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After World War II, the United States Air Force began developing a new long-range penetration fighter capable of escorting missions. The P-51 Mustang, the iconic American fighter-bomber that escorted hundreds of B-17 Flying Fortresses all over Europe and the Pacific to bomb German and Japanese strongholds, now belonged to a glorious past.
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. 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 XT38 experimental turboprop. However, budget shortages and a sudden loss of interest for high-speed propellers led to its cancellation. The 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 limits for aircraft that could break the Mach 1.0 barrier...
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