English language

How to pronounce 88 in English?

Full Transcript

after world war ii
the u.s air force began developing a new
long-range penetration fighter
capable of escort missions
[Music]
the p-51 mustang the iconic american
fighter bomber that escorted hundreds of
b-17 flying fortresses all over europe
and the pacific
the bomb japanese and german strongholds
now belong to a glorious past
[Music]
the xf-88 project was born to build a
replacement for the p-51 mustang
as the cold war loomed on the horizon
the era of jet-powered planes became the
future of aerial combat
the xf-88 went under extensive
modifications to fulfill the
requirements the usaf specified for it
[Music]
besides its primary role as an escort
the new plane had to be extremely fast
and capable of handling itself in aerial
combat
during development it incorporated
afterburning engines and a nose mounted
allison xt-38 experimental turboprop
however budget shortages and a sudden
loss of interest for high-speed
propellers
led to its cancellation
prototype never saw mass production
nonetheless once the korean war ended
the xf-88 came back to life with the
f-101 voodoo
an enlarged version of the aircraft that
met newer air force requirements
based on lessons learned during the war
both the experimental xf-88 and the
production f-101 pushed the limit
for aircraft that could break the mach 1
[Music]
barrier
[Music]
following the end of world war ii and at
the dawn of the jet era
the u.s air force realized it would soon
need a replacement for the p-51 mustang
the xf-88 originated from the u.s air
force request to create a new long-range
penetration fighter that could handle
escorting bombers
such as the b-36 to their designated
targets
the mustang had a combat radius of only
900 miles
and the us wanted a plane that could fly
even further and even faster
various proposals were considered but
they all ended without success
in one ambitious experiment p-80 and
p-84 escorts were towed by modified
bombers to expand their operational
range and airtime
this however proved impractical
for their experimental prototypes such
as the xp-81 and the xp-83
also showed some early potential because
of their increased fuel capacity
still they lacked enough power and were
unstable in testing
on april 1st 1946 the mcdonald aircraft
corporation began working on a brand new
prototype
dubbed model 36 on june 20th of that
year
a contract was signed
under the guidance of dave lewis the
chief of aerodynamics for this new
project
the company was tasked with producing
two test models that were given the
designation xp-88 by the air force
u.s military planners wanted a unique
aircraft that could do more than just
escort
the plane also had to operate deep
within enemy territory against ground
targets and enemy airplanes
that task is what defined a penetration
fighter
[Music]
additionally the air force wanted this
new prototype to include a turbojet
engine
the first xp-88 design was intended to
have straight wings in the v-shaped tail
however wind tunnel tests conducted by
the prototyping committee indicated that
the design was encountering aerodynamic
problems
as a result the front end of the air
intake was modified
the wings were replaced by a more common
swept design and the traditional tail
plane configuration was incorporated
after these modifications in february of
1947
the air force told mcdonald to continue
with two xp-88 prototypes
when the airframes were delivered on
october 20th 1948 at morocco army
airfield in southern california
the name had been changed to xf-88
voodoo
these prototypes emerged from the low to
mid mounted wing swept to 35 degrees
and a pressurized cockpit with an
ejection seat for the pilot
the offensive armament was composed of
620mm m39 cannons housed in the voodoo
short nose
they had no radar
[Music]
as specified by the air force the
engines were two westinghouse j-34 turbo
jets
located in the lower fuselage the
engines were fed by air intakes and the
wing roots and jet pipes beneath the
rear fuselage
these unusual modifications made enough
room for the fuel tanks required for the
long range flights of the escorts
[Music]
in october of 1948 the xf-88 made its
maiden flight at morocco field
it was unarmed and powered by the twin
westinghouse j34 engines
although the first test demonstrated
adequate handling in the desired
endurance
the aircraft proved to be underpowered
with insufficient range and registering
a top speed
of just 641 miles per hour
this under performance did not meet the
requirements of the usaf
the first prototype was updated to use
twin xj34 we15 engines
and the fuel capacity was also increased
as a result
performance improved by a small
percentage but this came along with an
unwanted increase in fuel consumption
this trade-off once again left the xf-88
unable to fulfill the expectations of
the air force
the second prototype was presented on
april 20th 1949.
it was labeled xf-88a
this prototype was fitted with
afterburning j-3422 engines
that improved the top speed to 700 miles
per hour at an altitude of 20 000 feet
however just as it had occurred with the
first prototype reaching the speed was
at the cost of decreased range and
elevated fuel consumption
the speed difference with the original
prototype was approximately 60 miles per
