XF-85 “Goblin”

In August 1947, the USAF had second thoughts about the parasite fighter’s possibilities and restricted procurement to two prototypes. McDonnell unveiled the first XF-85 and modified a B-29 into the EB-29B “MONSTRO” to take the trapeze which would engage the fighter’s retractable hook.  

Testing of the first XF-85 began at Muroc Air Test Center, now Edwards Air Force Base in California, in June 1948. The plane made five captive flights with the EB-29B. On August 1948, the XF-85 S/N 46-0524 was launched and flown for the first time from a test altitude of 20,000 feet.   

It was discovered that the closer the XF-85 came to the mother plane, the stronger the resistance encountered from the air compressed by the two planes. More power was required to overcome this air cushion. However, the air also became more turbulent as the fighter approached the bomber. On the final attempt to hook up, the pilot came in below and behind the trapeze at a high rate of closure speed. The fighter’s hook missed the trapeze by inches and the canopy struck the trapeze and shattered.  

 The pilot made a successful emergency landing on the dry lakebed runway. Over the next ten months, several similar incidents occurred and McDonnell recommended suspending further recovery tests. If an experienced test pilot was unable to perform a successful recovery, combat pilots stood very little chance of completing recovery operations. The XF-85 project cost $3,210,664 and flew a total of two hours and nineteen minutes.  

The Museum’s S/N 46-0524 is one of two built and had the most flight time. The other is on display at the United States Air Force Museum at Wright-Paterson Air Force Base in Ohio.