The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was a first-generation jet aircraft of the United States Air Force. It was developed from the twin-seat Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star in the late 1940s as an all-weather, day/night interceptor. The aircraft reached operational service in May 1950 with Air Defense Command, replacing the piston-engined North American F-82 Twin Mustang in the all-weather interceptor role.
The F-94 was the first operational USAF fighter equipped with an afterburner and was the first jet-powered all-weather fighter to enter combat during the Korean War in January 1953. It had a relatively brief operational life, being replaced in the mid-1950s by the Northrop F-89 Scorpion and North American F-86D Sabre. The last aircraft left active-duty service in 1958 and Air National Guard service in 1959.

Design and development
Built to a 1948 USAF specification for a radar-equipped interceptor to replace the aging F-61 Black Widow and North American F-82 Twin Mustang, it was specifically designed to counter the threat of the USSR's new Tupolev Tu-4 bombers (reverse-engineered Boeing B-29). The Curtiss-Wright XF-87 Blackhawk had been designated to be the USAF first jet night fighter, but its performance was subpar, and Lockheed was asked to design a jet night fighter on a crash program basis. The F-94 was derived from the TF-80C (later T-33A Shooting Star) which was a two-seat trainer version of the F-80 Shooting Star. A lengthened nose area with guns, radar, and automatic fire control system was added. Since the conversion seemed so simple, a contract was awarded to Lockheed in early 1949, with the first flight on 16 April 1949. The early test YF-94s used 75% of the parts used in the earlier F-80 and T-33As

The fire control system was the Hughes E-1, which incorporated an AN/APG-33 radar (derived from the AN/APG-3, which directed the Convair B-36's tail guns) and a Sperry A-1C computing gunsight.[4] This short-range radar system was useful only in the terminal phases of the interception. Most of the operation would be directed using ground-controlled interception, as was the case with the earlier aircraft it replaced.

The added weight of the electronic equipment required a more powerful engine, so the standard J-33 turbojet engine, which had been fitted to the T-33A, was replaced with an afterburning Allison J33-A-33. The combination reduced the internal fuel capacity. The F-94 was to be the first US production jet with an afterburner. The J33-A-33 had standard thrust of 4,000 pounds-force (18 kN), and with water injection this was increased to 5,400 pounds-force (24 kN) and with afterburning a maximum of 6,000 pounds-force (27 kN) thrust. The YF-94A's afterburner had many teething problems with its igniter and the flame stabilization system. Like the F-80 before it, the F-94 was also one of the earlier jet fighters charged with protecting American airspace from Soviet bomber and fighter incursions. Many F-94 systems were kept on ready alert throughout the early production life of the aircraft for this very reason. The fact that Soviet forces had recently detonated their own nuclear bomb made the situation that much more perilous.

Seeing combat action in the Korean War, the F-94 performed acceptably, though it should be noted that the system did not exceed performance of the existing F-80 Shooting Star fighters in any way - despite its newer design and more powerful engine. By the end of the war, the system was already being replaced as a frontline alternative by more modern and capable fighters and strike aircraft. Where the F-94 did shine in the conflict, however, was in using its powerful radar in conjunction with night-fighting sorties, able to find, target and destroy enemy aircraft through instrument use only.

By the middle of the 1950's the stop-gap measure that was the F-94 was being retired in quantity, with several falling into US National Guard hands for home defense. The F-94 "C" system would become the ultimate version of the series, earning the sole nickname of "Starfire" (no other models of the series carried this designation except the "C" model until it was adopted for the whole family of aircraft over time).

Specifications (F-94C Starfire)
General characteristics
Crew: 2
Length: 44 ft 6 in (13.6 m)
Wingspan: 42 ft 5 in (12.9 m)
Height: 14 ft 11 in (4.5 m)
Wing area: 232.8 ft² (21.63 m²)
Empty weight: 12,708 lb (5,764 kg)
Loaded weight: 18,300 lb (8,300 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 24,184 lb (10,970 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney J48-P-5 turbojet
Dry thrust: 6,350 lbf (28.2 kN)
Thrust with afterburner: 8,750 lbf (38.9 kN)

Performance
Maximum speed: 640 mph (556 kn, 1,030 km/h, Mach .84)
Range: 805 mi (700 nmi, 1,300 km) combat
Ferry range: 1,275 mi (1,100 nmi, 2,050 km)
Service ceiling: 51,400 ft (15,670 m)
Rate of climb: 7,980 ft/min (40.5 m/s)
Wing loading: 78.6 lb/ft² (384 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.48

Armament
Rockets: 24 or 48 × 2.75 in (70 mm) Mk 4/Mk 40 Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets

Avionics
AN/APG-40 radar