It looks like a toy plane, but the Goblin XF-85 was crucial in the Cold War

The Goblin XF-85 — a compact Cold War fighter — was designed to be transported in the belly of a nuclear bomber.

The Cold War brought a major change in strategic bomber technology. Without a fighter escort, the new bombers could carry devastating nuclear power.

However, the range of a fighter jet in those days could only be measured at a few hundred kilometers. This meant that any mission to penetrate Soviet airspace would have left the attacking fleet completely vulnerable, which would have been very unpleasant for everyone involved.

As a solution, the US Army Air Forces created the Goblin XF-85.

The US Navy fleet was protected by fighter planes by placing them on aircraft carriers that functioned as floating airfields. If that worked, why not turn bombers into aircraft carriers?

This is where the McDonnell Goblin XF-85 parasite fighter comes in. With an appearance that Reminds me of a toy plane or a flying eggthe Goblin was so diminutive because the aircraft had to fit in the B-36’s normal bomb hold.

The concept was simple and explained by .

When bombers entered enemy territory, those carrying a Goblin opened the bomb holds and lowered the small fighter onto a huge trapeze. The Goblin then activated its Westinghouse J34-WE-7 axial turbojet, unfolded its wings, released itself, retracted its own hook and flew to provide escort, armed with four .50 caliber Browning M2 machine guns.

With a loaded weight of around 2,270 kg, a length of less than 5 meters and an equally short wingspan of 6 meters, the Goblin had a cruising speed of 362 km/h. The self-regulating fuel system gave it a 30 minutes combat autonomyafter which it had to return to the mothership, dock and be hoisted inside.

As it had to fit in the bomb hold, the Goblin not only had wings that folded like those of a butterfly, but also an unusual tail configuration with five surfaces: one vertical, two inclined and two ventral, capable of controlling flight without the need to fold and unfold.

The plane did, however, have no landing gear. This meant that if he got lost or got into trouble, the pilot’s only option was to wait for a safe belly landing. During the test program, half of the seven free flights ended in emergency belly landings, after recovery attempts failed.

“Death Trap”

As New Atlas writes, the Goblin was an early jet fighter design, with two prototypes ordered in 1945, and the first tethered flight, mated to a modified Boeing EB-29B Superfortress, took place in July 1948, with the first free flight a month later.

However, the XF-85 program was officially canceled in 1949.

In addition to being described with a death trapGoblin’s idea also ended up being overtaken by an alternative approach: In-flight refueling to increase the range of jet escort fighters — a much safer way to accomplish the mission, which did not require taking up the bomb bay space needed for munitions.

Although described as “very battered,” the two surviving Goblin prototypes are on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, and the Strategic Air and Space Museum in Ashland, Nebraska.