Aircraft Profile #42. North American FJ Fury

The evolution of naval aircraft has for more than fifty years been a particularly exacting exercise, a commitment rendered infinitely more difficult by the economics of relatively small production orders. Thus by force of circumstances it has been found more expedient to adapt an existing or projected land-based aircraft design for the task of deck operation, with the result that with so much paraphernalia appended the naval combat aircraft has commenced life with an inbred inferiority when compared with its dry-footed contemporaries. Only in the years following W.W.II have high performance combat aircraft been evolved with deck operation of first importance in the Operational Requirement; this has undoubtedly followed the trend of

The unarmed first prototype XFJ-1, 39053

uprating the fleet carrier to capital ship status.

One of the first examples of putting "the horse before the cart" was the North American FJ-Series of naval jet fighters. Of course the world recognises the excellence of the well-known F-86 Sabre, yet it is perhaps an obscure fact that the NA-140 (XP-86) design stemmed from the NA-134, designed to a U.S. Navy requirement of 1945.

The North American NA-134 project designation covered the design and construction of three straight-winged fighter prototypes, ordered by the U.S. Navy on 1st January 1945. Developed from this was the NA-140 for an Air Force fighter, originally intended to have straight wings but, following intensive examination of sequestrated German

Resplendent in Naval Air Reserve colours, this FJ-1, 120368, flew from Oakland N.A.S, California, in 1950

research data on swept wings, was destined to materialise as the famous F-86 Sabre.

Deck landing speeds required by Navy fighters eliminated the consideration of a swept wing on the NA-134 design at that time and the project went ahead with straight wings, to become the North American XFJ-1. Unlike current fighters (e.g. P-59 and P-80) in service with or in production for the U.S.A.F., the new naval aircraft was designed around the axial flow General Electric J-35 which made possible the straight-through airflow from nose to tail without complications of wing-root or other lateral types of intakes.

Thus while efforts continued to develop an efficient swept wing for the XP-86 and extend its

Marine FJ-2 in natural metal finish. Note wing slats and two-store wings

"on board" time, the Navy XFJ-1 s commenced manufacture early in 1946 and first flew on 27th November that year - about ten months ahead of the XP-86.

With 1730kg thrust from the J35-GE-2 engine, the first of the three prototypes (39053-39055) achieved a maximum speed of 872km/h at 4800m, a service ceiling of 14200m and an initial climb rate of 1400m/min. As a matter of passing interest these figures were extremely close to those of the British de Havilland Vampire I which had performed the world's first deck landing by a jet aircraft in late 1945 and which entered naval service during 1948.

Flight trials on the three XFJ-1s continued for almost a

The first NA-179 prototype, 133754

year, being accepted by the U.S. Navy during September 1947. Production had by then already started, the Navy having placed a contract for 100 FJ-1s as far back as 28th May 1945. Deliveries under this contract commenced in early autumn 1947 from the Los Angeles plant and passed to Navy Squadron VF-5A at San Diego on 18th November that year. In the course of two months this squadron, under Commander Evan ("Pete") Aurand, completed about 200 dummy deck landings on a runway marked up to deck size, and on 10th March 1948 the Commander landed an FJ-1 on U.S.S. Boxer - the first jet landing on a carrier at sea under operational

Marine FJ-3, 135954, of VMF-122. Most FJ-3s were however delivered to the U.S. Navy

conditions. Landings and take-offs by other members of VF-5A followed and much initial experience was quickly gained in jet operations from a carrier deck. Slower acceleration by jets during take-off led to catapulting becoming standard practice, while the jets' greatly increased fuel consumption demanded larger fuel storage aboard carriers.

The FJ-1s, of which only 30 (130342-130371) came to be built - all at Los Angeles - were powered by Allison-built J35-A-4 engines; with 1815kg thrust, top speed was 880km/h at 3000m, and with two 750-litre wing-tip tanks supplementing the 2110 litres of internal fuel the ferry range was 2415km.

Throughout 1948 VF-5A remained the only U.S. Navy squadron jet-equipped, but when this unit was

An early FJ-3, 135810, with VC-3 during the Fleet Introduction Programme, at Patuxent River, Maryland, 1954

re-numbered VF-51 and took delivery of Grumman F9F-2s, the FJ-ls were delivered to reserve units ashore.

SWEPT WINGS

Successful development of the swept wing on the

…

and Art C. Patch, and F-86As joined squadrons of the U.S.A.F. in 1948. By 1951, with events taking a more serious turn in Korea, the U.S. Navy had realised that swept-wing deck fighters were entirely feasible and, having studied a North American design proposal (NA-181) for a navalised F-86E, issued a letter contract on 10th February 1951 for development of prototypes. Commander Aurand, of VF-5 A fame, was appointed Navy Project Officer.

