Northrop Aerospace
Northrop F-89 Scorpion
First flight 16 August 1948

The Northrop F-89 Scorpion is an all-weather, twin-engined interceptor aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Northrop Corporation. It was the first jet-powered aircraft to be designed for the interceptor role from the outset to enter service,[1] as well as the first combat aircraft to be armed with air-to-air nuclear weapons in the form of the unguided Genie rocket. The name Scorpion came from the aircraft's elevated tail unit and high-mounted horizontal stabilizer, which kept it clear of the engine exhaust.[2] The Scorpion was designed by Northrop in response to a specification issued by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during August 1945. Internally designated as the N-24, it was originally designed with a relatively slim fuselage, buried Allison J35 turbojet engines, and a swept wing configuration, however, the unfavorable low speed characteristics of this wing led to its substitution for a relatively thin straight wing instead. 

Operational history

On 28 September 1950, the first F-89A was accepted by the Air Force for evaluation purposes; a further two aircraft were accepted by the end of the year. Two months later, the Air Force decided to give its endorsement to the programme, albeit with stringent conditions being applied. These included the remaining flight test programme being accelerated, special tests being performed upon early production aircraft to prove the flutter issue had been resolved, and a deadline of January 1951 was set for the final resolution of this issue. As a result of increased unit costs, in part due to modifications, the number of production aircraft on order was reduced somewhat. Production aircraft were equipped with the AN/APG-33 radar and an armament of six 20-millimeter T-31 cannon with 200 rounds per gun. The swiveling nose turret was abandoned, and 300-US-gallon (250 imp gal; 1,100 L) fuel tanks were permanently fitted to the wingtips. Underwing racks could carry 16 5-inch (130 mm) aerial rockets or up to 3,200 lb (1,451 kg) of bombs.