The F-100 As an Air Superiority Fighter
- Thread starter Zipper730
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GTX No problem, it seemed an interesting article. The only flaw in it is that it seems to play fast/loose with sustained and instantaneous g-load (for example the mentioned g-load at supersonic speed). I am surprised that the supersonic and subsonic performance are so close.
Imagine how this one would have performed. Lawrence Wackett of Commonwealth aircraft Corporation (CAC) fame, discussed licensed production of the F-100 in Australia by CAC in/around 1954. Rather than use a J57 though, they looked at two RR Avon RA-7s in a side-by-side arrangement in a widened fuselage. Apparently, NAA also showed some interest but with a single RR Avon RA-19R of 17,500lb static after burning thrust @ sea level. The increased thrust coupled with the smaller size/lower weight of the Avon promised better performance with speed, service ceiling and rate of climb all increasing:
Wackett again pushed for the RAAF to consider the F-100 in 1957. Alas nothing became of these proposals.
| J57 F-100A | RA-19R F-100A | |
| Max Power (Augmented) | 15,000 lb | 17,500 lb |
| Military Power | 9,220 lb | 11,400 lb |
| Max Speed @ 35,000ft | 751 Kn (Mach 1.31) | 827 Kn (Mach 1.44) |
| Max Speed @ 45,000ft | 583 Kn (Mach 1.02) | 629 Kn (Mach 1.09) |
| Max Rate of Climb | 18,800 FPM | 39,600 FPM |
| Service Ceiling | 55,600 ft | 58,050 ft |
Wackett again pushed for the RAAF to consider the F-100 in 1957. Alas nothing became of these proposals.
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
Was there enough room in fuselage to apply the area rule a little better?
GreenKnight121
Staff Sergeant
- 913
- Mar 16, 2014
1. a. Other J57s (such as in the F-102) pr5oduced more power. The J57-P-25 in the F-102 from 1955 on produced 11,700 lb mil, 17,200 lb max.
b. Your numbers for the RA.19R seem higher than I can find anywhere else... more like the Avon 300 series, not the 200 series that the RA.19R was. The numbers I can find for the 19R are 11,400 lb mil, 14,500 lb max (or slight variations).
c. The only Avons I can find with max thrust above 15,000lb are the RA.29 series (and only the Swedish afterburner in the Draken exceeded 16,500 lb max).
d. The 200 & 300 series Avons with reheat were larger in diameter than any J57 (41.5" engine body 44" reheat module vs 40.02" for the J57.
e. Their length was basically the same - but the Avon WAS about 700lb lighter than the J57 in engine body weight (I have never found a weight for a reheated Avon), and would likely be a good 1,000 lb lighter with reheat module.
2. The second attempt by Wackett to get the RAAF to buy the F-100 was certainly mis-timed... as the Australian government had decided, in 1957, to buy (and build) the F-104C - only to change their minds the next year due to being told by the USAF that the F-104 was "too sophisticated and complex for you" and that it was a bad fit for the size of most Australian military runways.
They then began pushing the US for the N-156 (F-5A), but that was not ready for production so they would have to wait a few years.
I have not seen anywhere that the RAAF ever seriously looked at the F-100, likely because starting in 1956 it wasn't used by the USAF primarily as a fighter - its primary mission had become tactical bomber.
I will try to dig up my sources.
