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F-19
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<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>Since the <a href="/facts/1962_United_States_Tri-Service_aircraft_designation_system/kHjJtWg2">unification of the numbering system in 1962</a>, U.S. fighters have been designated by consecutive numbers, beginning with the <a href="/facts/F-1_Fury/3G1NqYVx">F-1 Fury</a>. <i>F-13</i> was never assigned to a fighter due to <a href="/facts/Triskaidekaphobia/QovBNCUu">triskaidekaphobia</a>, though the designation had previously been used for a reconnaissance version of the <a href="/facts/B-29_Superfortress_variants/ThHYR3Fz">B-29</a>. After the <a href="/facts/McDonnell_Douglas_F%2fA-18_Hornet/hsKrCHym">F/A-18 Hornet</a>, the next announced aircraft was the <a href="/facts/Northrop_F-20_Tigershark/P3nMkrA8">F-20 Tigershark</a>. The USAF proposed the F-19 designation for the fighter, but Northrop requested "F-20" instead. The USAF finally approved the F-20 designation in 1982.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> The truth behind this jump in numbers is that Northrop pressed the designation "F-20" as they wanted an even number, to stand out from the Soviet odd-numbered designations.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p><p>The United States received the first <a href="/facts/Lockheed_F-117_Nighthawk/nmV3lC9Y">Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk</a> stealth attack aircraft in 1982.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> During the decade many news articles discussed what they called the "F-19".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> The <a href="/facts/Testor_Corporation/mqT8l7Ab">Testor Corporation</a> produced an F-19 <a href="/facts/Scale_model/YgCtlwqb">scale model</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> The company had decades of experience in producing highly detailed models that pilots and aerospace engineers purchased, and used its sources in the United States military and defense contractors. The <i><a href="/facts/CBS_Evening_News/HvJdxrU6">CBS Evening News</a></i> with Dan Rather and other media discussed the model after its January 1986 introduction. When the real stealth aircraft crashed in California in July 1986, news stories used the model to depict it. Representative <a href="/facts/Ron_Wyden/IctyChLB">Ron Wyden</a> asked the chairman of <a href="/facts/Lockheed_Corporation/FymLE6jf">Lockheed Corporation</a> why an aircraft that Congressmen could not see was sold as model aircraft. The publicity helped to make the model the best-selling model aircraft of all time,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> but the model's smooth contours bore little resemblance to the F-117 and its angular panels.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> The F-117 designation was publicly revealed with the actual aircraft in November 1988.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="notable-appearances-in-media">Notable appearances in media</h2> <ul><li>In 1986, the <a href="/facts/Testor_Corporation/mqT8l7Ab">Testor Corporation</a> released a <a href="/facts/Model_aircraft/Lsnf5ABq">model aircraft</a> kit, calling it the "F-19 Stealth Fighter".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> The kit is claimed to be the best-selling plastic model kit of all time.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a></li> <li>Like the Testor Corporation, <a href="/facts/Monogram_models/ncH6sNb7">Monogram models</a> also released the "F-19A Specter" which was based on the design by <a href="/facts/Loral_Inc/nX2gnpgJ">Loral Inc</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a></li> <li>In his 1986 novel <i><a href="/facts/Red_Storm_Rising/zxcqT2Vh">Red Storm Rising</a></i>, <a href="/facts/Tom_Clancy/tGdyML3z">Tom Clancy</a> featured the "F-19A Ghostrider" (nicknamed "Frisbee" by the pilots and crew) as a secret weapon used to combat a Soviet invasion of Germany.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a></li> <li>An F-19 was the alternate mode of the <a href="/facts/Decepticon/Gb1yJc1B">Decepticon</a> character Whisper in Marvel Comics' <i>Transformers</i> comic book series during the <a href="/facts/Transformers%3a_Generation_1/428KTav1">Transformers: Generation 1</a> era.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a></li> <li>The Toyline <a href="/facts/Ring_Raiders/bqMmfNar">Ring Raiders</a>, produced by <a href="/facts/Matchbox_(brand)/YXPVAv32">Matchbox</a>, made extensive use of the F-19 and F-19A on multiple occasions. The main hero Victor Vector flew a personal F19 named <i>Victory 1</i>. The antagonistic pilot Cutthroat used a F-19A with the designation <i>Bayonet</i>. In the so-called "Wing Packs", in which every main pilot got his own squadron, F-19 and F-19A fighters were part of many sets.</li> <li>The Testors F-19 appears briefly in the animated opening for the TV show <i><a href="/facts/Beyond_2000/SHlgSld0">Beyond 2000</a></i>.</li> <li>The Tyco Fast Traxx remote control car from 1991 has a resemblance to the F-19 fighter jet.