Re: Interim Interceptor Challenge
Posted: June 23rd, 2024, 3:50 pm
Wing Commander Yusuf Ghali leveled his fighter at 40,000 feet over the Levantine sea. He anxiously checked over his instruments once more, his Sperry guidance system showed he was in the pipe for the intercept. He called out.
“Ground, Bat Leader, we’re at the designated heading and altitude, over.”
“Bat Leader, Ground, we confirm you’re at the correct heading and altitude, you should be getting contacts on course 010 shortly.” Replied a man’s voice.
“Acknowledged Ground. Can I get weapons authorization?” He said.
“Negative Bat Leader, await vector to circle formation and engage from behind.” Control said.
Ghali took off his mask, exhaled, wiped his mustache, breathed in and replied, “Understood.”
His aircraft was trailed by eleven companions in a tight V formation, with impeccable spacing between them. They all featured black noses, tan and green camouflage and the bright green roundels of the Egyptian Air Force. He wished he could separate his formation further, split it in three and attempt to gain initiative from the escorts, but his flight officers were not trained to seize the initiative, and they were to follow commands from ground control strictly.
He spotted a flash from his second in command’s cockpit, to his left. He put on his mask again, switched to a short range frequency.
“Habash,” he asked.
“Commander, may I ask you a question?” Asked the Officer.
“Of course,” he replied, a bit uncomfortable.
“Commander Ghali, you stood with the Revolutionary Command Council,” Habash asked.
“That is correct,” Ghali replied.
“And then you stood by the Liberation Rally,” Habash continued.
“Habash, I stand with Egypt and its people. I stand with all Arabs. Why do you ask these things of me here? Will you choose to shoot at me now of all times?” he replied.
“No, commander, I actually want to ask you a favor,” Habash said.
“What could that be,” said Ghali.
“I know you are a Copt. And now we all are embroiled in this issue because of what happened. So since we are all in this together, I want you to pray,” Habash said.
Ghali looked on the mirror in his canopy frame, “you want me to pray.”
“I want you to pray to Isa. I want you to plead to him that none of the White Demons are bringing a sun bomb with them,” asked Habash, solemnly.
Ghali hesitated, “I have, Habash, I have been praying since the war began.”
“I have been praying too, commander, I do not trust them to keep their word on the restrictions,” Habash said.
“Then we can all pray now and commit to Allah to shooting them all down,” commanded Ghali.
“May ar-Raḥīm protect you commander.”
“May he keep all of us safe.”
White specks flashed on the horizon, Ghali’s wingman snapped,
“Contact! Course 015, ten, perhaps twenty aircraft!”
Ghali took to the controls of his scope, he noticed something else. He looked up, scanned around the sun above him. He squinted and looked slightly north, to where perhaps ground radar could have missed something. He fought his anxiety. Fear could trick a man into seeing things at the worst possible moment.
“Bat Leader, Ground, take course 060 and then turn left to 210 on my mark to intercept,” he heard.
He lowered his sight and was about to reply when his wingman called.
“Fighters! Fighters coming in from above!”
He snapped his sight back up and could see the silver specks that had danced in his mind become real. Cold fear invaded his body as he got into action.
“Bat squadron! Full thrust and turn on auxiliary rocket! Tawfik! On me, climb to engage the fighters! Habash! Stay on 020 and give those bombers a gun pass! Then turn around and use your torpedoes! Remember, you have to fire them one by one or they’ll all start chasing each other.”
“Understood! Bats five to eight on the bombers!”
From his headphones blared an angry voice, “Bat Leader! Do not break formation! You must intercept the bombers at 40,000 feet. Go back on course and-.”
Ghali tuned out of Ground Control frequency.
Eight fighters climbed in tight formation while four broke off in a shallow dive. Shock cones trailed them in the form of two bright yellow tails, one straight, one canted downwards. The silver fighters above began circling and split into five pairs. Ghali desperately wanted to split his own into pairs, but he knew they would not be able to follow. As the two squadrons matched altitude, Ghali finally decided.
“Hamid, keep climbing. See if you can catch the trailing pair. I will engage the lead.”
“Yes, commander, I’ll cover you from above.”
Contrails formed on the deep blue skies as the groups circled and split. His plane buffeted as he reached his maximum angle of attack on the turn. He prayed his wingmen were holding on, he prayed and muttered.
“Hallowed be thy name…”
The sun briefly shone off of the silver fighters’ windshields as they faced each other now. Ghali lined up the lead formation in his sights, turned on the radar gunsight.
“Thy kingdom come...”
He flipped up the trigger’s cover, placed his thumb on it.
“Thy will be done…”
He pressed the trigger. Bright green flashes streaked around him. The world became fire.
In 1940, after the defeat of Nazi Germany, a technical team from the Empire State visited the Occupied Zones in search of valuable technical information to purchase and personnel for hire. They visited Junkers in Dessau and convinced Philipp von Doepp and his team to come work for NACA in Virginia. Among them was Otto Frenzl, who was put in charge of constructing a new wind tunnel at NACA. His work was instrumental in the development of the swept wing and of the area rule.
In 1950 Seversky began the unsolicited development of a transonic attacker for the navy, project name NP-47. It was designed around the innovative Sperry MA-7 Nav/attack system and was intended to replace much slower turboprop designs from the ‘40s. It was to be powered by two Westinghouse J46, then in development, and was rated to 9G with a 50% margin for dive bombing. Marketing promoted it as an extremely rugged and easy to maintain aircraft, in Seversky tradition. The airframe followed a conventional jet configuration with a 42° swept wing at mid height around a single area ruled ogive fuselage, but the design incorporated a fully moving V-tail as trialed on the XF-84 Starceptor 2nd prototype. The Starceptor was only supersonic under rocket and afterburner power, but Alexander Kartveli expected that soon all tactical aircraft would have the power to fly supersonic even at low altitudes, so this design was tailored for supersonic speeds.
