The F-11 Tiger was an advanced fighter jet developed by the United States Air Force in the 1950s. Despite its cutting-edge design and capabilities, the F-11 had a short operational career, with several lost in accidents including a bizarre incident where one F-11 managed to shoot itself down. This article will examine how this improbable event occurred and what it reveals about the F-11’s strengths and flaws.
What was the F-11 Tiger?
The F-11 Tiger was conceived in the early 1950s as the US Air Force’s next generation air superiority fighter. It was designed by the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation to be a lethal interceptor, with high speed, rate of climb, and maneuverability combined with advanced radar and weapons systems. The prototype first flew in 1954, and the F-11 entered active service in 1956.
Some of the notable features of the F-11 Tiger included:
- Top speed of Mach 1.25 (over 900 mph)
- Powered by two Pratt & Whitney J75 afterburning turbojet engines
- Swept wing and tail design
- Advanced Hughes AN/APQ-50 radar system
- Air-to-air armament of up to 6 AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles
With these capabilities, the F-11 was one of the most formidable fighters of its time. However, it was also beset by problems during development and operations.
What were some of the issues with the F-11 Tiger?
For all its innovations, the F-11 suffered from flaws that hampered its effectiveness and safety:
- Technical difficulties – The advanced engines, radar, and weapons systems were unreliable and temperamental, requiring excessive maintenance.
- Handling problems – The F-11 had unfavorable flight characteristics at high speeds and altitudes.
- Cost overruns – The per-unit cost was up to 3 times higher than originally projected.
- Production delays – Manufacturing issues slowed the rate of production.
- Accident rate – Over 25% of the operational F-11 fleet was lost in accidents.
These factors severely limited the impact of the F-11 in Air Force service. Only about 150 were built before production was halted in 1959, replaced by more reliable and better-performing designs.
How did an F-11 Tiger shoot itself down?
The F-11’s high accident rate included several bizarre mishaps. But none more improbable than the incident in 1957 when pilot Capt. Tom Attridge managed to shoot down his own Tiger using its Sidewinder missiles.
The events unfolded on a training flight from Hamilton Air Force Base. As described in declassified investigation documents:
- Attridge was conducting a high-speed test run in his F-11 when the aircraft entered an unrecoverable dive at over Mach 1.
- As the F-11 spiraled out of control, its onboard AN/APG-50 radar system malfunctioned.
- The radar began transmitting signals mimicking those of an enemy aircraft.
- One of the Tiger’s own Sidewinder missiles detected these “ghost” returns.
- With Attridge struggling to control the aircraft, the Sidewinder automatically activated and locked onto the false radar target.
- The missile tracked the source of the returns – Attridge’s F-11 – and struck the fuselage behind the cockpit.
- Attridge was forced to eject just before the crippled Tiger crashed into the desert below.
This almost farcical chain of events underscores the unreliability of the F-11’s complex systems. Let’s examine the factors that enabled an advanced fighter to essentially shoot itself down.
What aspects of the F-11 caused the mishap?
Three key faults contributed to the F-11 destroying itself in this incident:
Temperamental radar system
The Hughes AN/APQ-50 radar was marketed as the most advanced system available. But in practice it was balky and prone to malfunctions. False returns and targeting data were common issues. Themid-flight failure that confused the Tiger’s missiles was apparently not an isolated case.
Overly sensitive missile guidance
The AIM-9 Sidewinder represented a major leap in air-to-air missile capabilities. However, early models like those on the F-11 could be set off by radar contacts that did not represent viable targets. More rigorous filtering of signal sources may have prevented the errant missile launch.
Limited human control
Attridge was unable to override the malfunctioning radar or missile system as he struggled to recover from the steep dive. The complex electronics lacked adequate safeguards to prevent them from acting on faulty data. More autonomy for the pilot may have changed the outcome.
Modern fighter aircraft are designed to prevent any single point of failure from cascading out of control. But the F-11 lacked these robust redundancies and safeguards, allowing a minor glitch to become catastrophic.
Could attridge have prevented the accident?
Attridge likely had few options to avert disaster once the F-11’s systems began to fail:
- The aircraft was in an unrecoverable spin at high speed and low altitude when the radar malfunctioned.
- No immediate actions could have reset the radar or overridden missile targeting.
- Ejecting sooner may have allowed the wayward missile to miss.
- However, without full situational awareness,Attridge hesitated to give up control.
In retrospect, Attridge staying with the stricken aircraft so long was ill-advised. But his actions are understandable given the circumstances. The true fault lies with the F-11’s flawed design and lack of safeguards that made such an accident possible.
What was the aftermath of the accident?
The aftermath of this bizarre incident included:
- Attridge safely ejected and landed with only minor injuries.
- Investigators from Grumman Aircraft and Hughes Aviation painstakingly reconstructed the chain of events.
- The Air Force grounded the entire F-11 fleet for three weeks to review and modify control systems.
- Additional pilot training was implemented to prevent similar incidents.
- However, the damage to the F-11’s reputation was irreparable.
- Production was slowed further as engineers struggled to fix inherent flaws.
- The following year, the F-11 program was terminated altogether.
While an outlier, this improbable accident accelerated the demise of the troubled F-11. Its advanced systems were ahead of their time but simply too temperamental and unreliable. The Luftwaffe found greater success with evolutions of the Tiger design, but the US abandoned the aircraft as fundamentally unsafe.
Could the F-11 Tiger have been a success?
In retrospect, there are several factors that may have allowed the F-11 Tiger to fulfill its potential as a revolutionary combat jet:
- More rigorous testing – Extended development and trials could have surfaced and resolved reliability issues.
- Gradual introduction – Incremental roll-out would have given time to refine designs and training.
- Reconfigured systems – Simpler onboard electronics with better safeguards against failures.
- Modern avionics – Upgraded radar and weapons technology could compensate for other flaws.
- Streamlined production – Leaner and more efficient manufacturing techniques.
Of course, these insights only came after the F-11 was already canceled. The program ultimately fell victim to unsustainable costs and delays. But with more deliberate development, the world’s first supersonic fighter could have achieved the revolutionary impact its designers envisioned.
Conclusion
The downing of the F-11 Tiger by its own missile due to a cascading technical failure epitomizes the unfulfilled promise of this cutting-edge fighter. Beset by reliability issues, skyrocketing costs, and performance problems, the F-11 ranks among the Air Force’s most infamous disappointments. But it also served as a valuable lesson in the risks of revolutionary engineering outstripping practical maintenance and safety capabilities. Subsequent aircraft like the F-15 Eagle benefited greatly from the hard lessons of the F-11 era. This improbable accident was undoubtedly a low point for the F-11. But by spurring overdue design reforms, it contributed to major improvements in fighter technology and preventing similar incidents in the future.