan as wee the bombs dropped by Consolidated B-24 "Liberator" and Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" bombers. As technology forced the hand of aeronautics into the jet age, the idea of escorting long-range bombers followed along. The McDonnell XF-88 "Voodoo" was prototyped in an effort to find a suitable counterpart to the growing list of long-range penetration bombers joining the inventory of the United States air service.

The XF-88 was classified as a "penetration fighter" and designed around a 1946 USAAF (United States Army Air Forces) requirement envisioning an aircraft with exceptional operational ranges. The resulting McDonnell design was granted two working prototypes in the form of the "XP-88" (the Air Force designation model would effectively change that to "XF-88" by 1948). The XF-88 featured swept-back wings fitted to streamlined fuselage with triangular intakes mounted at the wing roots. The jet exhaust would pass under the tail unit which featured a conventional arrangement - a single vertical fin being fitted with mid-mounted horizontal planes. An early model form sported a "Vee" tail but this approach was dropped when wind tunnel testing showed instability issues. The aircraft was crewed by one with the cockpit seated well-forward of midships, aft of a nose cone assembly. Proposed armament was 6 x M39 20mm cannons giving the fighter a considerable punch.

Only two flyable prototypes were ever produced for the program as it lost steam when the Air Force decided to go a different route, eventually dropping the idea of a penetration fighter. As such, the program was cancelled even after a North American design was initially selected to fulfill the requirement, the winner then itself dropped in favor of the McDonnell design. Completed Voodoo models were in the form of the XF-88, XF-88A, and the XF-88B.©MilitaryFactory.com

Advertisements

XF-88 marked the initial prototype fitted with a Westinghouse J34-13 turbojet of 3,000 lb thrust and lacking armament. XF-88A then followed and installed a Westinghouse J-34-22 turbojet which featured an early version of afterburn. Armament for this airframe came later. XF-88B was given an Allison XT38 turboprop engine in its nose outputting 2,500 horsepower - this in addition to its turbojet engine installation - making it a "compound fighter" design relying on two propulsion methods. First flight of this form came on April 14th, 1953.

Though the direct XF-88 Voodoo design came to naught, the aircraft and its name were resurrected a time later when it became the McDonnell F-101 "Voodoo" venture. This aircraft, introduced in 1957 and seeing 807 examples produced, retained much of the form of the XF-88 including its sleek design, single vertical tailfin, and triangular air intakes and went on to see considerable combat service in the Vietnam War (1955-1975). The F-101 was a dimensionally larger, missile-armed aircraft modified for a new requirement.

The completed XF-88 prototypes carried serial numbers 46-525 and 46-526.©MilitaryFactory.com

Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications

Service Year

1948

Origin

United States

Status

CANCELLED
Development Ended.

Crew

1

Production

2
UNITS

McDonnell Aircraft Corporation - USA

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

United States

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Air-to-Air Combat, Fighter
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.

✓ X-Plane (Developmental, Prototype, Technology Demonstrator)
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.

Length

54.1 ft
(16.50 m)

Width/Span

39.7 ft
(12.10 m)

Height

17.2 ft
(5.25 m)

Empty Wgt

12,147 lb
(5,510 kg)

MTOW

18,519 lb
(8,400 kg)

Wgt Diff

+6,371 lb
(+2,890 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the McDonnell XF-88A Voodoo production variant)

Installed: 2 x Westinghouse J34-WE-22 turbojet engines developing 3,600 lb of thrust each with afterburner (3,000 lb dry).

Max Speed

705 mph
(1,135 kph | 613 kts)

Ceiling

39,403 ft
(12,010 m | 7 mi)

Range

1,727 mi
(2,780 km | 5,149 nm)

Rate-of-Climb

8,000 ft/min
(2,438 m/min)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the McDonnell XF-88A Voodoo production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

STANDARD, FIXED:
6 x 20mm M39 cannons

Supported Types

Graphical image of an aircraft automatic cannon

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

Hardpoint Mountings: 0

XF-88 - Initial prototype; fitted with Westinghouse J34-13 turbojet engines; sans cannon armament.

XF-88A - Second prototype completed; fitted with Westinghouse J-34-22 turbojet engines featuring early-form afterburners; armament to be added later.

XF-88B - Initial prototype modified to accept the Allison XT38 turboprop engine in nose assembly; appearing in April 1953.

F-101 "Voodoo" - Production Voodoo represents a larger design based on the initial XF-88 model prototypes - see F-101 Voodoo entry for model specific details.

Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force

Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway

Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift

Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War

Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War

Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight

Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War

Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars

Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War

Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War

Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War

Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor

Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War

Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War

Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War

Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War

Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War

Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era

Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War

Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft

Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.

Images Gallery

1 / 3

2 / 3

3 / 3

❮ ❯

Advertisements

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2023 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons.

View day-by-day actions of the American Civil War with CivilWarTimeline.net. View day-by-day actions of World War II with SecondWorldWarHistory.com.

©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)