By 1948 it was an open secret among intelligence circles that the Imperial Federation was developing an atomic weapon. By 1951, during the darkest hours of the Soviet invasion of Europe, rumors spread that the Soviets were also close to developing the bomb. A single Soviet bomber, provided it could dodge air defenses, could laid waste to an entire city in perhaps a few months from then. While Empire State had been hard at work on the problem of nuclear fission, with teams at several universities pooling manpower and resources, there simply wasn’t enough funding with the social pressures and the war with Japan having recently ended.
Empire State had begun a supersonic interceptor project in 1949, codenamed BURNING CHROME, which intended to produce a Mach 3 aircraft that could use automatic ground intercept control and deliver four radar guided torpedoes on targets at 70,000 ft within 6 minutes from startup, in any weather, day or night. Seversky submitted the AP-44 project but Curtiss-Wright ended as the main contractor after its project was selected. But by early 1951 there were only mockups of preferred configurations, and the preferred engine, the two spool, bypass ramjet borane enriched fuel Wright YJ67 had been stuck in development with no live test for years. Its backup engine, the Westinghouse 40D, was proving troublesome as well.
By mid 1951, the Navy had rejected Seversky’s NP-47 on grounds of already having satisfactory light attack (turboprop) and heavy attack (for future atomic weapons) aircraft in operation, of which they needed numbers urgently. The Navy claimed to not be interested in transonic performance for an attacker. In addition to this, but unofficially, Seversky was not considered one of the Navy’s preferred suppliers. Soon after, given the delays of the supersonic interceptor, the Army Air Force approached Seversky to evaluate their airframe for use as an interim land based interceptor. The Air Force demanded the airframe be redesigned to be able to use the Westinghouse 40D or the General Electric J73 interchangeably, provide space for an air intercept radar on the nose, ground controlled intercept radio equipment, larger lower pressure tyres, and four underwing hardpoints. Gun armament was changed from one 37mm cannon and two .50 cal machine guns to two 25mm revolver cannon. A small internal bomb bay was to be retrofitted to deploy an air-to-air rocket pack for 3” FFAR. Alexander Kartveli and his team went back to work. The aircraft had been designed to mount two Westinghouse 46Ds side by side, two engine safety being desireable for carrier operations, but the Army Air Force was only interested in performance and a short timescale. The automatic dive recovery system was omitted but Seversky assured the aircraft would remain capable of dive bombing.
With the 40D it was projected the now called Seversky F-91 Starstreak would be able to reach Mach 1.4 at 40,000ft. In October 1951 the War Office ordered two prototypes and six preproduction F-91s. The first XF-91 prototype flew on 13 May 1953, powered by one General Electric J73-5A engine, test pilot George Welch at the controls. It broke the sound barrier on its fourth flight, achieving Mach 1.1 on a dive while flying at 45,000ft on afterburn. The aircraft demonstrated generally favorable handling characteristics for a fighter and good agility, but poor stall behavior. This was remedied in the 2nd prototype by adding wing fences at three fifths of the wingspan, over the inner hardpoints. Welch judged the plane underpowered and considered it “a bit of a handful” to perform acrobatics in. On the 20th of May, the 1st prototype’s landing gear didn’t extend, and Welch performed a wheels up landing in which the bottom fin got grinded out. The aircraft was flying the next week after all damaged panels were replaced, but Kartveli’s team got the hint and production F-91s would feature double redundant hydraulic systems. Nevertheless, already in its current state, the F-91 was much faster than the F-84 Starceptor and under both rocket and afterburner power, the 2nd XF-91 achieved Mach 1.4 in level flight on 17 June 1953.
Still having no airworthy 40D engine, Seversky moved on with the J73-7A powered preproduction F-91A in mid 1953, hoping to deliver a squadron of operational aircraft to the European front before the war’s end. By this time the Army Air Force raised the required speed to Mach 1.8, after further promises from Westinghouse.
In reality, Westinghouse had fallen ill with a malaise that was to become all too common within corporate structures, in North America as well as Europe. So far the state had bankrolled much of the development and experimental work needed for its equipment contractors to deploy new technology. Instead of promoting an ecosystem of innovation and competition, most of these companies had dialed back research as soon as unconditional government money had stopped coming. Now Westinghouse faced the issue of having to deliver on the promise of a jet engine with a working afterburner, without wanting to finance the ironing out of common developmental kinks of the base engine.
The “Able” version featured the Western Electric SCR-420 radar, integrated into the MGC-6 Fire Control System from the same company and associated to the Sperry Ground Controlled Intercept equipment. It also featured an APX-4A IFF and a Sperry SA-24 autopilot. This allowed the interceptor to perform “collision course” intercepts when guided by ground radar stations. Six F-91As of the 49th Fighter Squadron deployed to Calcium in the North Country to perform exercises together with the newly developed National Air Defense System, a network of radar stations, observation posts, airfields and anti-aircraft batteries coordinated centrally from the NADS headquarters by a cluster of IBM FSQ-5 Centralized Battle Telegraphs (intentional misnomer for an electronic computer), located in an underground facility in Hoboken, NJ.
The Starstreak demonstrated good operational performance in service and was straightforward to fly. It did demonstrate some vices during operation that had to be addressed. For example, the Able models proved touchy in the yaw axis, resulting in snaking that led to some accidents on final approach. Some pilots made the problem worse by attempting to correct, resulting in Pilot Induced Oscillations, where the correction is applied in phase with the snaking, making the oscillations worse. Dampers were introduced to the hydraulic system and the after fuselage would be extended by 11 inches (27cm) for subsequent versions. During high bank and high slip turns, one of the tails of the V would buffet and eventually stall, leading to loss of ruddevator authority. This problem was never fully corrected and pilots were instructed to increase throttle when facing this phenomenon.
