Built to a 1948 USAF specification for a radar equipped interceptor to replace the aging Northrop F-61 Black Widow and North American F-82 Twin Mustang, it was specifically designed to counter the threat of the USSR's new Tupolev Tu-4 bombers (reverse-engineered Boeing B-29). The Curtiss-Wright XF-87 Blackhawk had been designated to be the USAF first jet night fighter, but its performance was sub par and Lockheed was asked to design a jet night fighter on a crash program basis.

 

The F-94 was derived from the TF-80C (later T-33A Shooting Star) which was a two-seat trainer version of the F-80 Shooting Star. A lengthened nose area with guns, radar and automatic fire control system was added. Since the conversion seemed so simple, a contract was awarded to Lockheed in early 1949, with the first flight on 16 April 1949. The early test YF-94s used seventy-five percent of the parts used in the earlier F-80 and T-33As.

 

The fire control system was the Hughes E-1, which incorporated an AN/APG-33 radar (derived from the AN/APG-3 which directed the Convair B-36's tail guns) and a Sperry A-1C computing gunsight. This short-range radar system was useful only in the terminal phases of the interception, most of the operation would be directed using ground-controlled interception as was the case with the earlier aircraft it replaced.

 

The added weight of the electronic equipment soon dictated that a more powerful engine be fitted, the afterburning Allison J33-A-33 centrifugal-type turbojet replacing the standard J-33 fitted to the T-33A. The F-94 was to be the first US production jet with an afterburner. The J33-A-33 had standard thrust of 4,000 pounds-force, and with water injection this was increased to 5,400 pounds-force) and with afterburning a maximum of 6,000 pounds-force thrust. The combination of the new, larger engine and the electronics gear reduced the internal fuel capacity; removable tip tanks were added to compensate. The YF-94A's afterburner had many teething problems with its igniter and the flame stabilization system.

 

The initial model was the F-94A. Its armament was four .50 in (12.7 mm) M3 Browning machine guns mounted in the fuselage with the muzzles exiting just behind the radome. Two 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs could also be carried, giving the aircraft a secondary fighter bomber role. 109 were produced. The subsequent F-94B, which entered service in January 1951, had upgraded and more reliable electronics and engines, as well as a new ILS. 356 of these were built.

 

The F-94C Starfire was significantly modified from the early F-94 variants; in fact, it was initially designated F-97, but it was decided to treat it as just a new version of F-94. Initially, USAF interest was lukewarm, so Lockheed funded development themselves by converting two F-94B airframes to YF-94C types for evaluation. To improve performance, a totally new wing was fitted, much thinner than the previous one and a swept tail surface.

 

The J33 engine was replaced by a more powerful Pratt & Whitney J48, a license-built version of the afterburning Rolls-Royce Tay which dramatically increased power, giving a dry thrust of 6,350 pounds-force (28.2 kN) and with afterburning approximately 8,750 pounds-force (38.9 kN) of thrust.

 

The fire control system was upgraded to the new Hughes E-5 with AN/APG-40 radar in a much larger nose. The guns were removed, replaced with an all-rocket armament mounted in a ring around the nose radome. The rockets were loaded into flip-up panels on the sides of the nose, and fired by opening four panels just behind the radome. According to test pilot Tony LeVier, the F-94C was capable of supersonic flight.

 

An F-94D model was proposed as a, single seat, fighter-bomber, with bombs and rockets under the wings. A single prototype was built, but the model was not accepted for production. The prototype was later used as a testbed for the 20 mm (.79 in) M61 Vulcan cannon subsequently used on the F-104 Starfighter and many others.

 

Starting with the 317th Fighter Squadron in May of 1950, the 325th, Fighter Wing began to replace its F-82's with the F-94 Starfire. In the fall of 1950, the 318th, ADC's last F-82 unit was also the last unit to enter the "jet age" with its conversion into Lockheed F-94 Starfire. In the Summer of 1951, the 318th along with the 317th and the Moses Lake based 319th FIS, deployed to Edwards AFB in California aerial gunnery practice, this was the first deployment for a combat unit using radar reflecting ranging systems towed by F-82's. While in Edwards, the squadrons downed more than 80 targets and expended some 40,000 rounds of ammunition during the record setting deployment.

 

The 318th fought through a tough competition against its Divisional sister squadrons to earn a spot in the ADC's first Aerial Gunnery Meet, (forerunner to the William Tell Weapons Meet). Although the squadron did not win the meet (which was won by the 354th FIS flying the venerable North American F-51 Mustang), it was the beginning of a impressive run for all fighter - interceptor squadrons attending nine of the eighteen Air Defense Weapons Competitions, a feat not matched by any other squadron in the Air Force.

 

In the middle of 1953, the Green Dragons would begin a journey where they would serve as the "tip" of the air defense "spear" against a mass Soviet bomber raid with a move to Thule Air Base, Greenland replacing an alert detachment from the 59th FIS consisting of a flight of four F-94 aircraft. Thule, a base created to prevent another "Pearl Harbor", is 2752 miles from Moscow, and 900 miles from the North Pole. On 9 June 1953, the first of 3 flights of F-94's left McChord on a 10,000 mile trip to Thule AB, while other members of the squadron, including maintenance personnel, traveled by rail to New York where they would board a ship destined for Greenland. No families were allowed to accompany squadron personnel on their one-year rotation.

 

One of ADC’s most experienced F-89 squadrons, the 74th FIS from Presque Island AFB ME, was tasked to replace the 318th and their F-94’s at Thule AFB Greenland making the change on 5 August 1954 with the transfer complete on the 25th of the month. With the move back to the States, the Green Dragons began a conversion into the Scorpion interceptor upon their arrival to Maine.

• TYPE:  All-Weather Interceptor

• POWER:  Pratt & Whitney J33-A-33 or -33A turbojet Dry thrust: 4,400 lb, Thrust with afterburner: 6,000 lbs

• SPEED:  Max - 606 mph at sea level

• RANGE:  655 mi; 905 miles with two external tanks

• SERVICE CEILING: 48,000 feet

• WEIGHT: Empty - 10,064 lbs, Combat - 113,474 lbs, Max T/O 18,844 lbs.

• DIMENSIONS:  Wingspan 37 ft 6 in, Length 40 ft 1 in, Height 12 ft 8 in

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• ARMAMENT: four 0.50-inch M-3 machine guns (mounted in the nose)

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• CREW:  Two (Pilot & Radar Observer)

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• PRODUCTION TOTALS: 109 (F-94A); 356 (F-94B); 389 (F-94C)

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• COST: $196,248 (F-94B)