Lockheed YF-97A
     The Lockheed YF-97A was the early designation of the F-94C
 "Starfire".  Lockheed built two prototype aircraft; the first,
 S/N 50-955, was constructed on speculation without military
 equipment. Because of the USAF need for an all-weather
 interceptor and the delays in the North American F-86D and
 Northrop F-89 programs, a second militarized version of the
 YF-97A was built for evaluation (S/N 50-877).
     The YF-97A was based on the F-94B, but was modified during the
 test program to carry 24 Folding Fin Aerial Rockets in the nose,
 thus becoming the first USAF fighter to be armed exclusively with
 rockets. An order for 118 F-97As was reassigned as the first block
 of F-94Cs.
    TYPE        Number built/Converted           Remarks
   YF-97A                  2             Imp. F-94B; became F-94C
 SPECIFICATIONS (F-94C)
 Span: 37 ft. 4 in.
 Length: 44 ft. 4 in.
 Height: 14 ft. 11 in.
 Weight: 24,000 lbs. maximum
 Armament: Twenty-four 2.75 in. Folding Fin Aerial Rockets (FFAR) in
 nose and twenty-four FFARs in two wing pods.
 Engines: Pratt & Whitney J48-P-5 or -5A of 8,750 lbs. thrust with
 afterburner (early -C models had J48-P-3 and late models were field
 upgraded to J48-P-7)
 Crew: Two
 Cost: $534,000
 PERFORMANCE
 Maximum speed: 640 mph
 Cruising speed: 476 mph
 Range: 1,275 miles
 Service ceiling: 51,800 ft.
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