One limitation common to all jet fighters of the era was the limited range and endurance of early jets. F-91s, like their predecessors, would usually fly with two drop tanks (or “bags” as they were informally referred to) during routine sorties. Pilots were instructed to not dispense with them unless engaged with enemy fighters in real combat. Uncommon to its peers though was its relatively short takeoff and landing distance, aided by its slotted fowler flaps, high angle landing gear stance and massive air brakes on the wing roots, legacies of its naval aspirations. This performance was, nonetheless, much worse than contemporary turboprop tactical aircraft, which were still in use by the Empire State and which the Starstreak ostensibly was to replace. The aircraft also proved sturdy and easy to repair, in Seversky tradition. Damaged aircraft were often back in the air within days or weeks, and the rear fuselage was bolted together such that it could be pulled out, giving easy access to the engine.
Flight control was provided by two all-moving ruddevators on the V tail, ailerons on the outer wings, and spoilers on the inner wings. The ruddevators operated in unison for pitch control and in opposition for yaw control. The ailerons were used at low speed to give good authority, while the spoilers were used at high speed. The flight control surfaces were driven initially by a single hydraulic system, which was subsequently replaced by a dual redundant one as mentioned previously.
The pilot sat in a home-grown ejection seat, reclined 30° to help deal with G forces, under a clamshell canopy with two hinges at the rear. The cockpit was pressurized and air conditioned. The Starstreak had tricycle landing gear, with large single wheels on each leg. The gear legs contracted during retraction, and the nose leg could be extended by 7 inches (18cm) to increase the angle of attack from 4.75° to 5.5° during takeoff. A drag chute was fitted at the base of the spine, aft of the tail, to reduce landing roll further. A pop-up ram-air turbine was provided for emergency power.
The F-91A was armed with two 25mm M41A3 revolver cannon, with both side by side under the cockpit at the bottom of the fuselage. There were 192 rounds per gun. There were two pylons under each wing. The inner wing pylons were “wet” and could carry a droptank. Each pylon could be loaded with a LAU-2 pod for 19 FFAR air-to-air rockets or an AIT-5 Meteor beam-riding air-to-air torpedo, and the outer wing pylons could have a rail installed for an AIT-2 infrared homing torpedo. Usually the inner wing pylons were occupied by a drop tank, and the outer ones used for torpedoes.
F-91s not deployed abroad were usually left in a natural metal finish with anti-glare olive drab or black panels. Colorful squadron markings were the norm, gaudier in the militia squadrons that had more lax regulations. In mid 1953 six Ables were readied to be shipped to Europe and painted in olive drab for the upper surfaces and neutral grey undersides.
Only 26 F-91As were built in all. The first six were preproduction machines, while the next twenty were operational evaluation machines which differed in detail from each other. The last 8 airframes came equipped with an underfuselage tray which served to swap out the ventral fin with a housing for the Reaction Motors Inc. LR-33 rocket engine, providing an extra 1700 lbf (7.5 kN) of thrust. With the interchangeable tray, aircraft could dispense with this assembly when not needed. These last airframes could also be fitted with three stub pylons at the end of each wing, where two 5” HVAR rockets could be installed per pylon. Theoretically iron bombs could be loaded but pilots were not trained in their usage nor did the aircraft have provision for their aim beyond using the gunsight.
The war ended abruptly in August 1953, and with it, the urgency of deploying a high performance interceptor to Europe. The F-91B was proposed to the Air Force as a two seat trainer variant, but was not picked, the Air Force preferring to continue conversion training on the F-74D Starfighter. The 2nd prototype had been converted in mid 1953 as soon as production of the A variant had been authorized. Development of NADS continued into 1954, when the production F-91C, still powered by the J73, the newer -9A version, but deleting the rocket pack for more fuel and a central wet hardpoint, entered service with the 61st Interceptor Squadron during February. The “Charlie” variant was meant to integrate a number of advancements in avionics but only the Mk.2 Sperry GCI system and its associated datalink was ready in time. The Mk.2 allowed a NADS operator to remotely fly the aircraft into its intercept through datalink.
Six F-91Cs were shipped to the Republic of China for evaluation. These were received and used by Colonel Gabreski’s 56th Fighter Group, still deployed against communist remnants. The Mid Atlanticans found the J73 too weedy and encouraged the use of the LR-33 rocket for takeoff, especially on high altitude mountain fields. The aircraft was the fastest thing on eastern skies, however, and the Chinese Air Force was very enthusiastic of the type and formally requested to Seversky two squadrons’ worth of fighters and four more in knock-down kit form. The F-91D was developed for this request, it was an export oriented variant with the GCI system omitted and some avionics replaced. The request was changed and the D variant canceled in light of later developments. Only 38 “Charlies” were built.
By now the country had faced a reform. A referendum had been held on December 1953 after much political bickering between the east coast neighbors. The results were conclusive and the Empire State, Maritime Provinces and Atlantic Coalition signed the Articles of Federation, the new country naming itself Vespusea (but not America), conveniently on the 4th of July of 1954.
With the threat in Europe gone, the threat in North America returned, as rivalries flared up once more. Surprisingly, during the League of Nation’s 1954 Disarmament Conference, the United Kingdom proposed to completely ban atomic weapons and their development, giving up their immense advantage over the whole world. This inconceivable move was levered to impose a League of Nations Atomic commission to oversee development for peaceful purposes, and to demand limitations in other arms categories from all members, including chemical, biological and incendiary weapons. King Edward VIII hoped this would attract non-members to join the League of Nations as well, and he personally gave a speech in front of the Conference on the 9th of September, which was broadcast live on television over much of the world. The “Peace and Victory in Europe” speech, as it became known, signaled the intention of the Imperial Federation to protect a rules-based order for conflict resolution in Europe, and its desire to see violence subside around the world in favor of diplomacy.