Three prototypes were ordered from the Los Angeles plant. 133754 and 133755 (under NA-179) were essentially navalised F-86Es

With retro-modified wings, FJ-3D2, 135809, served as a missile control aircraft with Navy Utility Squadron 3

with vee-frame arrester hooks, lengthened nosewheel legs and cata-

…

Hoover on 27th December 1951. 133756 carried the designation XFJ-2B, the B denoting a special armament modification for this machine carried four 20mm guns in place of the hitherto standard six 12.7mm machine guns.

As would be expected, these radical swept-wing prototypes underwent intensive trials. The two XFJ-2s, with J47-GE-13 engines, were delivered to Patuxent River for Service trials in 1952, and armament trials were undertaken at Inyokern on 133756. Acceptance by the Navy of the prototypes was effected in June, July and December respectively, and carrier qualification trials were performed aboard U.S.S. Coral Sea in December 1952.

Production of FJ-2s was undertaken at North

FJ-3 of VF-154, 136978, at Moffett Field

American's newly-opened Columbus, Ohio, plant in 1952. The original contract for 300 aircraft was reduced to 200 owing to the running down of the Korean War and the first aircraft was delivered in October 1952. Production continued until September 1954.

The FJ-2 Fury was, in effect, the U.S. Navy equivalent of the F-86F. Powered by a 2720kg thrust J47-GE-2 (Navy version of the J47-GE-27), the FJ-2 was equipped with folding wings and all-flying tail, and was armed with four 20mm. guns with 600 rounds, aimed by a Mark 16 Model 2 sight and AN/APG-30 radar. Naval equipment raised the take-off weight to 8530kg compared with 8080kg for the F-86F-10; top speed was 1088km/h

Navy/Marine markings on FJ-3, 135812, at Willow Grove in June 1960.

at sea-level and 969km/h at the tropopause.

Although first production FJ-2s were delivered to the Navy in dark blue finish, most went to U.S. Marine Corps squadrons in natural metal finish. Korean War demands resulted in most of the Columbus effort being spent on Air Force F-86Fs, and FJ-2 production was slow during 1952, only five being completed during that year, and 25 by the end of 1953.

First squadron to receive FJ-2s was Marine VMF-122 at Cherry Point, North Carolina, in January 1954, being followed five months later by VMF-235 aboard U.S.S. Hancock, a newly-modified carrier equipped with C-11 steam catapults. By 1955 FJ-2s equipped six Marine squadrons, three - VMF-122, 232 and

Deck view of a VF-73 FJ-3M, 141435, aboard U.S.S. Randolph on 22nd March 1957, during carrier Qualification Trials

312 - with the Atlantic Fleet, and three - VMF-235, 334 and 451 - with the Pacific Fleet. It was averred that the Grumman F9F-6 Cougar possessed a marginally better deck performance over the FJ-2 and it was the Cougar that gained Navy preference while the Fury remained with Marine units.

SAPPHIRE ENGINES

Perhaps as much on account of this failure to secure prime Navy contracts for the FJ-2 as for the successful development of late-series F-86s, North American commenced on March 3rd 1952 the design of the FJ-3 Fury using the Wright J65-W-2 Sapphire engine of 3495kg thrust, built under licence from Armstrong-Siddeley Motors Ltd., in England. The first Sapphire-powered Fury was the

141478, an FJ-4B on external store trials

fifth production FJ-2, 131931, this being used as a trial installation aircraft and thus became the prototype FJ-3 (though no XFJ-3 was officially recognised). The first production FJ-3, 135774, was completed at Columbus on 11th December 1953 and was first flown by William Ingram. Differing from 131931, the production FJ-3s were powered by J65-W~4s with enlarged air intakes. Slatted wings and flying tail were retained but ammunition for the four 20mm. guns was increased by 48 rounds.

The FJ-3 succeeded where the FJ-2 had failed and altogether twelve Navy squadrons were thus equipped. By July 1954 twenty-four aircraft had been accepted and VC-3 and VF-173 performed the Fleet Introduction Programme at Patuxent River

FJ-4B, 143569, of Navy Squadron VA-216

in the record time of 29 days, completing 703 flying hours. Two aircraft were written off, though through no fault of the design; one aircraft suffered an explosion after debris had been ingested during ground running, and another was ditched in the Patuxent River when the pilot became lost and ran out of fuel.

VF-173 was the first U.S. Navy squadron to land on a carrier when it joined U.S.S. Bennington of the Atlantic Fleet on 8th May 1955. A Fury of VX-3, flown by Commander R. G. Dose on 22nd August 1955, was the first American aircraft to use the mirror landing system, a system that became standard throughout American carriers. Another

Fleet Air Gunnery Unit markings on FJ-4B, 139552

Fury squadron, VF-21, was the first squadron - in January 1956 - to land on U.S.S. Forrestal, the giant carrier designed expressly for jet aircraft operation.

