Northrop N-102 Fang light fighter

[Pioneer]

Wow thanks once again Mark, for delivering the goods once again!!
The photo with the varies cannon options is interesting!
I thought the missiles on the mock-up were Aim-4 Falcon AAM’s.........but the last photo you posted emphasises that they are in fact two different sizes! Does anyone know what missiles they are??
The more I see of the Fang, the more I think it would have been a winner!!


Please keep them coming!!

Regards
Pioneer

 

[pathology_doc]

Pioneer, the one on the inboard pylon certainly looks like an AIM-4 (possibly a -4D, F, or G). I almost said AIM-4D and AIM-26B at first, but the inner missile doesn't quite have the right body shape for the -26B. The one on the outboard pylon looks like a miniaturised version (developed?), but I suspect we will need an "American Secret Projects: Ramjets, Missiles and Hypersonics" book to answer that question.

I agree with you that this is one of those projects that ought to have gone ahead. For now, it will just have to sit around Heaven's hangar with the P.1121, thin-wing Javelin and the like, dreaming about what might have been!

 

[Steve Pace]

Thanks all - just very lucky to do this and find gold at times.

Here's a few more from Gerald's collection...

Enjoy the Day! Mark

The man on the left in photo # x107945-106 is none other than Edgar O. "Ed" Schmued - designer of the P-51 Mustang and Twin Mustang! - SP

 

[Abraham Gubler]

Fantastic pictures Mark, now all we need is the Ginter monograph to complete the package.

 

[Stargazer]

Steve, still writing for Ginter?

 

[Steve Pace]

No, I'm sorry to say. -SP

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Split topic from N-156 info.

 

[macca]

http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/8027/copiadecopiadecutawayno.gif
Cutaway.

Paul M

 

[Pioneer]

Wow great find Macca!!!
Never thought I would be able to find a cut-away of the sadley overlooked and forgotten Fang

Keep the search and finding coming

P.S. that M61 shore does look much bigger in the Fang, when compared to the monsters like the Phantom II, Thunderchief etc........

Regards
Pioneer

 

[Pioneer]

Does anyone know what radar was intended to be fitted to the Fang???


Regards
Pioneer

 

[RAP]

Interesting two seater Fang.

 

[RAP]

Couple of drawings showing A to A and A to G loadouts.

 

[Stargazer]

Great Fang stuff, RAP. Thanks for sharing!

 

[aim9xray]

Does anyone know what radar was intended to be fitted to the Fang?

Based on the inboard profile, APG-30.

 

[RAP]

3-view and inboard profile of V-tailed Fang.

 

[RAP]

FANG for the US Navy. Cut off the year on the second drawing, proposal was dated 1954.

 

[Pioneer]

Outstanding effort RAP!!!
Very interesting the carrier-based Fang proposal to the USN!
This would potentially make it a competitor to the Grumman F11F Tiger??
Please keep them coming my friend

Regards
Pioneer

 

[Stargazer]

I'm thrilled at all the Northrop-related material you're digging out! And the Fang has always been a pet project of mine, so it's cool.

 

[hesham]

FANG for the US Navy. Cut off the year on the second drawing, proposal was dated 1954.

Gear find RAP;


and that is the Northrop design PD-2542,from PD series.

 

[RAP]

Few more Fang items. Hope you enjoy them.

 

[flateric]

coool! thank you, Rich

 

[Pioneer]

Wow nice one again RAP!!

The alternative internal weapons drawings are very interesting indeed!!
I'm surprised how far Northrop was prepared to go with a design, so confident they must have been that it would go into production!!

I'm very interested to see in Alternative Armament Drawing 2, the 2.75in IR-seeking air-to-air rocket!
I've never heard of this 2.75 in IR-seeking rocket before! I never new that the U.S had such refined technology in that era, let alone the ability to fit an IR seeker head of such a small size!! Can anyone direct me to more info on this rocket project??

And what of this T-132 38mm rocket launcher/gun system? Is this the same system that was trialed on a Douglas A-1 Skyraider?