This didn’t signal the end of threats from the Imperial Federation in North America, however, and Vespusean intelligence soon caught wind of several RAF strategic bomber squadrons being stationed across Canada, and RCAF squadrons converting to new, more powerful types. These large, fast aircraft possessed a mighty threat over any population center or strategic installation in the continent, even using conventional weapons.
Soon reconnaissance flights sortied daily from both sides. The now independent Vespusea Air Force’s Starstreaks went hard at work intercepting high altitude Virtuous flights and low altitude Swift FR leakers attempting to photograph SAM sites and radar installations. With consolidation came new opportunities, and Kartveli now could add Pratt & Whitney’s extensive catalog to their options.
Early 1955 brought the improved F-91E powered by the much more powerful and fuel efficient Pratt & Whitney J57-8A, capable of achieving Mach 1.8 at 35,000ft. Minor redesigns, including larger intakes and ducts of a new profile, were needed to fit the new engine. Four petal airbrakes were added to the exhaust nozzle. They expanded in a cruciform shape when acting as brakes, and opened slightly when the afterburner was ignited. It was also equipped with a Western Electric SCR-690 radar associated to an MGC-7 FCS, which was more reliable and much simpler to use by the sole pilot. It also had a retractable refueling probe on the nose. The ejector seat was replaced by a newer rocket-boosted Seversky ES-03E “Zero-Sixty” model, which could operate from zero altitude but required a minimum forward speed of 60 mph for safe ejection. The prototype F-91E, clobbered together from Able and Charlie parts fitted with new intakes and a new rear fuselage, performed its first flight on 30 August 1954. Deliveries to the Air Force began on March 1955, the first 20 aircraft were delivered without the MGC-7 FCS, and were fitted with ballast temporarily so they could still be flown until the sets were delivered.
78 were built until November 1956, 20 Long Island built ones went to China, where 32 more were built from knock-down kits by CAMCO, incidentally in the same premises that had built P-35s during the 1930s. The Chinese aircraft were identical to the Vespusean ones save for the omission of the GCI datalink and fitting of the older APX-4A IFF. When Colonel Gabreski first flew one of the new J57 powered F-91s in China, he climbed out of the cockpit and exclaimed, “It’s a good one!”
The new “Easy” Starstreak was a transformed creature. Whereas before it had been maneuverable but clearly underpowered, the aircraft could now break the sound barrier at sea level. Using its own Reaction Motors LR-37 auxiliary rocket engine, it could climb up to 58,000 feet while keeping pace with dedicated rocket interceptors like the older Bell F-83. Canadian fighters would climb to challenge the Starstreaks if they flew across the divider line chasing the recon flights, giving place to numerous but fortunately non-harmful dogfights over lake Ontario.
The RF-91E version, with only one gun and the nose avionics replaced by a battery of five cameras, was developed after the VAF experienced how difficult it was to intercept even the comparatively slow Supermarine Swift FR.5s and Gloster Greyhound FR.21. The nose cone was mounted on rails so it could be easily slid out for access to the cameras. The pilot had a downwards-staring periscopic sight to target the photographs, and a cockpit voice tape recorder to allow him to provide commentary during the mission. Full armament capability was retained save for radar guided missiles, but RF-91s rarely sortied with anything but drop tanks, IR torpedoes and cannon ammunition. 23 were built and they complimented the Seversky RB-44H Sundog on low level and short range missions.
Respite to the Vespusean squadrons came from violence elsewhere. The Egyptian Free Officers Movement deposed King Farouk in July 1955, in response to Federation mismanagement of the middle east and failure to address Zionist terrorism in the Palestinian Mandate. This sparked a pan-arab revolutionary wave which Italy began exploiting for its own aims. Separatist movements appeared in Somalia, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya armed with Italian small arms and equipped with Italian trucks. War broke out in September 1957 when the Egyptian Destroyer EL FATEH engaged and sank passenger ships carrying illegal Jewish migrants, which failed to heed after several radio, loudspeaker and gun shot warnings. Force M sailed from Malta, Admiral Loben Maund in command from the flagship HMS EMPEROR OF AFRICA. Recon flights by Supermarine Shearwater FR.5s were met by camouflaged fighters with bright green markings and carrying guided air-to-air torpedoes, F-91Fs smuggled in and armed by Italy.
The F-91 “Fox” incorporated a number of detail improvements and simplifications in manufacture. Ram air intakes were added to the rear fuselage to cool the afterburner, which had been a source of a few fires in previous versions. The F-7 version, the latest version in production by Seversky, featured coolant lines in the outer hardpoints for liquid nitrogen to flow to IR seeking air-to-air torpedoes, and was cleared for the semi-active guidance AIT-7. They also featured the more powerful J57-9WA engine with water injection and LR-37A rocket engine. 114 were built. Italy had bought three squadrons’ worth for the Aeronautica Militare, to familiarize Stormi with supersonic fighter operation, but had redirected some of them to Egypt when the war began, much to the Vespusean government’s chagrin.
Lack of coordination by the Arab air forces prevented a unified response but soon the Shearwaters and Boobooks were dogfighting Syrian, Jordanian, Lebanese, Egyptian and Iraqi fighters over Palestine. Several raids by Miles Malebranche strategic bombers succeeded in reaching their targets early during the war, but without atomic weapons, their effect was insufficient to disarm the Arabs, who successfully prevented the British and Allied forces from landing in Egypt and Palestine. Sorties by Virtuous bombers from No. 138, 148, 208 and 214 squadrons, flying from Cyprus, took a heavy toll. Their escorts, Vickers (Supermarine) Venators and Hawker Hyperions from No. 34 and 208 squadrons, had scant few minutes of loiter time over their targets. Numerous aces were produced in just a few months of intense aerial war. In 1958 the United Arab Front entered negotiations with the Imperial Federation. But it was too late for the British, no Jews remained in Jerusalem. The Arab Christians, understanding their own plight, had joined the secular Egyptian faction, and had secured a position of negotiation to further secularism in the middle east.
