F-19

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"F-19" is a designation for a United States fighter aircraft that has never been officially used, and has engendered much speculation that it might refer to a type of aircraft whose existence is still classified.

[edit] History

Since the unification of the numbering system in 1962, U.S. fighters have been designated by consecutive numbers, beginning with the F-1 Fury. F-13 was never assigned (presumably due to triskaidekaphobia among pilots, who are notoriously superstitious), but after the F/A-18 Hornet, the next announced aircraft was the F-20 Tigershark. There have been a number of theories put forth to explain this omission, but none have ever been confirmed.

The most prevalent theory in the 1980s was that "F-19" was the designation of the stealth fighter whose development was an open secret in the aerospace community. When the actual aircraft was publicly revealed in 1988, it was called the F-117 Nighthawk. There seems to be no evidence that "F-19" was ever used to designate the Nighthawk, although the National Museum of the United States Air Force website (as of 2007) does include the entry "Lockheed F-19 CSIRS (see F-117)". ^[1]

[edit] Cultural references

• In the 1983 Chevy Chase film Deal of the Century, Gregory Hines' character "Ray Kasternak" piloted an F-19 in a dogfight against an autonomous drone fighter.^{[citation needed]}

• In 1986, the Testor Corporation released a model aircraft kit, calling it the F-19 Stealth Fighter.^{[citation needed]}

• The Tom Clancy novel Red Storm Rising mentioned an F-19A Ghostrider.^{[citation needed]}

• Jane's Information Group published an incorrect entry on the F-19 in their aircraft recognition guide, Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1986-1987. In addition to the fictitious artwork, the 1987-1988 edition lists the aircraft as the "Lockheed RF-19 and XST".^{[citation needed]}

• In 1988, Microprose released a computer game entitled F-19 Stealth Fighter, an early computer simulation of stealth air combat.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Notes

1. ^ National Museum of the USAF Fighter Index

Designation sequence

F-16 - F-17 - F-18 - F-19 - F-20 - F-21 - F-22

Related lists

• List of military aircraft of the United States
• List of fighter aircraft