Aircraft:Lockheed F-94C Starfire.
Manufacturer:Lockheed Aircraft Corp.
Type:fighter.
Year:1950
Engine:Pratt &Whitney J48-P-5 turbojet engine with 3,970 kg thrust.
Wingspan:12.93 m
Length :13.56m.
Height:4.55 m.
Take-off weight:10,977 kg.
Maximum speed:941 km/h at 9,144m altitude.
Maximum operational altitude:15,670 m
Range:1,930 km.
Armament:48 rockets 70mm. Crew:2 people
Derived from the F-80 Shooting Star, the Lockheed F-94 Starfire was one of the first "all-weather" jet interceptors put on the line by the USAF. The origins of the project dated back to 1949 and the YF-94 prototype resulted from the transformation of the training version of the F-80, the Lockheed T-33. The first flight took place on July 1, 1949 and, at the end of the tests, the United States began to produce the first series, the F-94A, built in 110 copies. Then came 357 F-94B, which, from 1951, presented certain modifications in the fuel tank system and in the on-board equipment. The number of copies made of the last model, the F-94C, amounted to 387. The engineers revised the designs of the wings, the fuselage and the lift plans of this last version, the prototype of which flew in 1950, and radically modified the armament by adopting only air-to-air rockets, installed in the nose and two wing supports. The Star fire was used almost exclusively in the detachments intended for the air defense of the metropolitan territory.