Also I now have to investigate this 1.50 in NAKA rocket

Thanks heaps again RAP, but now you've opened a big can of worms on me

Regards
Pioneer

 

[RAP]

Hi Pioneer- I looked through the report where I'm getting a lot of this material and it gives some specifics on the individual weapons. Basic internal armament was a T-171E2 20mm lightweight gatling gun.
Alternate-
1) 132 NAKA 1.5in rockets. Mounted in 'pop-out' packages of 66 rockets each. 23.75x1.5 inch, folding fin, weight 3.54lbs., warhead contained .40lbs high explosive.
2) 2 T-160 20mm guns, 150 rounds per gun.
3) 2 T-182 30mm guns, 120 rounds per gun.
4) 32 'Gimlet' or 'Redstone' 2in folding fin rockets. Mounted in 'swing-out' packages of 16 rockets each. 'Gimlet'- 48x2in, weight 9.3lbs, warhead contained 1 lb high explosive. 'Redstone' (T-214)- 48x2in, weight 10.43lbs, warhead contained 1.40lb.
5) 18 2.75 folding fin or infra-red seeking missiles. 9 missiles mounted in place of 'Gimlet'/'Restone' installation. No information proivded on this missile but the reports states it will be designed to be interchangable with the 2.75 FFAR rocket.
6) 1 T-132 38mm automatic rocket launcher with 135 spin stabilized T-225 rockets. 5 barrel automatic launcher. Rocket weight 1 lb., warhead contained .25lbs high explosive.
Also 4 M-3 50cal mgs with 370 rounds each could be fitted.
The alternate installations were designed as interchangable preloaded units in which the conversion from one installtion to another could be done in the field by 4 men in 3 hours.

 

[fightingirish]

In the November 2012 issue of the French magazine "Le fana de l'aviation" there is an article about Northrop N-102 Fang.

 

[Antonio]

It has been already published?

 

[RAP]

More FANG stuff. This is for the V-tailed design. The report it came from was dated January 1953. The conventional tail design replaced this version in mid 1954. The V-tail design only had guns in the fuselage. It carried rockets but those were mounted in the wing. I have drawings of these installations and cockpit layout which I'll post a little later.

 

[Stargazer]

It has been already published?

Le Fana usually comes out around the 20th of the previous month.

 

[lark]

This thread is better than the recent Fana article about...

 

[jsport]

More FANG stuff. This is for the V-tailed design. The report it came from was dated January 1953. The conventional tail design replaced this version in mid 1954. The V-tail design only had guns in the fuselage. It carried rockets but those were mounted in the wing. I have drawings of these installations and cockpit layout which I'll post a little later.

'rockets mounted in the wing' would be exciting to view, thank you in advance.

 

[RAP]

The basic rocket armament configuration was 80 1.5in rockets, 40 inside each wing and were fixed in a downward slant. Drawings show this installation as well as alternates.

 

[RAP]

Cockpit drawings. Interesting drawing of alternate cockpit with two side stick controllers.

 

[Mark Nankivil]

Excellent material RAP - thanks! Mark

 

[jsport]

Wow, Much thanks to you RAP.
J

 

[Orionblamblam]

http://ghostmodeler.blogspot.com/2013/02/fanged-butterfly-northrops-first-vee.html

Tony Chong has a new article up, this time about the early V-tailed Fang. Lots of good illustrations.

 

[Stargazer]

Brilliant, as usual. Thanks Scott for the pointer.

 

[Triton]

Northrop N-102 Fang model found on eBay.

URL:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NORTHROP-N-102-FANG-MULTI-ROLE-FIGHTER-DISPLAY-DESK-MODEL-RARE-/171041441070?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27d2dd452e

 

[circle-5]

Modern Philippine replica of questionable accuracy. Not original, not recommended.

 

[Stargazer]

Modern Philippine replica of questionable accuracy. Not original, not recommended.

I was under the impression the quality was not quite to a par with the original models... Now I know why. :

They used to have only wooden stands with metal rods... Amazing now how they even try to imitate the original logos and markings...

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

The vendor doesn't claim its an original, to be fair.

 

[Triton]

Modern Philippine replica of questionable accuracy. Not original, not recommended.

Thank you for taking a look, circle-5. Was hoping that it was an original. Although the model looks too clean and the decals are intact and not torn or yellowed for it to be an original.

They used to have only wooden stands with metal rods... Amazing now how they even try to imitate the original logos and markings...

I gave the model more credibility because of the old Northrop logo on the stand. Now I know.

The vendor doesn't claim its an original, to be fair.

So Griffin Aerospace Models does not have the credibility of Topping, Par-Tool, Verkuiyl, or Pacmin. Good to know.