</li> <li>An F-19 appears in <a href="/facts/Dan_Dare/ABeEKDCx">Dan Dare</a> as a <i>Mark Two Stealth low profile penetrator</i>, flown at Space Fleet's annual aerospace show by Colonel Dan Dare and nicknamed a "mud mover" by Digby. A modified "F-19" design with a <a href="/facts/Retrofuturism/3jCWRyJQ">retrofuturistic</a> cockpit is also seen used as part of an airframe crash test demonstration at the show.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/MicroProse/PfVMUsIV">MicroProse</a> released the 1987 video game <i><a href="/facts/Project_Stealth_Fighter/EJmsqKV0">Project Stealth Fighter</a></i> and the successor 1988/1990 game <i><a href="/facts/F-19_Stealth_Fighter/WKfzU4N2">F-19 Stealth Fighter</a></i>, both featuring an imagining of the F-19's capabilities, with artwork based on the <a href="/facts/Testor_Corporation/mqT8l7Ab">Testor Corporation</a> model kit.</li> <li>In 1988, an F-19 was released in the <i><a href="/facts/G.I._Joe/Wtydovrl">G.I. Joe</a></i> toy line, called the "X-19 Phantom". Included was a pilot codenamed <a href="/facts/Ghostrider_(G.I._Joe)/MAJQhgpa">Ghostrider</a>. The <i><a href="/facts/G.I._Joe%3a_A_Real_American_Hero/UAYzwUcC">G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero</a></i> toy the "Phantom X-19" was loosely based on the Testor model.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a></li> <li>The 1990 videogame <i><a href="/facts/Air_Diver/NMgENDoc">Air Diver</a></i> featured an "F-119D Stealth Fighter" that strongly resembled the Monogram F-19 model.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a></li> <li>The 1989 video game <i><a href="/facts/David_Wolf%3a_Secret_Agent/FpK9FHxm">David Wolf: Secret Agent</a></i> involves the disappearance of the SF-2a "Shadowcat" stealth fighter, whose appearance was loosely based on the Testor model. The same happens in the 1990 game <i><a href="/facts/Operation_Stealth/4CC0Jdd1">Operation Stealth</a></i>.</li> <li>The videogame <i><a href="/facts/RoboCop%3a_Rogue_City/s3yzNbRK">RoboCop: Rogue City</a></i> shows the F-19A Specter at an <a href="/facts/Omni_Consumer_Products_(RoboCop)/u2A0q5QT">OCP</a> expo center.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a></li> <li>The <a href="/facts/Alabama_Air_National_Guard/u1SWTonz">Alabama Air National Guard</a>’s 117th Intelligence Squadron uses the F-19A Specter on their squadron logo.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <p> Related lists </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/1962_United_States_Tri-Service_aircraft_designation_system/kHjJtWg2">1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_fighter_aircraft/JDEPzkbH">List of fighter aircraft</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_military_aircraft_of_the_United_States/jTsQeQdE">List of military aircraft of the United States</a></li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Rossen, Jake (2021-09-12). <a href="https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/toy-considered-threat-to-national-security">"The '80s Toy That Was Considered a Threat to National Security"</a>. <i>Mental Floss</i>. Retrieved 2024-08-14.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="http://www.designation-systems.net/usmilav/nonstandard-mds.html#_MDS_F117">Non-Standard DOD Aircraft Designations: Lockheed Martin F-117 Nighthawk</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.designation-systems.net/usmilav/missing-mds.html">"Missing" USAF/DOD Aircraft Designations</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Frey, Lieutenant Colonel William. "The F-20, Saga of an FX".[permanent dead link] Air University Review, May–June 1986. <a href="http://www.maxwell.af.mil/au/cadre/aspj/airchronicles/aureview/1986/may-jun/frey.html" target="_blank">http://www.maxwell.af.mil/au/cadre/aspj/airchronicles/aureview/1986/may-jun/frey.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Richard G. Sheffield (1995). Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk. Aerospace. p. 72. ISBN 978-1880588192. <a href="978-1880588192" target="_blank">978-1880588192</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>https://www.cavok.com.br/guerra-fria-como-o-mundo-imaginava-o-f-117 <a href="https://www.cavok.com.br/guerra-fria-como-o-mundo-imaginava-o-f-117" target="_blank">https://www.cavok.com.br/guerra-fria-como-o-mundo-imaginava-o-f-117</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>The Defenders A Comprehensive Guide to the Warplanes of the USA by Chris Marshall, 1988. ISBN 1870318102 <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Jeffrey T. Richelson (July 2001). "When Secrets Crash". Air Force Magazine. Retrieved 1 November 2019. <a href="http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2001/July%202001/0701crash.aspx" target="_blank">http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2001/July%202001/0701crash.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Ciotti, Paul (1986-10-19). "Tempest in a Toy Box : The Stealth Fighter Is So Secret the Pentagon Won't Admit It Exists. John Andrews Shocked Everyone by Building a Model of It. To Tell the Truth, He Says, It Wasn't All That Much Trouble". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-01-21. <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-10-19-tm-5852-story.html" target="_blank">https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-10-19-tm-5852-story.html</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Jeffrey T. Richelson (July 2001). "When Secrets Crash". Air Force Magazine. Retrieved 1 November 2019. <a href="http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2001/July%202001/0701crash.aspx" target="_blank">http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2001/July%202001/0701crash.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Jr, John H. Cushman; Times, Special To the New York (1988-11-11). "Air Force Lifts Curtain, a Bit, on Secret Plane". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-16. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/11/us/air-force-lifts-curtain-a-bit-on-secret-plane.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/11/us/air-force-lifts-curtain-a-bit-on-secret-plane.html</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Richard G. Sheffield (1995). Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk. Aerospace. p. 72. ISBN 978-1880588192. <a href="978-1880588192" target="_blank">978-1880588192</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Lockheed F-19 Stealth Fighter (1986)". Retrieved 2007-04-11. <a href="http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/TESTORS%20F-19%20STEALTH%20PAGE.htm" target="_blank">http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/TESTORS%20F-19%20STEALTH%20PAGE.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Trenner, Patricia (2008). "A Short (Very Short) History of the F-19". Air & Space magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2008-02-11. <a href="https://archive.today/20120717053318/http://www.airspacemag.com/issues/2008/december-january/f19.php" target="_blank">https://archive.today/20120717053318/http://www.airspacemag.com/issues/2008/december-january/f19.php</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"A Very Short History of the F-19". Retrieved 2014-06-20. <a href="http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/a-short-very-short-history-of-the-f-19-23036383/?no-ist" target="_blank">http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/a-short-very-short-history-of-the-f-19-23036383/?no-ist</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"F-19A Specter (1987)". Fantastic Plastic Models. Retrieved 2007-04-11. <a href="http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/MONOGRAM%20F-19%20STEALTH%20PAGE.htm" target="_blank">http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/MONOGRAM%20F-19%20STEALTH%20PAGE.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Richard G. Sheffield (1995). Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk. Aerospace. p. 72. ISBN 978-1880588192. <a href="978-1880588192" target="_blank">978-1880588192</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>"Transformers" #56 (September 1989) <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Jim Sorenson & Bill Forster (July 22, 2008). Transformers: The Ark II. IDW Publishing. p. 192. ISBN 978-1-60010-180-9. <a href="978-1-60010-180-9" target="_blank">978-1-60010-180-9</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Dan Dare and the Return of the Mekon, The Dare Report pages 16/17. Author Pat Mills, Artist Ian Kennedy. <a href="/wiki/Pat_Mills" target="_blank">/wiki/Pat_Mills</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>"GI Joe ARAH PHANTOM X-19 STEALTH FIGHTER". <a href="http://www.yojoe.com/vehicles/88/phantom/" target="_blank">http://www.yojoe.com/vehicles/88/phantom/</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>"Air Diver rear box art". <a href="http://www.mobygames.com/game/genesis/air-diver/cover-art/gameCoverId,192987" target="_blank">http://www.mobygames.com/game/genesis/air-diver/cover-art/gameCoverId,192987</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>"IGCD.net: Loral F-19 in RoboCop: Rogue City". igcd.net. Retrieved 2024-08-07. <a href="https://www.igcd.net/vehicle.php?id=330176&l=en" target="_blank">https://www.igcd.net/vehicle.php?id=330176&l=en</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>Trevithick, Joseph (2017-10-23). "This USAF Intelligence Squadron's Insignia Appears to Show the "F-19 Specter"". The War Zone. Retrieved 2024-08-07. <a href="https://www.twz.com/15337/this-usaf-intelligence-squadrons-insignia-appears-to-show-the-f-19-specter" target="_blank">https://www.twz.com/15337/this-usaf-intelligence-squadrons-insignia-appears-to-show-the-f-19-specter</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>"117th Intelligence Squadron". 117arw.ang.af.mil. Retrieved 2024-08-07. <a href="https://www.117arw.ang.af.mil/News/Photos/igphoto/2001677680/" target="_blank">https://www.117arw.ang.af.mil/News/Photos/igphoto/2001677680/</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>