Proposed armament was 6 x 20mm cannons - outmatching the 6 x 12.7mm heavy machine guns seen in the F-86 Sabre line considerably. These guns were to reside along the sides of the nose (as was the case with the F-86's machine guns).
Interested enough in the North American submission, the USAAF - now the USAF - commissioned for a pair of prototypes to begin an evaluation phase. Consistent with other promising aviation ventures of the period, a production order for some 118 aircraft also followed in June of 1948 even before development work had completed - these aircraft to be designated in service as "F-93A".
First flight of a YF-93A prototype occurred on January 24th, 1950. Due to budget constraints, the USAF nullified the production order in 1948 though development of the two prototypes was allowed to continue. The YF-93A design failed to impress against the competing McDonnell XF-88 and the Lockheed XF-90 penetration fighter submissions - the XF-88 going on to win the competition. However, the USAF need for a penetration fighter was over by then and even the XF-88 lost out in this way - though it did evolve along other lines to become the famous F-101 "Voodoo" fighter.
The Lockheed XF-90 met a similar fate as the YF-93A - its two flyable prototypes were passed on to NACA for military flight testing before ending their days in various ways. The pair of YF-93A prototypes were passed on to NACA and operated as chase plane aircraft until 1956 before being given up in full. One major issue encountered with NACA operation of the YF-93A was insufficient airflow to the engine from the small, flush intakes - eventually explained as "low net thrust" brought about by primary and secondary air flow. The proposed armament of 6 x 20mm cannons was also never fitted to the airframe.
As finalized, the YF-93A featured an overall length of 13.4 meters, a wingspan of 11.8 meters, and a height of 4.8 meters. Empty weight was listed at 14,035 lb with a Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) of 21,610 lb. Maximum speed was 708 mph with a range out to 2,000 miles, a service ceiling of 46,800 feet, and a rate-of-climb of 11,960 feet per minute.
YF-93A managed to reach Mach 1.05 though only in a dive. Both prototypes were eventually scrapped after their service to NACA.
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