By 1957 there was finally a working prototype of the Wright YJ67, the borane enriched fuels having been canceled for logistical reasons. The Westinghouse 40D had finally been canceled the previous year and Westinghouse was subject to a probe by the Department of Defense, which resulted in Westinghouse abandoning the jet engine market, and the National Trade Commission initiating an investigation into the aeronautical industry’s practices. Fortunately for the Vespusea Air Force, the Pratt & Whitney J-75-15AW with afterburner and water injection had recently been certified and was earmarked for several projects. The Air Force went ahead and lowered the priority of project BURNING CHROME, and replaced it with a new tender for a Mach 2+ interceptor, named SABLE FLAME.
Starstreak soldiered on, and the next version, the F-91G, was the first variant developed as a multirole fighter. First flying in early 1958, the fuselage was extended in front and behind the cockpit. Its J57-20AW produced 80 kN of thrust with afterburning and water injection. Its intakes were enlarged and reprofiled for increased airflow, while the airframe, landing gear, and brakes were strengthened to handle the increased weight. The Sperry Nav/Attack system returned as the MA-19 Starcrusher integrated bombing/navigation system, designed around the SCR-701 radar, which operated in both air-to-air and air-to-surface modes, and the SCN-19 Doppler navigation radar. The port 25mm cannon was removed to make space for the extra avionics, and the remaining gun’s ammo count was increased to 256 rounds. The gear wheels had mudguards for operations on rough fields. There was a small joystick on the right side of the cockpit to control the manual command AST-7 Bulldog air-to-ground torpedo. 132 airframes were built by Seversky, they were destined to replace F-82 and remaining F-74 fighter-bombers in Air Force units, and compliment them in Air Militia formations which were just phasing out propeller driven fighters.
The RF-91G was a photo recon version of the F-91G, incorporating all structural improvements since, and ditching all armament in favor of a cleaner profile. 27 were built beginning in 1960. The nose camera pack could be fitted to other variants from the G version on, and export customers often bought just the nose pack.
The F-91H was designed explicitly for export. It featured further manufacturing improvements and debris screens on the intakes. It was requested by the Argentinean government after a F-91E had decisively beaten the locally designed Pulqui III during a flyoff in late 1957. The H variant received many small improvements in order to simplify construction and operation, as well as removing equipment listed as “sensitive” and not approved for export. FMA subsequently set up a production line in Córdoba, where 62 were built locally as the I.Ae. 48 Puelche starting in 1959. Its MGC-7E Fire Control System lacked the datalink needed to fly the aircraft remotely, as export customers didn’t have facilities comparable to NADS.
The F-91H was also intended to be built China. 16 were built and exported before China bought a license and set up manufacturing by CAMCO, where 74 more were built. The Chinese often used their LR-37 rocket engines during takeoff from high altitude fields, so the “Hypo” (or Henshing as it was known in China) was modified to include 600 lbs of additional rocket fuel in the aft fuselage.
32 were also built and exported to the German Democratic Republic, whose Air Service, the Luftstreitkräfte, had been recently founded and was in need of modern combat aircraft to deter incursions from their neighbors.
The designation F-91I was not assigned in order to prevent confusion in printed media between the letter I and the number 1.
The F-91J was identical to the F-91H except for the inclusion of topside shutter air intakes for operations in dusty environments. It was initially ordered by the Kingdom of Jordan, which bought 34 new built airframes, but eventually 16 were exported to Iraq as well. Egypt had 20 F-91Fs upgraded to “Jig” standard in 1960, these being redesignated F-91F-30E Khufash. They did not receive fuselage extensions but had their intakes modified for the J57-20AW and lost the port cannon.
The F-91K was an admittance by the Air Force that a dual control aircraft closer to service fighters was needed for conversion training. 64 were ordered in 1961 when the F-74 was stated to be retired from frontline Air Force service by 1964. This aircraft had a lengthened nose to add a second cockpit with its own clamshell canopy, and remained combat capable, despite losing the GCI avionics, since it used a simplified SCR-702 multimode radar associated to the MC-7E FCS, and omitted the MA-19 Starcrusher bombing/nav suite with its SCN-19 doppler navigation radar. It retained only one 25mm cannon and the ability to cue semi-active and infrared guided torpedoes.
This same avionics package made it to the F-91L Light Tactical Fighter intended for ABMR-1. The now formalized Alliance for the Right of Self Governance and Democracy, usually shortened to AD, produced its first standard equipment competition, the Alliance Basic Military Requirement No. 1, in 1959. This requirement stated the need for a lightweight tactical strike fighter capable of operating from rough airfields and carrying enough weapons to disable a landing strip, an oceangoing vessel or a vehicle column. The technical requirements were:
• 1,100 m (3,600 ft) takeoff distance over a 15 m (49 ft) obstacle.
• Capability to operate from grass strips and roads.
• Maximum speed of at least Mach 1.2.
• Combat radius of 370 km (200 nmi) with 10 minutes over the target.
• Armor protection for pilot and fuel tanks.
• 4 x 20 mm cannon or 2 x 25 mm or 30 mm cannon.
• 2,000 kg (4,400 lbs) of internal and/or external load, for bombs and rockets.
• Ability to install a 3 camera nose pack optionally.
• Maximum of 7,260 kg (16,000 lbs) empty weight and 12,250 kg (27,000 lbs) MTOW.
The engine configuration was left to the manufacturers but the commission stated that they would look favorably on entrants which could have their engine or engines swapped out for new ones in 2 hours or less.
