FJ Fury

Infobox Aircraft
name= FJ-2 / FJ-3 Fury FJ-4 Fury


caption= The last flying FJ-4 in United States Navy colors
type= Fighter aircraft
national origin = United States
manufacturer= North American Aviation
designer=
first flight= 1951
introduced=
retired= late 1960s
status=
primary user= United States Navy
more users= United States Marine Corps
produced=
number built= 1,115
unit cost=
developed from = F-86E Sabre (FJ-2/3)
variants with their own articles =

The North American FJ-2/-3/-4 Fury were a series of swept-wing carrier-capable fighters for the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Based on the United States Air Force's F-86 Sabre, the FJ-series Fury aircraft featured folding wings and, eventually, a longer nose landing strut designed to both increase angle of attack upon launch and to absorb the shock of hard landings on an aircraft carrier deck. Although sharing a U.S. Navy designation with its distant predecessor, the straight-winged FJ-1 Fury, the FJ Fury evolved into a wholly different aircraft.

Design and development

FJ-2

By 1951, the Navy's existing straight-wing fighters were much inferior in performance to the swept-wing Soviet MiG-15 then operating in the Korean War; the swept-wing fighters in the Navy's development pipeline, including the F7U Cutlass and F9F Cougar were not yet ready for deployment. As an interim measure, Navy purchased three swept-wing F-86E Sabres with Navy-specific equipment and strengthened airframes. The three planes began flight testing in December 1951 under the designation XFJ-2. The design was eventually put into production as the FJ-2, but construction was slowed due to demand for the F-86 in Korea; the FJ-2 was not produced in large numbers until after that conflict had concluded. By then, because of a weak nose gear and arrestor hook on the FJ-2, the Navy preferred the F9F Cougar due to its superior slow-speed performance for carrier operations, and the 200 FJ-2 models built were delivered to the United States Marine Corps.

FJ-3

The development of the FJ-3, which was to be powered by a license-built version of the new Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire turbojet, resulted in its first flight in July 1953. Deliveries began in September 1954, and the FJ-3 joined the fleet in May 1955. An FJ-3 was the first fighter to land aboard the new supercarrier USS "Forrestal" in 1956. A total of 538 FJ-3s were built, including 194 FJ-3Ms with the ability to carry AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. Some FJ-3s were later modified to control Regulus and F9F-6K Cougar target drones. In 1955 the Navy added the new wing design that had been successful on the F-86F, providing space for additional fuel, and in 1956 retro-fitted all its FJ-3s with probe-and-drogue air refueling equipment.

FJ-4

The final versions of the Fury were the FJ-4 and FJ-4B, which featured several improvements on previous versions. Internal fuel capacity was increased, necessitating a distinctive, taller "razorback" rear deck. The tail was modified, as were the wings, to provide more positive control and stability during carrier landings, and the landing gear was widened. Delivery of FJ-4s began in February 1955, and except for one squadron which trained Navy FJ-4B pilots, FJ-4s were used exclusively by the Marine Corps. The FJ-4B was a fighter-bomber version, capable of carrying double the underwing stores, including nuclear weapons on a single station. A total of 152 FJ-4s and 222 FJ-4Bs were produced.

Redesignation

With the new designation system adopted in 1962, the FJ-4 became the F-1E and the FJ-4B the AF-1E. AF-1Es served with United States Naval Reserve units until the late 1960s. The FJ Fury was the first aircraft of the VF-84 incarnation of the legendary Jolly Rogers Squadron. A total of 1,115 Furies were received by the Navy and Marine Corps over the course of its production life.

Variants

;FJ-2 :;FJ-3 :;FJ-3 :;FJ-3M :;FJ-4 :;FJ-4B :;F-1E :;AF-1E :

Operators

;USA
* United States Navy
* United States Marine Corps

pecifications (FJ-4)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=jet
ref=American Military AircraftHumphrey, Hal and Joe Baugher. | [http://home.att.net/~jbaugher1/p86_24.html "North American FJ-4 Fury."] "American Military Aircraft: US Navy Fighter Aircraft", revised 4 January 2008. Retrieved: 29 April 2008.]
crew=1
span main=39 ft 1 in
span alt=11.9 m
length main=36 ft 4 in
length alt=11.1 m
height main=13 ft 11 in
height alt=4.2 m
area main=338.66 ft²
area alt=31.46 m²
empty weight main=13,210 lb
empty weight alt=5,992 kg
loaded weight main=20,130 lb
loaded weight alt=9,130 kg
max takeoff weight main=23,700 lb
max takeoff weight alt=10,750 kg
engine (jet)=Wright J65-W-16A
type of jet=turbojet
number of jets=1
thrust main=7,700 lbf
thrust alt=34 kN
max speed main=680 mph
max speed alt=1,090 km/h
max speed more=at 35,000 ft (10,670 m)
ceiling main=46,800 ft
ceiling alt=14,300 m
range main=2,020 mi
range alt=3,250 km
range more=with 2× 200-gallon (760 L) drop tanks and 2× AIM-9 missiles
climb rate main=7,660 ft/min
climb rate alt=38.9 m/s
loading main=69.9 lb/ft²
loading alt=341.7 kg/m²
thrust/weight=.325
guns=4× 20 mm (0.787 in) cannon
bombs=3,000 lb (1,400 kg) of underwing ordnance, including missiles
missiles=4× AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles

ee also

aircontent
related=
* FJ-1 Fury
* F-86 Sabre
* F-100 Super Sabre

similar aircraft=
* Dassault Mystère
* F2H Banshee
* F9F Cougar
* F-84F Thunderstreak
* Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
* Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17
* Supermarine Swift

lists=
* List of fighter aircraft
* List of military aircraft of the United States
* List of Sabre and Fury units in US military

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Taylor, John, W.R., ed. "Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1965-1966". London: Jane's All the World's Aircraft, 1967. ISBN 0-71061-377-6.
* Wagner, Ray. "The North American Sabre". London: Macdonald, 1963. No ISBN.
* Winchester, Jim, ed. "North American FJ Fury." "Military Aircraft of the Cold War" (The Aviation Factfile). London: Grange Books plc, 2006. ISBN 1-84013-929-3.

External links