hour
out of time mcdonnell had no choice but
to submit the underperforming xf-88a to
the air force's penetration fighter
contest
it faced off against the lockheed xf-90
and the north american xf-93a
the results showed that the xf-93a was
the superior aircraft
north american ultimately won the
contract
it would eventually reach production as
the f-86 sabre
due to a shortage of funds and
continuous changes in the usaf
priorities
the xf-88 project was cancelled in
august 1950
[Music]
although they had lost the production
contract mcdonald continued to tinker
with the xf-88 design internally
this proved wise as the national
advisory committee for aeronautics later
came calling with a request from
mcdonnell
to convert the second prototype into a
high-speed propeller research airplane
the new xf-88b configuration would
include a nose mounted allison xt-38
experimental turboprop
while retaining the other two engines as
the primary propulsion
this new project was developed as a
joint effort between the air force and
the navy
the first supplied the aircraft and test
propellers while the ladder provided the
xt-38 engine's turbojets
the xf-88b was flown on april 14th 1953
at the naca aeronautical laboratory from
hampton virginia
through 1956 three propellers were
tested at flight speeds that slightly
exceeded mach 1.0
making the xf-88 the first
propeller-equipped aircraft to do so
mcdonald also proposed a two-seat xf-88
with naval and reconnaissance variants
not drawing much interest those planes
were scrapped in 1958
[Music]
ultimately the xf-88 b's development was
cancelled at the korean war's height
when interest in high-speed propellers
had almost disappeared from the usaf
priorities
even so the combat experience gained
from the so-called forgotten war
allowed the air force to reconsider its
plans for penetration fighters
this eventually led to new
specifications for long-range fighter
planes
the third time would be the charm in
this beleaguered development cycle
as an enlarged version of the xf-88 we
happened to meet those new requirements
it would become the f-101 voodoo
when the usaf issued a new general
operational requirement in february of
1951
mcdonnell company began working on an
enlarged version of the xf-88
that would fit the latest specifications
while designed it first as another
penetration fighter with greater
capabilities as a bomber escort
the plane quickly evolved into a
nuclear-armed fighter bomber
now labeled as a strategic fighter the
f-101 voodoo had to fulfill these two
roles
escorting and delivering nuclear weapons
this powerful version of the xf-88 won
the bid in may 1951
and was redesignated f-101 voodoo
[Music]
this design was able to carry three
times the fuel load of the xf-88
it also used a more powerful engine the
pratt whitney j57 turbojet
this engine's dimensions required
modifications to the engine bays
and the intakes to allow the engine's
appropriate amount of airflow
an essential aesthetic visual that made
the f-101 voodoo was its t-tail
the change on the tail was made to
increase the plane's aerodynamic
efficiency
and alleviate the nose's pitch up
phenomena
[Music]
for its combat armament the voodoo was
equipped with 420 millimeter m39 cannons
and a single mark 7 hydrogen bomb
mounted beneath the left wing
usaf officials approved the design and
an initial order of 29 airplanes was
placed on may 28 1953
no prototype was required as the f-101
was considered a modified version of the
xf-88
whose prototypes were already being
tested
the f-101 voodoo had its maiden flight
on september 29 1954
at edwards air force base in california
the aircraft was able to reach 597 miles
per hour at an altitude of 35
000 feet eventually the f-101 voodoo
just like its predecessor successfully
surpassed mach 1.0
the development of the boeing b-52
stratofortress a long-range subsonic
jet-powered strategic bomber
that no longer required escort bomber's
assistance led to the strategic air
command withdrawing from the xf-88
project
[Music]
despite this loss of interest the
tactical air command still wanted to use
the voodoo as a fighter bomber
to carry a single nuclear weapon against
strategic objectives
during test in 1955 design bugs were
worked out
and in 1956 production was resumed
several f-101 voodoo variations were
created for different reconnaissance
interception bombing and fighting
purposes
despite not being able to be tested in
combat during the korean war
the voodoo saw extensive action during
the cuban missile crisis of 1962
and the vietnam war there the f-101
voodoo and its variants
were used for reconnaissance and
strategic bombing missions
the xf-88 never left the testing grounds
and it never saw production
however the prototype made history as
one of the first non-research airplanes
that could reach speeds above mach 1.
[Music]
its legacy the f-101 voodoo and its
variants
proved to be worthy successors and
turning points for aircraft that could
consistently reach speeds over mach 1.
[Music]
you

after world war ii

Toggle Transcript

88::adjective | Spocien Dictionary

adjective

being eight more than eighty

Type	Words
Synonyms	eighty-eight, lxxxviii

How to pronounce 88 in English?

88::adjective | Spocien Dictionary

abandonment

Related words

Related

Subscribe to our Newslatter