To meet the requirements, Seversky put the F-91 on a diet, starting by swapping the two-spool J57 for the lighter variable stator compressor General Electric J79. The exhaust vane airbrakes were omitted, the structure lightened and the internal fuel tanks rearranged. The second 25mm cannon was reinstated but each one now only carried 96 rounds of ammunition. The landing gear was redesigned with new, lighter struts, ending in lighter wheels. A fixed refueling probe substituted the retractable one. The canopy plexiglass was bulged out, while the fuselage spine receded, giving the pilot better vision backwards. The wing outer section was replaced with a slightly enlarged one featuring a dogtooth at the joint, the wing fence being eliminated along with the inner slats. The slotted fowler flaps were replaced by simple hinged ones. The F-91L was no longer cleared for dive bombing but it retained a respectable 7.5G rating.
While the F-91L passed the initial evaluation in 1961, it was not finally selected as the winner when the final results were announced in 1963. The selected entry was the Italian FIAT G.91, a rather smaller aircraft powered by a FIAT TV08 turbofan engine. While not chosen, the F-91L became an even bigger export success than the F-91H thanks to its high performance and low price, 27 aircraft being ordered before the competition ended by the Department of State for delivery to the Angolan Novo Exército do Povo and their newly formed Air Force.
Subsequent users included Iraq with 42 aircraft, Venezuela with 25, Democratic Republic of Congo with 16, Yemen with 10 and the GDR with 32 aircraft.
The F-91M was a specialized naval attack variant derived from the F-91G, tailored to fire the active radar homing ASM-N-9 Vulture anti-ship torpedo. The Air Force only bought 21 aircraft but Iraq later bought 30 more in 1964. The “Mikes” had only one 25mm cannon and several structural improvements from the F-91L LTF.
The F-91N was an updated trainer variant with manufacturing and structural upgrades, but was not pursued, users preferring to purchase refurbished F-91Ks or using other types.
The designation F-91O was not assigned in order to prevent confusion in printed media between the letter O and the number 0.
Tensions returned to the North American continent in 1963. The Appalachian guerrillas which had bedeviled their neighbors during the wars of the 1930s had returned. Train derailments, demolished bridges, missing truck shipments and hijacked aircraft increased substantially within the client states of Appalachia, the Carolinas and the state of Virginia. State militias reported increases in firefight incidents of 500% over previous months. On July 1st, 1963, at 09:00, during the preparations of the celebrations of the country’s 7th anniversary, a bomb detonated on the fountain inside Grand Central Terminal. Thirty seven people died and a hundred and twelve were wounded. A second bomb detonated outside two hours later, killing six first responders and wounding seven. It missed President Impellitterli by five minutes, him and the presidential party having departed quickly after assessing damages and conferring with the emergency crew chiefs.
The attack was claimed by the Free Appalachia Movement, a known 5th column inside Appalachia funded and equipped by the Confederates. Their demands were as follows: Recognition of Appalachian Sovereignty, Return of the Occupied Virginias to Appalachia, Recognition of the 1937 borders, Plebiscite on Bedford, Everett and Breezewood. Congress recoiled and balked but President Impellitterli was determined to make a stand. His government had avowed to reduce defense spending in favor of social reforms, but the threat of terror was unacceptable. Reservists were called up and the State Militias authorized to begin combat operations on their jurisdictions. By 03:00 of the following day, Impellitterli had secured Congress support for a punitive military operation within the borders of Appalacchia. Incursion into Confederate territory was not approved by Congress and would remain a contentious point.
Initial probes at the border by Appalachian Government militias and Vespusean reconnaissance elements were suddenly halted on the 3rd by a general offensive into Appalachia, Virginia and the Carolinas. Thousands of troops moved in by foot, horse and truck as hundreds of artillery pieces, none over 4.5 inches in caliber, pummeled the few holdouts the Vespuseans managed to form. The Vespusea Air Force went into action on 05:00 of July 3rd, bombing railway junctions, airfields, artillery positions and suspected militia bases. F-91Gs of the 14th Air Wing clashed against de Havilland Demons and Gloster Greyhounds of the Confederate Air Force, no match for supersonic fighters.
July 4th was little celebrated, the President giving a brief speech and encouraging support for the war, but by the 7th the Carolinas had been effectively cut off at Raleigh. Anything that flew, walked or crawled was pressed into service and F-31 Crusaders went back into service as bomb trucks, not only used by the Militias, but also by regenerated squadrons of the VAF, flown by veterans called back into service. Only relentless close air support by day and night stopped the Southern invasion, forward elements having bypassed Fayetteville and making it to the gates of Morgantown, West Virginia.
Maryland was within artillery distance but the front held. Mobilization took effect quickly and by late July Vespusea and the Carolinas were making progress on most fronts. Formations entrenched on the Virginian mountains proved a hard nut to crack, and they took the brunt of the Vespusean ground support missions. The I Mobile Corps, comprising of the 1st Armored Division, 7th Armored Division and 4th Infantry Division, quickly swept the lowlands towards the south, and encircled a large amount of Appalachian militiamen and regulars inside Virginia and North Carolina. By now it was obvious to everyone what the Office of Strategic Intelligence (OSI) suspected since before the war: Confederate Regulars and volunteers from all over the Americas and Federation advisors were being equipped and supplied by the Imperial Federation.
The Vespusean Navy sortied and blockaded off the Gulf of Mexico, despite British protests. Vespusean warships aggressively ran off British patrols. And the VS Farragut dropped depth charges against a contact off of key west against RoE. An emergency session of the League of Nations was called by British Prime Minister Macmillan, but deliberations bogged down together with the Vespusean offensive. The British Government took the issue seriously and deployed Force J to Bermuda, centered around the carrier EMPEROR OF INDIA, and force K to the Bahamas, centered around the light fleet carriers HERMES, CENTAUR and ARROGANT.
