In
1972, the United States Air Force issued a Request For Proposal (RFP) to
Northrop, McDonnell-Douglas, and General Dynamics for a supersonic stealth
aircraft.
All
three companies submitted design proposals in early 1974.
On 2 September 1974, it was quietly announced that Northrop would be
prime contractor of PROJECT SPECTER.
(It
is interesting to note that the design submitted by General Dynamics would later
be the “cranked arrow” F-16XL that would later compete against the F-15E in
the light strike fighter/bomber competition in 1985.)
Northrop
went to work immediately following the contract announcement.
Special Project 711 was underway. Northrop
had to invent new technologies for project 711. Engineers decided to incorporate
a Fly-by-Wire flight control system, use of carbon-fiber epoxy as the main
component of the airframe and the new Sperry APQ-118 fire control system.
Project 711 also had to make use of the new Hughes AIM-78X low observable air-to-air/air-to-ground missile. The
decision was also made that there would be six preproduction prototype aircraft.
To
speed the design and build process, Northrop used many “off-the-shelf”
parts. The nose landing gear system was from the F-5E Tiger II, the main landing
gear came from the F-18A Hornet, in which Northrop is sub-sub-contractor. The
main landing gear wheels and came from mothballed F-4C/D/E Phantom II’s in the
Boneyard. Northrop, acting as a foreign entity through the permission of the
President of the United States, purchased F-16A canopy assemblies for the
project. The majority of the avionics were also proven avionics systems found in
other aircraft minus specialized ECM equipment.
Design features included a wing folding mechanism that are horizontal for
take-off and landing, then can droop up to 30 degrees in flight and then fold
back on top of the wing when parked. The droop tip design extends the cruise
range by allowing the aircraft to ride its own shock wave, hence reducing fuel
consumption. The intake ramps pivot up to fair over the intake for extended
glide stealth target approach, the breather doors for the engine compressors
open when the aircraft performing high-g maneuvers. The Rapid Rotating Weapon
Pallet (RRWP) provides a wide variety of mission profiles for all weapons.
On
August 2, 1982, Special Project 711, now officially called the F-19A Specter,
made it’s official rollout from the Northrop Black Cat facility under extreme
secrecy. Following a Northrop
flight test program, the aircraft was delivered to the Air Force on 15 December
1982. Specter One arrived at Groom Lake, Nevada under the cover of darkness by
Lt. Col. Chester “Devastator” Moore. Specter
One became part of the 440th Test Wing, 199th Test and
Evaluation Squadron. Specter crews
were chosen from the top fighter and reconnaissance pilots in the Air Force.
A
total of six pre-production Engineering Manufacturing and Design (EMD) test
aircraft were delivered to the 199th in 1982 and 1983.
Specter
One was used for flight envelope testing.
Specter
Two was used for stealth and penetration testing.
Specter
Three was the armament test bed.
Specter
Four was used for ballistics tests.
Specter
Five was the dedicated pilot training aircraft.
Specter
Six, also know as “Groom’s Gal” was the first Specter to be used in a full
up exercise and had the complete suite of defensive, offensive avionics suites
installed. Complete avionic suites would be added to all aircraft by May 1984.
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During
the Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) of the Specter in the May 1984,
the aircrafts performed flawlessly. The F-19 held a mission capable rate of
98.7% of all sorties tasked. When
word was delivered that the F-19 met all mission requirements; the decision was
made to put the F-19 into low rate initial production (LRIP).
An
order was placed in July 1986 for 100 F-19A and 25 F-19B two-place
fighter/trainer aircraft from Northrop for the USAF. It looked as though the
Specter program had nothing but smooth sailing ahead of it.
As
with all black budget programs, no disclosure was made due to national security,
but that year, Congress had changed the rules concerning black budget programs.
Congress had demanded where and how much money was being spent on the
program. After intense pressure,
then President Ronald Reagan released all information on PROJECT SPECTER.
The cost overruns were astronomical. The F-19 was 10 million dollars over
budget. When word of this
circulated around Capital Hill, cancellation of the program was imminent.
Almost
one year to the day, July 1987, Congress announced that the F-19 Specter was to
be cancelled. On an interesting note, Lockheed already had a stealth
aircraft, the F-117 Nighthawk, flying at the Tonopah Test Range, Nevada. But
since both aircraft teams were sworn to secrecy, neither knew of each other’s
existence.
The
news was devastating to both Northrop and the Specter team at Groom Lake.
Due to the secret nature of the aircraft, it was decided that all six
Specter stay at Groom Lake and be disposition on site:
Specter
Two was stripped of it components and was towed to the flight line fire pit for
fire training and of last report was completely destroyed after one fire
exercise due to the carbon fiber make up of the aircraft.
