The difference between the best and worst fighters may not be too great. Thanks to the development of military technology, machines that are now considered elite, in a few years may receive the nickname "flying coffin".
Fighters are national strategic assets and should be assessed as such. Here are some criteria for assessing them: is the aircraft capable of performing the tactical mission for which it was created? Is he effective compared to his contemporaries? Isn't he more dangerous to his pilot than enemy fighters?
Introducing you top 5 worst American fighters according to the publication The National Interest, dedicated to US foreign policy.
5. Bell P-59 Airacomet
It was the first American attempt to create a jet fighter. During the competition with the participation of the Lockheed P-38 Lightnings heavy fighter, the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber and the captured Japanese Mitsubishi Zero, it turned out that the P-59 had no advantages over conventional piston-engine fighters of the time. And in some cases, piston-powered machines have even surpassed their jet counterpart.
Ultimately, the R-59 was turned into a test aircraft, on which the pilots got acquainted with the features of jet technology.
4. Vought F7U Cutlass
A Cold War US carrier-based jet and the first American tailless fighter. Not only did the design of the Vought F7U Cutlass make this car a memorable one, but also an impressive death toll. Due to design errors, weak power and reliability of engines, and other miscalculations in the creation of the aircraft, about 25% of the built aircraft crashed in accidents, sending 4 test pilots and 21 pilots from the naval aviation to the next world.
Rear Admiral of the US Navy, retired Edward Lewis of the Blue Angels aerobatic team, told Air & Space Smithsonian Magazine that he had resigned on the spot when he was told that Cutlass would be purchased for his group. Thanks to all these "merits" Vought F7U Cutlass and received the fourth place in the list of the worst fighters in the history of American aviation
3. Grumman F-11 Tiger
Grumman is renowned for creating combat aircraft that are the pride of the US Navy. And the F-11 Tiger is famous for another. He is one of the few aircraft in history that managed to shoot himself down without assistance. During a test flight, test pilot Thomas Ettridge fired about 70 rounds from four 20mm guns at an altitude of 4 km, and then turned on the afterburner and caught up with them at an altitude of 2 km. Unintentionally, of course, but because of the increase in the angle of descent and speed. It's good that the shells were training, and the pilot was able to land the car near the runway.
The lifespan of the "Tiger" was short-lived; 13 years after its creation, it was dismissed.
2. Convair F-102 Delta Dagger
The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger high-speed interceptor was designed to destroy Soviet bombers at high altitude.
To reduce resistance, the designers modernized the design of the fighter, as a result, their creation turned out to be similar in shape to a Coca-Cola bottle. The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was the US Air Force's first operational supersonic interceptor with a delta wing.
Although the F-102's speed ultimately surpassed that of Mach 1.22, the aircraft did not live up to the high expectations of the developers.
1. F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
The first place in the ranking of the worst fighters of the US Air Force went to a graphic illustration of what happens when ambition prevails over capabilities. The winged vehicle was supposed to enter service with the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, with all three options having a minimum of differences. By 2014, the F-35 program had spent $ 163 billion and it is 7 years behind schedule. And the head of the independent analytical company Air Power Australia, Carlo Kopp, said that in comparison with the Russian S-400 air defense system, the Triumph F-35 is not a serious competitor and will become an easy target for Russian air defense systems.