Force K convoyed up with merchant shipping and forced the blockade off Cancún. The Vespusean Navy harassed, bumped into, and fired warning shots at the British, to no avail. Force K entered Mobile bay on December 26th, 1963.
A new southern offensive began that February. Better equipped with more trucks, tracked vehicles, autocannon, infantry heavy weapons and even a few A44 Chivalrous universal tanks, the Confederates pushed north into southern Pennsylvania. Outnumbered five to one and struck by fire from behind every ridge and hill, the Vespuseans retreated. Brand new Hawker Hyperion F.11s wrestled control of the skies, but swiftly retreated south of the 35th parallel, beyond which RoE forbade the VAF from engaging. By March 11th, the state had been effectively cut in half at Bellefonte. The Vespusea Air Force Staff repeatedly requested the President to authorize raids into Confederate territory to hit logistical targets and airfields. Congress squabbled back and forth. Tactical squadrons flew up to seven sorties a day during that period, delivering guided and unguided ordnance in an attempt to stave the offensive. Industry ramped up to meet the challenge and old factories spun once more to keep up with demands for ordnance and equipment.
The F-91P was the final Air Force standard, accumulating manufacturing and servicing improvements from previous versions. Experience from past conflicts led to the introduction of the Vector Radar Warning Receiver, which operated from L to X band and displayed threats on a 3 inch display on the cockpit panel. In addition to this, another electronic device called SPOT turned on an indicator light when the rapid pulses of an X band fire control radar, indicating a target lock, painted the aircraft. The “Peters” also debuted an Inertial Navigation System manufactured by Bell Labs, integrated into its new MA-21 Starkiller nav/attack suit, and the newer Seversky ES-044 “Zero-Zero” ejection seat, able to function safely with the aircraft parked on the runway. Only 37 were built by Seversky, starting in 1964. Most were G airframes updated under program Acid Drip, redesignated as F-91G-70P.
The “Peters” led the offensive against a threat that was not new but hadn’t been deployed to its full extent yet. On February 1964 an RB-44H Sundog was shot down on southeastern Tennesse. Next to the Chattanooga railhead, on the Tennessee river shores, an English Electric Thunderbird battery site had been erected. Casualties among strike packages mounted and the VAF was forced to lower altitudes. The 56th was now the 56th Air Commando Wing, and its 61st Tactical Fighter Squadron began using its F-91Ps to probe southern defenses. 10 F-91K airframes were updated with the P’s Radar Warning Receiver and SPOT, and the whole squadron equipped “Quick Reaction Capability” QRC-100 noise jammer pods and AST-10 Waverider passive radar guided missiles. Redesignated F-91K-70P, the 61st “Kings” probed and teased the Thunderbird sites trying to provoke a launch. Upon pinpointing the battery location, the QRC-100s would be activated and the “Peters” would move in to attack the site with rockets and bombs. The sites were well defended with autocannon and Tigercat manual command missiles, so the 61st still took substantial casualties. The other approach was to sweep ahead of strike packages listening for Thunderbird radars, then launch AST-10s at contacts in order to encourage the sites to shut off and attempt to avoid being hit.
The North Offensive, as it was known to the Confederates, had effectively stalled by April. The Vespuseans had managed to regain some territory but the front stabilized around the mountain range. Mothballed heavy guns were put back in action and the mobile war on the north gave way to a static artillery war. On the east, I Corps finished its maneuver south but had to stop at the Savannah river.
Progress was found at sea, the Vespusean Navy having switched strategies, now moved on to mine the approaches to southern ports 12 nautical miles away from shore, effectively in international waters. Beginning with Mobile, the mines proved very effective, MV HANNINGTON COURT being sunk on June 3rd. A British letter of protest to the Vespusean ambassador to the League of Nations, Edmund Muskie, arrived on his desk the next day. Reconnaissance flights increased thricefold on the northern border. Virtuous squadrons would sortie on Wing strength, form up and follow the border from the lakes to the sea. A permanent conference to deal with the war was set up at the League of Nations, but this did not deter the Vespuseans. The British could act tough all they wanted, the seas around the Confederate States of America had already been declared under blockade.
The front had stabilized but the violence had not subsided. With their salient into Pennsylvania holding strong, Appalachian guerrillas infiltrated deep into Vespusean territory. Raids took place as far north as Scranton and as far east as Bangor. Despite his willingness and determination to see the south crushed, President Impellitterli was losing popularity. He needed a way to keep the British out of the war at all costs in order to get Congress to authorize an offensive into the CSA, in order to achieve visible results before the elections were due. He would get his wish.
On August 1964, a BAC Valiant of No. 100 Squadron, RAF, departing from Gibraltar on a ferry flight, suffered a complete electrical failure soon after takeoff, and the crew decided to bail out over the ocean. Unfortunately for the British, the Valiant kept flying into Morocco and crash landed near the coast at 09:45 hours. A helicopter from the cruiser Garibaldi, docked at Nador and which had monitoring the situation, scrambled to the site of the crash. Moroccan authorities showed up soon after, but they and the Italians were soon repelled by parachute infantry that dropped on the site an hour later. The two BAC Argosys from which they dropped were chased out to sea by Moroccan fighters, which followed them back to Gibraltar. However, the Italian party had escaped with their prize. Amongst the wreckage they had disarmed the ordnance inside the Valiant, and recovered a small core inside the warhead casing. This turned out to be a mixed uranium-plutonium core for an atomic weapon.
The news made the rounds around the globe. Members of the League of Nations and delegates to the Atomic Commission were furious and let their opinion be known to the British ambassador. The permanent conference on the war in the Americas went on recess. France, Italy, the Republic of China, Sweden and Mexico threatened to leave the League entirely. Brazil, Chile and several members of the Federation offered no support to Britain on this matter. Macmillan called for a snap election and resigned in shame. King Edward VIII attempted to lower anxieties, assuring that the people of Britain were supportive of the atomic weapon ban and that any new government would see it through. Anti-atomic demonstrations erupted in several large cities in Britain including Belfast, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham. Force J was recalled back to Britain.
