historical perspective fighter The McDonnell Aircraft’s XF-85 was one of the most unusual fighters in aviation history By Henry T. Brownlee Jr. In the spirit world, a goblin is a small, bizarre-looking creature considered malicious and mischievous. It was the perfect name for the strange-looking and diminutive aircraft that attached itself to a mother ship like a parasite. Developed by Boeing heritage company McDonnell Aircraft Corp. in the early 1940s, the XF-85 Goblin jet fighter was to be carried by the new long-range B-36 bomber, and if the host ship were attacked the Goblin would be launched from the bomb bay to protect it. Afterward, the Goblin would be retrieved by the bomber like a trapeze artist. That was the idea. As it turned out, the Goblin was not long for this world. 12 BOEING FRONT IERS / AUGUST 2013 within The story of the Goblin began in 1941, during World War II, when the U.S. Army Air Force’s strategy was to develop a nextgeneration, long-range, intercontinental bomber designated the XB-36. But given the massive, six-engine bomber’s range, fighters would not have enough fuel to escort the bomber on its missions. In 1942, the Army Air Force initiated Project MX-472 to find a solution. Several unconventional options were explored. One was a manned “parasite” fighter that could be carried aboard the large bomber. The concept was not new. In the 1930s, the U.S. Navy had briefly experimented with the Curtiss F-9C Sparrowhawk, a biplane fighter, carried
Frontiers August 2013 Issue
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