FICON project

The automatic flight control modifications were ready for testing in March 1953, and a number of hookups were made with only one or the other of the F-84s while attempting to sort continuing electrical issues.

[4] In parallel, a similar configuration, called Tom-Tom, was being developed using JRB-36F 49-2707, which was previously used in the early FICON trials and two RF-84F (serial numbers 51-1848 and 51-1849).

Although several successful hookups were performed by Convair pilots Doc Witchell, Beryl Erickson, and Raymond Fitzgerald in 1956, turbulence and vortices continued to present a major problem.

Developments in the area of inflight refueling at the time promised a much safer way of extending the range of the fighters and Project Tom-Tom was canceled.

The plan was for the heavy bomber with superior range to arrive in the vicinity of the target and deploy a faster, more maneuverable F-84 to deliver the tactical nuclear bomb.

The hook would link the fighter to the trapeze which would hold the aircraft in the bomb bay during flight, lower it for deployment, and raise it back in after the mission.

Due to the size of the fighter, only the cockpit, the fuselage spine, and the tailfin actually fit inside the GRB-36, which considerably increased the drag and reduced the big bomber's range by 5–10%.

On a positive note, the fighter pilot was able to leave his aircraft while attached to the carrier, making the 10-hour flights to-and-from the target much more bearable.

As with the F-84, the RF-84 was supposed to utilize its smaller size and superior agility to overfly heavily defended targets and gather intelligence while the bomber loitered outside the range of enemy defenses.

In addition, the RF-84 dramatically reduced the bomber's ground clearance: with 450 gallon (1,700 liter) external tanks on the fighter, the FICON combination cleared by a mere six inches (15 cm).

These adversities, combined with the advent of the Lockheed U-2 and the passing of the B-36 into obsolescence, resulted in cancellation of the project in 1956, with the last FICON flight taking place on 27 April.