VERSIONS – F-89C
Details as F-89C unless otherwise indicated
Project Gun-val
US Air Force evaluation of aircraft
armament, testing both US and non-
US weaponry for use in current and
future aircraft programs, evaluating
effectiveness in different combat
modes, airframe integration and
maintainence during 1951/52
4 x 30mm (1.18 in) Oerlikon
302RK revolver-type cannons
with 100 rounds per gun in
revised nose/weapons bay
Small inlet door added later under radar
compartment to purge gun gas, venting
through louvred panels
Faired bulges to accommodate
gun breech mechanisms
Spent cartridges ejected
forward of nose gear doors
Long, gun barrels, protruding
from nose with restraints to
control barrel whip
F-89C (51-5766 Project Gun-val)
Details as F-89C unless otherwise indicated
Project Gun-val
US Air Force evaluation of aircraft
armament, testing both US and non-
US weaponry for use in current and
future aircraft programs, evaluating
effectiveness in different combat
modes, airframe integration and
maintainence during 1951/52
Nose contour slightly lengthened
Revised panelling with
gun gas purge doors
2 x T-110E3 rocket launchers
with 25 x T-131 70 mm
(2.75 in) spin stabilised
rockets in a cylindrical
cartridge, fired through
a closed breech, rifled barrel
mounted on both sides of
the nose
F-89C (51-5795) Project Gun-val
Details as F-89B unless otherwise indicated
Revised canopy
2 x Allison J35-A-21 turbojets with
afterburners (Blocks -1/-5/-10),
J35-A-21A (Blocks -15/-20), J35-A-33
(Block -25/-30), J35-A-33A
(Blocks -35/-40), finally J35-A-47
Additional nose ballast of
304 kg or 287 kg (670 lb
or 633 lb) depending on
production block
Fins added to wing tip tanks
to counter wing flex
New fuel purging system
with Stewart-Warner
purge generator fairing
on starboard nacelle
'Ice Tong' elevator mass balances deleted from
tailplanes replaced by mass balances incorporated
into extended elevator leading edge
Fuel dump valve
added to tip tanks
Strengthened wing/
new forged steel wing
attachment points
retrofitted 1952/54
Some F-89C airframes used in Project
Gun-Val (see below), F-89C 50-762
converted by Northrop to YF-89E testbed
Revised cockpit
pressurization system
APC (Automatic Approach Controller)
added integrating ILS, Zero Reader
and autopilot into a single system,
new Lear gyro unit installed
U-shaped radio compass
sense antenna on canopy
glass
F-89C
ILLUSTRATIONS: © ADRIAN DAVID MOORE 2015 • NO ITEMS MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER
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ILLUSTRATIONS: © ADRIAN DAVID MOORE 2015
