It was (and still is) the smallest fighter jet ever. The Goblin was small because it was designed to be deployed from the cramped bomber bay of a B-36 via a trapeze system. It was intended to act ...

The Goblin measured just 15 feet in length, and with the wings folded up for transport was only five feet wide, making it the smallest jet fighter ever built. It was what’s known as a ...

The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation’s XF-85 Goblin was to be a fighter unlike any other. It was tiny–so small it was often referred to as a “parasite” fighter–and instead of taking off ...

Summary and Key Points: The McDonnell XF-85 “Goblin” was a unique “parasite fighter” designed to be deployed from large bombers, like the B-36 Peacemaker, to defend against enemy aircraft.

The Goblin made its first test flights by 1948, but by the following year, the program was cancelled, citing inferior performance to other fighter jets and issues with its return docking system.

What follows are 10 U.S. fighter jets that never took to the skies as production models. Read more: Weapons That Are Too Dangerous For War The X-85 Goblin had one of the most descriptive names of ...

The Goblin would take on an unorthodox shape ... Because of the inferior performance in regards to Soviet jet fighters it might encounter at the time, the issues of handling during docking ...