The Fairchild J83

turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...

was developed starting in 1955 to power

cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhe ...

s used as un-armed decoys for

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

aircraft. The engine's development was terminated in November 1958.

Design and development

In March 1953, the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

released General Operational Requirement (GOR) 16, which called air- and ground-launched

decoy A decoy (derived from the Dutch ''de'' ''kooi'', literally "the cage" or possibly ''ende kooi'', " duck cage") is usually a person, device, or event which resembles what an individual or a group might be looking for, but it is only meant to lu ...

missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...

s to increase the effectiveness of

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

s by confusing and saturating an

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

system. In December 1955,

Fairchild Fairchild may refer to: Organizations * Fairchild Aerial Surveys, operated in cooperation with a subsidiary of Fairey Aviation Company * Fairchild Camera and Instrument * List of Sherman Fairchild companies, "Fairchild" companies * Fairchild Fa ...

was awarded a contract to develop the ground-launched decoy Weapon System 123A which included the

XSM-73 Goose The Fairchild SM-73 (originally Bull Goose) was a sub-sonic, jet-powered, ground-launched decoy cruise missile. Development Starting in December 1952, Fairchild began concept studies for a ground-launched long range decoy missile that could s ...

McDonnell Aircraft The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded on July 6, 1939, by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom I ...

was chosen in February 1956 to build the

ADM-20 Quail The McDonnell ADM-20 Quail was a subsonic, jet powered, air-launched decoy cruise missile built by McDonnell Aircraft Corporation. The Quail was designed to be launched by the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber and its original Unit ...

air-launched decoy. Two engine contracts were awarded in November 1954 to minimize development risk for both decoys. Each engine was in the 2,450 lbf (10.9 kN) thrust class with a thrust to weight ratio goal of 10:1.

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

was awarded a contract for the development of the J85 and Fairchild was awarded a contract for a competing engine, the J83. Fairchild proposed a lightweight engine of conventional design. GE used a more advanced design which yielded a higher thrust to weight ratio. A J83 was operating by early 1957. A

B-57 Canberra The Martin B-57 Canberra is an American-built, twin-engined tactical bomber and reconnaissance aircraft that entered service with the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1953. The B-57 is a license-built version of the British English Electric ...

was modified and used as a flying engine

testbed A testbed (also spelled test bed) is a platform for conducting rigorous, transparent, and replicable testing of scientific theories, computational tools, and new technologies. The term is used across many disciplines to describe experimental rese ...

for the J83. The J83 powered the XSM-73 Goose on 15 test flights. Fairchild competed with two other engine manufacturers to provide the powerplant for the Canadair

Tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in co ...

. A license-built J85 was chosen. The Northrop XQ-4A, was developed to use the J83 engine, but when the engine could not be developed in time the XQ-4A was canceled. In November 1958, the J83 was canceled one month before the XSM-73. The USAF determined that the J85 had a higher probability of meeting the desired performance goals. The J85 could also be used to power the

decoy, the XSM-73 missile, and the

T-38 Talon The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first, and the most produced, supersonic trainer. The T-38 remains in service in several air forces. The United States Air Force (USAF) operates the most ...

trainer. The J83 could only be used to power the XSM-73. After the J83 was canceled, Fairchild had no other applications for the engine. As a result, operations at the Fairchild Engine Division plant at Deer Park in

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ended in the summer of 1959. The

McDonnell 119 The McDonnell 119/220 is a business jet developed and unsuccessfully marketed by McDonnell Aircraft in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Its configuration is unique for this type of aircraft, with four podded engines underneath a low wing. It is t ...

, an unsuccessful early

business jet A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people. Business jets may be adapted for other roles, such as the evacuation of casualties or express parcel deliveries, and some are used by pub ...

, was originally designed in 1957 to use the J83, but McDonnell had to modify the prototype to accept the

Westinghouse J34 The Westinghouse J34, company designation Westinghouse 24C, was a turbojet engine developed by Westinghouse Aviation Gas Turbine Division in the late 1940s. Essentially an enlarged version of the earlier Westinghouse J30, the J34 produced 3,000 ...

after the termination of the J83 program.

Applications

* Northrop XQ-4A (never built) *

(redesigned to accept alternate engines)

Specifications

References

* ''The History of North American Small Gas Turbine Aircraft Engines'', William Fleming and Richard Leyes, AIAA, 1999 {{USAF gas turbine engines 1950s turbojet engines Abandoned military aircraft engine projects of the United States

Design and development

Applications

Specifications

See also

References