The North American FJ Fury

FJ-2 / FJ-3 Fury FJ-4 Fury

Role	Fighter aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	North American Aviation
First flight	1951
Retired	late 1960s
Primary users	United States Navy United States Marine Corps
Number built	1,115
Developed from	F-86 Sabre (FJ-2/3)

The North American FJ-2/-3/-4 Fury were a series of swept-wing carrier-capable fighters for the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Based on the United States Air Force's F-86 Sabre, the FJ-series Fury aircraft featured folding wings and, eventually, a longer nose landing strut designed to both increase angle of attack upon launch and to absorb the shock of hard landings on an aircraft carrier deck. Although sharing a U.S. Navy designation with its distant predecessor, the straight-winged FJ-1 Fury, the FJ Fury evolved into a wholly different aircraft.

Design And Development

FJ-2

By 1951, the Navy's existing straight-wing fighters were much inferior in performance to the swept-wing Soviet MiG-15 then operating in the Korean War; the swept-wing fighters in the Navy's development pipeline, including the F7U Cutlass and F9F Cougar were not yet ready for deployment. As an interim measure, Navy purchased three swept-wing F-86E Sabres with Navy-specific equipment and strengthened airframes. The three planes began flight testing in December 1951 under the designation XFJ-2. The design was eventually put into production as the FJ-2, but construction was slowed due to demand for the F-86 in Korea; the FJ-2 was not produced in large numbers until after that conflict had concluded. By then, because of a weak nose gear and arrestor hook on the FJ-2, the Navy preferred the F9F Cougar due to its superior slow-speed performance for carrier operations, and the 200 FJ-2 models built were delivered to the United States Marine Corps.

FJ-3

Click on Picture to enlarge

FJ-3s of VMF-235 in 1957

An FJ-4B with six rocket pods

FJ-4F prototype with an additional rocket motor

FJ-1 and FJ-2 in 1952

4 FJ-3 Fury fighter-bombers of VF-33 and an AD-6 of VA-25 on the deck of the USS Intrepid (CVA-11) in the North Atlantic in 1957.

A Fury displayed on the flight deck of the USS Intrepid museum ship.

The development of the FJ-3, which was to be powered by a license-built version of the new Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire turbojet, resulted in its first flight in July 1953. Deliveries began in September 1954, and the FJ-3 joined the fleet in May 1955. An FJ-3 was the first fighter to land aboard the new supercarrier USS Forrestal in 1956. A total of 538 FJ-3s were built, including 194 FJ-3Ms with the ability to carry AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. Some FJ-3s were later modified to control Regulus and F9F-6K Cougar target drones. In 1955 the Navy added the new wing design that had been successful on the F-86F, providing space for additional fuel, and in 1956 retro-fitted all its FJ-3s with probe-and-drogue air refueling equipment.

FJ-4

The final versions of the Fury were the FJ-4 and FJ-4B, which featured several improvements on previous versions. Internal fuel capacity was increased, necessitating a distinctive, taller "razorback" rear deck. The tail was modified, as were the wings, to provide more positive control and stability during carrier landings, and the landing gear was widened. Delivery of FJ-4s began in February 1955, and except for one squadron which trained Navy FJ-4B pilots, FJ-4s were used exclusively by the Marine Corps. The FJ-4B was a fighter-bomber version, capable of carrying double the underwing stores, including nuclear weapons on a single station. A total of 152 FJ-4s and 222 FJ-4Bs were produced.

Re-designation

With the new designation system adopted in 1962, the FJ-4 became the F-1E and the FJ-4B the AF-1E. AF-1Es served with United States Naval Reserve units until the late 1960s. The FJ Fury was the first aircraft of the VF-84 incarnation of the legendary Jolly Rogers Squadron. A total of 1,115 Furies were received by the Navy and Marine Corps over the course of its production life.

The Variants

FJ-2

FJ-3

FJ-3

FJ-3M

FJ-4

FJ-4B

F-1E

AF-1E

Operators


United States

United States Navy
United States Marine Corps

Specifications (FJ-4)

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 36 ft 4 in (11.1 m)
Wingspan: 39 ft 1 in (11.9 m)
Height: 13 ft 11 in (4.2 m)
Wing area: 338.66 ft² (31.46 m²)
Empty weight: 13,210 lb (5,992 kg)
Loaded weight: 20,130 lb (9,130 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 23,700 lb (10,750 kg)
Powerplant: 1× Wright J65-W-16A turbojet, 7,700 lbf (34 kN)

Performance

Maximum speed: 680 mph (1,090 km/h) at 35,000 ft (10,670 m)
Range: 2,020 mi (3,250 km) with 2× 200-gallon (760 L) drop tanks and 2× AIM-9 missiles
Service ceiling 46,800 ft (14,300 m)
Rate of climb: 7,660 ft/min (38.9 m/s)
Wing loading: 69.9 lb/ft² (341.7 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: .325

Armament

Guns: 4× 20 mm (0.787 in) cannon
Missiles: 4× AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles
Bombs: 3,000 lb (1,400 kg) of underwing ordnance, including missiles

FJ-2

FJ-3

FJ-4

Re-designation

Wikipedia