The great size of the B-36 Peacemaker made it possible for the behemoth to carry, launch, and retrieve other airplanes. The McDonnell XF-85 Goblin program was intended to provide the B-36 Peacemaker with a fighter for self defence which could be carried entirely within the bomb bay of the bomber. The constraints were that the fighter had to be only sixteen feet long, and only five feet wide when stowed. The wings of the Goblin were designed to fold up alongside each side of the fuselage to fit into the Peacemaker. Due to the unavailability of a B-36 for the flight tests, they were conducted using an EB-29B, serial 44-84111, which was named Monstro, after the whale that swallowed Pinochio.

XF-85 Goblin, serial 46-0524, was the first to fly on August 23, 1948. It made six of the seven free flights flown by the Goblins. Photo provided by the Edwards AFB Office of the Historian.

The pilot for all XF-85 Goblin flights was Ed Schoch. Provided by McDonnell Douglas.

A special pit was dug into the tarmac at South Base for loading the XF-85 into the EB-29B. XF-85, 46-0524 is seen in the loading pit on August 2, 1948. The complexity of the folding trapeze is evident. Note the "horse collar" at the end of the trapeze which served to secure the nose of the Goblin after it had engaged the cross bar. Photo courtesy AFFTC/HO

XF-85, 46-0524 part way through the retraction process on July 15, 1948. Photo courtesy AFFTC/HO

XF-85, 46-0524 fully retracted into the EB-29B on August 2, 1948. Photo courtesy AFFTC/HO

Ground clearance was limited while carrying the XF-85. Monstro is nearing take-off speed in this view and is already beginnning to rise on its landing gear. To make Monstro easier to see against the sky, The rear fuselage and vertical stabilizer were painted yellow and the outer wing panels and horizontal stabilizers were striped yellow and black. Photo courtesy AFFTC/HO.

Because of the turbulence encountered as the XF-85 appproached the trapeze, only three of the seven free flights ended in a successful hookup. The other four flights ended in skid landings on Rogers dry lakebed at Edwards AFB. During the first flight, Ed Schoch missed the trapeze with the hook and hit it with the cockpit canopy of the Goblin. The trapeze broke the canopy and knocked off his helmet. Photo courtesy AFFTC/HO.

This is XF-85, serial 46-0523, which was the second Goblin to fly. It made its only captive flight on March 19, 1949 and its only free flight, the last flight of the program, on April 8, 1949. Photo courtesy AFFTC/HO.

XF-85, 46-0523 posed in front of Monstro on the South Base flightline at Edwards AFB. The loading pit can be seen behind them. This Goblin was equipped with vertical surfaces at the wingtips to augment the six vertical surfaces clustered around the tail. Photo courtesy AFFTC/HO.

XF-85, serial 46-0523, survives in the Air Force Museum. This picture was taken on August 19, 1972. The hook that was used to attach the Goblin to Monstro is missing. The other Goblin, serial 46-0524, can be seen at the Strategic Air Command Museum. Photographer: Brian Lockett.

McDonnell XF-85 Goblin, serial 46-0523, seen on display next to the B-36J at the Air Force Museum on August 17, 1998. The hook has been replaced. Photographer: Brian Lockett.

Detail of the retractable hook. The tip of the hook was extended late in the flight program of the Goblin. On one occasion, the tip of the hook was snapped off in an attempt to attach to the EB-29B. Photographed at the Air Force Museum on August 17, 1998. Photographer: Brian Lockett.

Susequent Parasite Fighter Programs

Following the cancellation of the Goblin program, the Fighter Conveyer (FICON) program investigated the potential of carrying various models of the Republic F-84 in the bomb bay of a Peacemaker.

From 1952 to 1956, the Fighter Conveyer (FICON) program investigated the potential of carrying various models of the Republic F-84 in the bomb bay of a Peacemaker.

In 1955 and 1956 Project Tom-Tom explored an alternative method of attaching a Republic RF-84F Thunderflash to each wingtip of a Peacemaker.

Books about B-36 Peacemakers available from

Dennis Jenkins has produced another large B-36 book: Magnesium Overcast.

Meyers Jacobsen has authored another book about the Convair B-36 Peacemaker: A Photo Chronicle.

Convair B-36 : A Comprehensive History of America's 'Big Stick by Meyers K. Jacobsen. Mr. Jacobsen has been compiling this history for at least a quarter of a century.

Warbird Tech: Convair B-36 Peacemaker . This volume by Dennis Jenkins contains a surprising amount of information that did not get into "The Big Stick".

The history of the efforts to preserve B-36J, 52-22827 at Fort Worth is well documented in "B-36: Saving the Last Peacemaker"; Second Edition, an html book on CD.

Go to the main Convair B-36 page.

Go to the home page of the Goleta Air and Space Museum.

Send a message to Brian.