USAF SERIAL NUMBER 51-13563
Brief history
The F-94C was flown by the 109th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and the 279th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron of the Minnesota Air National Guard from 1954 to 1959. The F-94, built to a 1948 USAF specification for a radar equipped interceptor specifically designed to counter the threat of the USSRs new Tupolev TU-4 bombers (a reversed engineered Boeing B-29). The F-94 was derived from the Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star which is a two seat trainer version of the F-80 Shooting Star. A lengthened nose area with guns, radar and automatic fire control system were added.
The first flight took place on 16 April, 1949 with a total of 855 being built. The F-94 was to be the first US production jet with an afterburner. The last F-94s were retired in 1960. The F-94 was used in combat during the Korean War, it is credited with several air to air victories, including the first jet vs. jet night victory. One F-94 is listed as lost due to enemy action, six more to non-enemy causes on combat missions, two were declared as missing on a combat mission and three were lost in accidents.