The chance was ripe and Congress finally authorized the coveted offensive. The VAF, led by the 56th, sortied into the South, hitting airfields and Thunderbird sites from September 1 to 7, then ports and rail yards for the rest of the month. The Confederate Air Force was decimated. The Starstreaks of the 61st, 62nd and 63rd Squadrons chased Confederate Hyperions all the way to Pensacola.
The RAF and RCAF continued to sortie on the border but their posturing was not taken seriously anymore. The Venator FR.7s of the RCAF did not cross the border line.
The General Staff decided to switch the focus from the mountains to the flatlands, and the II Mobile Corps, recently raised, took the mantle from I Mobile Corps and effected a sweeping maneuver south, cutting out most of Florida and reaching Tallahassee by December 1st, 1964. The Confederate government had decided to move out of Atlanta and into Montgomery already during November.
The gambit worked, and President Impellitterli was reelected while running with Leo Isacson as his Vice President. Congress formed behind the Executive and ratified the decision to wage unrestricted war on the South. Plans for a “Final Reconstruction” began to be drafted, to be implemented as soon as the Confederate government capitulated.
On the 1st of January, 1965 the Republic of Texas joined the fray. Without any friendly will for Vespusea, the Texans took the opportunity and made a run to the Mississippi, practically unopposed. The 1st Cavalry Division reached West Memphis on the 12th.
Opposition on the ground for the Vespuseans stiffened inland. Urban centers were bypassed by II Corps and left to the infantry divisions of III Mobile Corps, a mostly truck-borne infantry formation, to invest. Recon Elements from the 3rd Armored Division crossed the Alabama river at Wetumpka on January 25th, in an attempt to cut off Montgomery from the north. They found themselves stuck between the 3/I Alabama and the Montgomery garrison made up of the 200th and 201st Infantry Regiments. The rest of the Division arrived on the following day, the 33rd Armored Regiment circling through the south and pushing north to cross the river and relieve the 83rd Armored Recon.
Meanwhile the 8th Armored Division reached Memphis on February 19th, 1965. Appalachia was cut off completely from the rest of the continent.
Constant bombardment of Montgomery from the air and from MGR-52 ballistic rockets finally caused the Confederate government to capitulate on May 25th, 1965. It would take another two years to completely clear the Free Appalachia militias from the mountains, another two to formally annex the southern states into Vespusea. Then ten more to finally enact reconstruction of the South.
F-91s remained in Vespusean Air Force service until 1973, where the last “Peters” were handed over to the Air Militias, replaced by Seversky F-98 Starscreams in Interceptor Squadrons and by Bell F-13 Airafoxes in Tactical Squadrons. They remained in service with the Carolinas Air Force and export customers for many more decades. The last Chinese F-91H-70P were retired on 1988.
Specifications: F-91F-7
General Characteristics:
• Crew: 1 (F-91N: 2)
• Length: 15.84 m (52 ft)
• Wingspan: 10.09 m (33.1 ft)
• Height 4.07 m (13.4 ft)
• Wing Area: 31.13 m2 (335 sq. ft.)
• Aspect Ratio: 3.27
• Empty weight: 7,920 kg (17,460 lbs)
• Gross weight: 11,272 kg (24,850 lbs)
• Maximum takeoff weight: 13,653 kg (30,100 lbs)
• Fuel capacity: 3,005 liters (5,300 lbs)
• Powerplant: 1 x Pratt & Whitney J57-9WA afterburning turbojet engine, 49.82 kN (11,200 lbf) thrust dry, 75.17 kN (16,900 lbf) with afterburner.
1 x Reaction Motors Inc. LR-37A auxiliary rocket engine, 15 kN (3,370 lbf)
Performance:
• Maximum speed: 1,892 km/h (1,022 knots) at 10,668 m (35,000 ft)
◦ Mach: 1.8
• Combat radius: 380 km (205 nmi)
• Ferry range: 2,130 km (1,150 nmi) with 3 drop tanks
• Service ceiling: 17,678 m (58,000 ft)
• Rate of climb: 112 m/s (22,000 ft/min)
• Time to altitude: 2 minutes 52 seconds to 15,000 m (49,213 ft)
• Wing loading: 362 kg/m2 (74.14 lb/sq.ft.)
• Thrust/weight: 0.75
Armament:
• Guns: 2 x 25mm M41A4 revolver cannon, 192 rounds per gun
• Hardpoints: 7 total: 6 x under-wing, 1 x centerline pylon stations with a capacity of up to 2,812 kg (6,200 lbs) to carry combinations of:
◦ Torpedoes:
▪ 4 x SISPRE C8 infrared guided torpedo
▪ 4 x Bell AIT-5 Meteor radar beam riding torpedo
▪ 4 x GE AIT-2 Lancehead infrared guided torpedo
▪ 2 x Raytheon AST-10 Waverider passive radar guided torpedo
▪ 16 x 5” HVAR rockets
▪ 2 x or 4 x 19 tube LAU-2 pods for 3” FFAR rockets
◦ Bombs:
▪ 2 x M110 1,361 kg (3,000 lb) bomb
▪ 8 x M109 340 kg (750 lb) bomb
A total of 948 F-91s was produced. The list below details them by variant:
• XF-91 2
• F-91A 26
• F-91B 1 converted from 2nd prototype
• F-91C 38
• F-91D not built
• F-91E 110
• RF-91E 23
• F-91F 114
• F-91G 132
• RF-91G 27
• F-91H 122
• F-91J 50
• F-91K 64
• F-91L 152
• F-91M 51
• F-91N not built
• F-91P 37