Furies had, during 1955, undergone a number of alterations; in July the U.S. Navy abandoned the all-blue finish in favour of dull grey upper and white under surfaces. Wing slats were replaced by extended leading edges in which were accommodated 563 litres of additional fuel. Underwing store points were increased from two to six making possible the carriage of 225kg or 450kg bombs, rocket packs or additional drop tanks. Sidewinder infra-red-seeking missiles, first fired at Inyokern in 1952, were fitted on the Fury from the 345th aircraft

FJ-4, 139474, with missile control electronics in underwing store

onwards. Sidewinder-equipped Furies, now designated FJ-3M, first joined the U.S. Pacific Fleet when U.S.S. Bon Homme, with VF-211 embarked, set sail from the West Coast for the Far East.

By the end of FJ-3M production in August 1956, the U.S. Navy and Marines were operating twenty-three Fury squadrons, a total which remained until the end of that year although one of the Marine units, VMF-451, replaced its FJ-2s with a new, long-range Fury - the FJ-4

LONG RANGE ATTACK

Design of the FJ-4 had commenced at Columbus in February 1953 under the direction of Frank Compton. In June that year the project was established under NA-208 for two prototypes and NA-209 for production, and by

Striking in-flight view of an FJ-4B with three ASM-N-7 Bullpup missiles, missile guidance pod and two drop tanks

July the following year the Navy had placed contracts for a total of 177 aircraft.

The new design was identified fundamentally by a considerable increase in range, the fuel capacity being increased by 50%. To offset any loss of performance, the entire airframe was revised: a thinner wing of greater area and span, using integral skin/stringers and multi-spar construction, was milled from solid aluminium plate; mid-span wing control surfaces and high-lift flaps were incorporated, as were thinner tail surfaces - also with mid-span controls. A revised levered-suspension undercarriage was fitted to give an increased track of 1.5m. Entirely new fuselage contours with a dorsal spine from cockpit to fin probably provided the most

Sidewinder-equipped FJ-3M, 141367. Nose boom was for flight trial instrumentation purposes

readily recognisable identification feature.

The first FJ-4, 139279, was flown by Richard Wenzell on 28th October 1954, and was powered by the Wright J65-W-4 of the FJ-3; production machines however had the 3500kg J65-W-16A. Classified as long-range attack fighters, the FJ-4 carried additional armour in the nose, space being provided by reduction of ammunition for the 20mm. guns. Four store wings could carry drop tanks, bombs and/or Sidewinders, but the "M" designation was not used. Performance included a top speed of 1095km/h at sea-level and 1015km/h at the tropopause, comparable with that of the Hawker Hunter 6, a British land-based contemporary.

As already mentioned, the first FJ-4s to enter service joined Marine squadron VMF-451

On flight trial at China Lake, this FJ-4 was equipped with four underwing launchers each with four ZUNI rockets

in 1956, and by March 1957 152 aircraft had been accepted by the Military. On 4th December 1956, however, a new variant - the FJ-4B - had flown. This version used a strengthened wing providing six attack-store strong-points. Equivalent to the U.S. Air Force's F-86H, the FJ-4B was fully equipped for low-altitude attack and, apart from the additional store capacity, was fitted with a LABS installation for the tactical delivery of a nuclear weapon. Additional speed brakes were fitted under the rear fuselage to allow more precise control of speed at low level.

The Fleet Introduction Programme of the FJ-4B was performed by VA-126 and VMA-223 on the Pacific Coast, particular emphasis being

Close-up detail of XFJ-2 20mm gun installation

laid upon loft-bombing procedures. When the "Bravo Fury" entered service it introduced a number of new flight techniques with the Navy and Marines. Like some FJ-3s, the FJ-4B carried in-flight refuelling probes under the port wing, and in June 1957 "Buddy" refuelling was introduced with the addition of underwing fuel packs. Thus a Fury fighter could take on an additional 1436kg of fuel from another aircraft of the same type to extend its combat radius by about 50%.

In-flight refuelling was undertaken by Marine squadrons VMA-212 and 214 to enable them to complete the first trans-Pacific crossing by single-seat naval aircraft in October 1958.

Late development of the FJ-4 continued until the end of

FJ-4B with six ZUNI rocket launchers

the nineteen-fifties. Martin Bullpup air-to-ground missiles, of which five (plus an equipment pack) could be carried, were added, and the first overseas deployment of these weapons came about when VA-212 sailed aboard U.S.S. Lexington to join the U.S. Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific in April 1959.

By the early nineteen-sixties Furies were being phased out of combat units and supplied to Reserve and shore units. All told, North American's Columbus plant delivered 1,112 aircraft to the Military between November 1952 and May 1958, perhaps a remarkable figure when it is remembered that Navy contracts were seldom regarded by manufacturers as prolific, and that during the same period Grumman, McDonnell, Chance-Vought (LTV) and Douglas were also building Navy fighters.

F. K. Mason, 1965