Specter
Three was used as a maintenance trainer in Composite Airframe Battle Damage
Repair (CABDR) and by 1995 there was little left of the aircraft to be
recognizable as an F-19; it was eventually hauled away to an undisclosed
location. Rumor has it that it is buried under the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.
Specter
Four was placed out on the live fire test range and was eventually destroyed by
it’s rival, the F-117A Nighthawk, aircraft number 790, in a bombing run.
Specter
Five was destroyed in a training accident in 1985 when the primary flight
control hydraulic pump failed in flight. The pilot ejected safely.
Specter
Six was also destroyed in a training accident in 1986 when pilot, Capt. Dirk
“Squarejaw” Pottenger over stressed the airframe in a 15g turn and
catastrophic airframe damage occurred. Luckily, Squarejaw did eject safely and
now in the Guinness Book of World Records as the only human to survive a 15g
ejection from an aircraft.
Perhaps
the most interesting disposition is Specter One.
Specter One remained at Groom Lake for limited flight-testing.
This aircraft was used to test a wide range of programs. Specter One
holds the distinction as being the test bed for the now famous “Hill II”
paint scheme, found on the F-4G Wild Weasel. In 1988, Specter One was turned
over to NASA for High-Speed Stealth Research (HSSR).
When NASA finished the HSSR program in 1994, it was stripped of all
equipment and the USAF released the aircraft for static display at the Pima
County Air Museum in Arizona. Specter
One remained on display until 1997, when it was discovered, that a foreign
government had, in essence, copied the F-19. The USAF took possession of the
aircraft and it was towed to nearby Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.
It is rumored that the aircraft stayed at Davis-Monthan for two-years
under going an extensive modification program. In the summer of 1999, the last
remaining F-19A Specter was seen taking-off from the main runway at dusk, never
to be seen again.
EPILOUGE
Northrop
tried to regain its glory in the fighter aircraft industry in the 1980s with the
F-20 Tigershark. Even though it was
flown by famous test pilot, Charles “Chuck” Yeager and endorsed by him as
the finest jet fighter ever built, the USAF had no need for the aircraft. Since
the U.S. would not buy the aircraft, there was little hope for foreign sales.
After a series of fatal crashes, the F-20 was cancelled. But, Northrop
had an ace in the hole.
Northrop,
vowing not to be counted out as a contender in the stealth race, won the B-2
stealth bomber contract. The B-2A has met all design requirements and is in full
production. But all was not well.
Once
again the USAF released a design requirement for the Advanced Technology Fighter
(ATF) program. Competing bids by Lockheed/Boeing/General Dynamics and
Northrop/McDonnell-Douglas were awarded and a fly-off would determine the
winner. Once again Lockheed came
out on top and was awarded the ATF contract for the F-22 Raptor. Sources state
that
Northrop’s
entry, the YF-23, was clearly a superior aircraft and the reason it as not
awarded to them was that Northrop held the B-2 bomber contract.
As
for F-19A, serial number AF81-0001, Specter One, its current location and
mission are unknown. Several
sources, close to the author, have stated seeing the F-19A during operations
over Kosovo and recently in OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM.
Air Force officials do admit that Specter One is still in service and is
only used when absolutely necessary. There is some talk as to producing ten more
F-19’s with updated 21st Century technology and carrying the F-19C
designation. Only time and budget will tell…
The
Kit
Monogram’s
F-19 kit came out in the late 1980’s and was supposed to be what the Stealth
fighter was supposed to look like. Well, needless to say that when the U.S. Air
Force unveiled the F-117A, it was realized quickly that the Testors and the
Monogram F-19 designations and shapes were completely wrong.
The
kit is basically a collection of various Monogram kit parts. The nose wheels ala
F-5, the main gear is of the F-18 variety and the cockpit and canopy is very
F-16ish.
Construction
is straightforward with the only real fit problem being the jet intake area. It
was actually a pretty quick build. I was pretty surprised.
After
building the kit, I really didn’t want to pain the aircraft black. I wanted to
do something different. I studied various early F-117 paint schemes, Lockheed
A-12/YF-12, and other USAF paint schemes. But,
I’ve always liked the Hill II paint scheme and ran with it.
The
decals are a mix of 1/48 F-16, F-15, F-4, and MV-22. Place in the “correct”
locations on the aircraft.
Building
this kit was the ultimate in fun scale modeling. I had no idea this wild idea
could be so much fun. I am now into
full swing of “speculative modeling”. I now have a head full of ideas!!!!
Steve
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