Editing F-19 (section)

==History==
Since the [[1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system|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 to a fighter due to [[triskaidekaphobia]], though the designation had previously been used for a reconnaissance version of the [[B-29 Superfortress variants#RB-29J (RB-29, FB-29J, F-13, F-13A)|B-29]]. After the [[McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet|F/A-18 Hornet]], the next announced aircraft was the [[Northrop F-20 Tigershark|F-20 Tigershark]]. The USAF proposed the F-19 designation for the fighter, but Northrop requested "F-20" instead. The USAF finally approved the F-20 designation in 1982.<ref name=saga>Frey, Lieutenant Colonel William. [http://www.maxwell.af.mil/au/cadre/aspj/airchronicles/aureview/1986/may-jun/frey.html "The F-20, Saga of an FX"].{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} ''Air University Review'', May–June 1986.</ref> The truth behind this jump in numbers is that Northrop pressed the designation "F-20" as they wanted an even number, to stand out from the Soviet odd-numbered designations.<ref name=":Sheffield" />

The United States received the first [[Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk]] stealth attack aircraft in 1982. During the decade many news articles discussed what they called the "F-19". The [[Testor Corporation]] produced an F-19 [[scale model]].<ref name="afmag-richelson">{{cite magazine|author=Jeffrey T. Richelson |url=http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2001/July%202001/0701crash.aspx |title=When Secrets Crash|magazine=Air Force Magazine|date=July 2001|access-date=1 November 2019}}</ref> The company had decades of experience in producing highly detailed models that pilots and aerospace engineers purchased, and used its sources in the United States military and defense contractors. The ''[[CBS Evening News]]'' with Dan Rather and other media discussed the model after its January 1986 introduction. When the real stealth aircraft crashed in California in July 1986, news stories used the model to depict it. Representative [[Ron Wyden]] asked the chairman of [[Lockheed Corporation]] why an aircraft that Congressmen could not see was sold as model aircraft. The publicity helped to make the model the best-selling model aircraft of all time,<ref name="ciotti19861019">{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-10-19-tm-5852-story.html |title=Tempest in a Toy Box : The Stealth Fighter Is So Secret the Pentagon Won't Admit It Exists. John Andrews Shocked Everyone by Building a Model of It. To Tell the Truth, He Says, It Wasn't All That Much Trouble. |last=Ciotti |first=Paul |date=1986-10-19 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=2020-01-21 |language=en-US}}</ref> but the model's smooth contours bore little resemblance to the F-117 and its angular panels.{{r|afmag-richelson}} The F-117 designation was publicly revealed with the actual aircraft in November 1988.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jr |first=John H. Cushman |last2=Times |first2=Special To the New York |date=1988-11-11 |title=Air Force Lifts Curtain, a Bit, on Secret Plane |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/11/us/air-force-lifts-curtain-a-bit-on-secret-plane.html |access-date=2023-09-16 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>