McDonnell XF-85
In the interim period between World War II and the Korean War, fighter escorts could not come close to matching the range necessary to protect their bombers. Mid-air refueling hadn’t yet matured into a dependable practice, so the Air Force experimented with attaching tiny parasite fighters to the bombers. McDonnell’s XF-85 was just 14 feet long and had a 21-foot unfolded wingspan. The egg-shaped Goblin was intended to be carried in the bomb bay and released from a trapeze hook when enemy interceptors appeared, then return to the flying aircraft carrier. However, it couldn’t compete with conventional aircraft and the program was cancelled in 1949.
