Douglas F6D Missileer

Le Douglas F-6 D Missileer. Texte descriptif intégral du rédacteur de Wikipedia. Merci !

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The Douglas F6D Missileer was a proposed [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] fleet defense [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], designed by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in response to a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] requirement.

It was designed to be able to loiter for extended periods at relatively long distance from the Navy's [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], engaging hostile aircraft 100 mi (161 km) away with its powerful radar and long-range missiles.

Since the enemy would be fired on long before they reached visual range, the aircraft had little dogfighting capability and was strictly subsonic.

When doubts were expressed about the Missileer's ability to defend itself after firing its missiles, the value of the project was questioned, leading to its cancellation.

Portions of the Missileer continued development in spite of the cancellation, eventually emerging on the ill-fated [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and successful [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] years later.

Development

Background

Through the later part of the 1950s and into the 1960s, military air planners increasingly believed that future air combat would be carried out almost entirely by long-range missile fire.

This changed the basic requirements for a fighter design considerably.

The pilots would be expected to fight primarily through their radar and fire control systems, hopefully never even seeing their opponent.

Because of this, the emphasis was on "head down" combat and an all-round view was considered unimportant.

Radar systems were so complex that a pilot could not be expected to operate both the aircraft and the radar, so a second crewman, the "radar intercept officer" became a common fixture.

Missileer forms


In 1957, the Navy began the formal process of ordering what they referred to as a "fleet defense fighter".

They envisioned a large aircraft with loiter times on the order of six hours, supported by a dedicated radar aircraft providing early warning.
In order to get the loiter times they wanted, the aircraft had to carry a large fuel load and was thus very large.

The complex radar required dedicated operators, which resulted in a three-man crew.

Additionally, they specified a side-by-side layout so both the pilot and co-pilot could concentrate on a single centered radar display, avoiding duplication of equipment and helping reduce communications errors that could occur if they were looking at different screens. Since dogfighting was out of the question, the aircraft was strictly subsonic and did not require all-round visibility, suggesting a cockpit layout similar to the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

A new radar and missile would also have to be developed for the project.

AAM-N-10 Eagle drawing
NAN12-60.jpg
An artist's conception of the Bendix AAM-N-10 Eagle air-to-air
missile for the Douglas F6D Missileer fighter. Both programes
were cancelled in December 1961.
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir cette image]

Design

The F6D-1 would have weighed approximately 50,000 lb (22,650 kg).

It would have been powered by two [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] non-afterburning [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] engines which were more fuel efficient than the turbojets common at the time.

It would have had subsonic performance, but a loiter time of six hours on station 150 nmi (280 km) from its carrier.

Of conventional design with straight wings, and the engines in pods at the root, it looked like a larger version of the company's earlier [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The Missileer's [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] was to be the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] pulse Doppler set, with a range of 120 nmi (220 km) and "[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]" capability. It was to be able to engage up to six targets simultaneously with [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], with a range of 100 nmi (185 km). The Eagle was to have a choice of conventional or [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Specifications (XF6D-1, as designed)

Data from The American Fighter

General characteristics

• Crew: 3
  
• Length: 53 ft (16.15 m)
  
• [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]: 70 ft (21.33 m)
  
• Height: 18 ft 1 in (5.51 m)
  
• Wing area: 630 ft² (58.52 m²)
  
• Loaded weight: 50,000 lb (22,680 kg)
  
• [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]: 60,000 lb (27,216 kg)
  
• Powerplant: 2× [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-P-2 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], 10,200 lbf (45.5 kN) each
  

Un air de famille avec le Douglas Skyknight.