<p>The Lockheed F-94 became perhaps the best-known all-weather interceptor of the 1950s, teaming up with the F-86D and F-89 in the defense of North America. This conventional, low-wing, two-seat tandem interceptor was the culmination of the F-80/T-33 series. The first service-test YF-94 (48-356) had, in fact, begun life as a TF-80C and had become the first T-33 (and would, much later, serve as prototype for the F-94A and F-94B models). In its incarnation as a YF-94, this machine first flew on 16 April 1949, piloted by Tony LeVier. The first production F-94A (49-2479) flew on 16 September 1949 and the type was rushed into squadron service with Air Defense Command (ADC) by December 1949.
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<p>The first production F-94B (50-805) introduced only minor changes, including a Sperry Zero-reader flight director. The F-94A and F-94B models carried APG-33 radar in the nose and the unimpressive armament of four 0.5-in (12.7-mm) machine guns. One machine was fitted with additional wing guns in trials which proved unsuccessful. The engine afterburner, intended to boost combat speed and added to the Allison J33-A-33 engine of 6,000-lb (26.66-kN) thrust, guzzled fuel voraciously and produced disappointing performance. The F-94 was barely capable of 600 mph (965 km/h), the same speed as the F-80.
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<p>F-94A and F-94B aircraft served with about two dozen ADC squadrons in the USA and Alaska. By 1952, F-94Bs had reached the Korean combat theater. On 30 January 1953, an F-94B crewed by Captain Ben Fithian and Second Lieutenant Sam R. Lyons blasted a Soviet-built Lavochkin La-9 fighter out of Korean skies. Fithian and Lyons became the first airmen in history to destroy an opposing aircraft solely on instruments. Later, F-94Bs were credited with four MiG kills, sustaining no losses.
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<p>Significant changes were introduced with the YF-94C interceptor, the first example of which (50-955) was briefly known as the YF-97A. To defend the US against Soviet bomber attack, Lockheed developed the F-94C, the only variant named Starfire, with a new engine in the form of the Pratt & Whitney J48-P-5 of 6,350 lb (28.24 kN) dry and 8,750 lb (38.92 kN) afterburning thrusts. Rocket armament was 24 2.75-in (70-mm) Mighty Mouse folding-fin aircraft rockets (FFAR). The missiles were at first carried in the nose of the aircraft and were later transferred to mid-wing pods.
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<p>With the advent of the J48 engine, Lockheed was able to redesign the entire aircraft for higher Mach numbers. The F-94C accordingly had a new wing, thinner than before but much stronger, a redesigned fuselage, larger inlets and a much longer rear section, stepped cockpits and a swept tailplane for control at Mach 0.92.
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<p>The purpose of the aircraft, of course, was to intercept and destroy Soviet bombers approaching targets in North America. Air Defense Command kept F-94Cs on three-minute alert, the aircrews in flight garb in ready rooms at the runway's end. During ground control intercept (GCI) exercises, the F-94C crew would receive transmissions from ground stations reporting the speed, altitude and direction of their target, and would be vectored to within visual distance when possible. Since the aircraft's radar had a range of only 20 miles (32 km) or less, it was of marginal utility except when commencing an actual firing pass, at which time the radar observer attempted to 'lock on'. Actual firing of the 24 rockets in the nose shook the F-94C violently and blinded both crew members in exhaust smoke. The F-94C was capable virtually of stopping itself in mid-air by firing this ordnance and, like the F-89 Scorpion, could 'blanket' an area the size of a football field with projectiles.
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<p>The F-94D, a proposed single-seat interceptor, was never built. By the time the F-94C had reached full service, it was already close to the end of its brief career, which concluded in Air National Guard squadrons in the mid-1950s. Lockheed had manufactured two F-94s, 110 F-94As, 357 F-94Bs and 387 F-94Cs, a total of 856 airframes. No flying examples are left today, but several museum pieces have survived, including the prototype YF-94 (48-356) on display at Lackland AFB, Texas.
<item><hi format=bold>Performance:</hi> maximum speed 585 mph (941 km h) at 22,000 ft (6,706 m); initial climb rate 7,980 ft (2,432 m) per minute; service ceiling 51,400 ft (15,667 m); range 1,200 miles (1,931 km)
<item><hi format=bold>Weights:</hi> empty 12,700 lb (5,760 kg); maximum take-off 24,200 lb (10,977 kg)
<item><hi format=bold>Dimensions:</hi> span 42 ft 5 in (12.93 m); length 44 ft 6 in (13.56 m); height 14 ft 11 in (4.55 m); wing area 338 sq ft (31.40 m<su>2</su>)
<item><hi format=bold>Armament:</hi> 24 2.75 in (70-mm) Mighty Mouse air-to-air rocket projectiles (48 with wing launchers)
