![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/1130px-XF-90_inflight_USAFM.jpg)
In 1945, as the U.S. Army Air Force recognized the need for a “penetrating escort” jet capable of accompanying strategic bombers deep into Soviet territory.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/916px-Lockheed_F-90.jpg)
Kelly Johnson, chief designer at Lockheed’s Skunk Works, embarked on a challenging endeavor.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/F-80_Test_Pilot_School_1947.jpg)
The F-80 Shooting Star, the Air Force’s first operational jet, had shown limitations in high-speed performance due to its straight-wing configuration, which Johnson sought to overcome with sixty-five different concepts before settling on swept-wings.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/576px-Lockheed_FP-80A_F-80_Shooting_Star.jpg)
The resultant XF-90 bore a needle-nose profile, 35-degree swept wings, and a robust structure comprising high-strength 75T aluminum alloy, which could endure twelve times the force of gravity.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/985px-P80-1_300_cropped.jpg)
This made the XF-90 “as tough as a bridge girder,” weighing in at nine tons empty—comparable to a modern F-16 jet.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/1080px-Lockheed_F-80C_USAF.jpg)
The aircraft featured wingtip fuel tanks for an extended range of 2,300 miles, an ejection seat, and Fowler flaps for improved lift with minimal drag.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lockheed_F-80s_of_the_36th_Fighter_Wing_aboard_USS_Sicily_CVE-118_circa_in_august_1948.jpg)
Two prototypes were built: XF-90 #46-687 and the XF-90A #46-688, the first U.S. fighter to be designed with the now-standard technology.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Production_P-80s_af.jpg)
The XF-90A’s prowess, however, was not limited to its performance in the air.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lockheed-XF90_Nose.jpg)
On April 15, 1952, at the Frenchman’s Flat testing range in Nevada, the XF-90A endured its first nuclear test when a B-50 bomber dropped a 1-kiloton Mark 4 nuclear bomb just a half-mile from the parked aircraft.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/986px-Lockheed_XF-90_parked-1.jpg)
The jet emerged cracked but intact, needing 106 hours of repairs.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/897px-Lockheed_XF-90_46-687_Muroc_AFB_1949_mfr_via_RJF_18349914452.jpg)
Finally, on May 1, a 19-kiloton bomb blasted the XF-90, which was this time rotated perpendicular to the shockwave.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/960px-Lockheed_XF-90A-LO_5-18-2023.jpg)
The detonation blasted off its tail and landing gear and seared and warped its wings.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lockheed_XF-90_46-688_in_Yucca_Flat.jpg)
The contaminated hulk was then transferred to Nevada Area 11 as part of a training exercise.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/5641eec3-f0a0-4fe6-a912-3bd560fffd6e.jpg)
In 2001, the irradiated wreck was carefully disassembled, decontaminated, and transported to the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/904px-P-80B_with_Lark_missile_at_Point_Mugu_1948.jpeg)
There, it was preserved in its nuke-blasted condition, serving as a stark reminder of its era.