F-102 Delta Dagger

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Image:F102 4.jpg The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger fighter aircraft was part of the backbone of the United States air defenses in the late 1950s. Entering service in 1956, its main purpose was to intercept invading Soviet bomber fleets. The aircraft's development was long and troubled, and by the early 1960s it was being replaced by F-101 Voodoos and F-4 Phantom IIs. Many of the F-102s were transferred to United States Air National Guard duty by the mid- to late-1960s, and the plane left service altogether in 1976.

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Development

The F-102 was developed from the XF-92A delta wing research aircraft of the late 1940s. The Air Force took a new approach in putting out the request for proposals for an operational interceptor, considering both the aircraft and armament together in what became known as a "weapon system". The RFP for Project MX-1554 went out 18 June 1950, and in January 1951 six manufacturers responded, of which Convair, Lockheed, and Republic were chosen to proceed with design. Three of these projects were too expensive, and in November, only Convair was allowed to continue with its Model 8-80, an interim project using the less-powerful Westinghouse J40 turbojet in lieu of the Wright J67, which was still in development.

The YF-102A made its first flight on 24 October 1953, but was lost in an accident nine days later. The second aircraft flew on 11 January 1954, confirming a dismal performance, far below the requirements. The problem was solved by the use of the area-ruled fuselage, and the modified aircraft, Model 8-90, first flew on 19 December 1954, achieving a speed of Mach 1.22 and an altitude of 53,000 ft (16,200 m).

The production F-102A had the Hughes MG-3 fire control system, later upgraded in service to the MG-10. It had a three-segment internal weapons bay under the fuselage for air-to-air missiles. Initial armament was three pairs of GAR-1 Falcon missiles, a mix of infrared and semi-active radar homing. The doors of the two forward bays each had tubes for 12 2.75 in (70 mm) FFAR rockets (for a total of 24). The F-102 was later upgraded to allow the carriage of two GAR-9 Nuclear Falcon missiles in the center bay. The larger size of these weapons required redesigned center bay doors with no rocket tubes. Plans were considered to fit the MB-1 Genie nuclear rocket, but this weapon was never adopted.

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Operational history

The first operational service of the F-102A was with the 327th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at George Air Force Base, in April 1956, and eventually a total of 889 were built.

111 TF-102A two-seat side-by-side trainers were also produced. This version was slower with a maximum speed of about 770 mph or slightly over Mach 1.0 because it had a redesigned forward fuselage to accommodate the side-by-side seating. The TF-102 retained a full combat capability however, and was armed in the same way as the F-102A.

The F-102 and TF-102 were exported overseas to both Turkey and Greece, with those aircraft seeing combat missions during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus. There have been claims of air combat between Greek F-5's and Turkish F-102's. The Greeks claimed to have shot down two F-102's while the Turks claim to have shot down an F-5, however both sides deny losses. The F-102 was finally retired from both of those air forces in 1979. The F-102 left U.S. service in 1976, while the last PQM-102 drone was expended in 1986. No F-102's remain in flyable condition today although many can be seen at museums.

In 1973 six aircraft were converted to target drones, simulating MiG-21s. This began a program where hundreds of F-102's were converted for use as target drones for F-4 and F-106 aircraft as well as later F-15 aircraft and testing of the U.S. Army's Patriot missile system.

The F-102's official name, "Delta Dagger", was never used in common parlance, with the aircraft being universally known as the "Deuce". The TF-102 was known as the "Tub" because of its wide fuselage.

President George W. Bush flew F-102s during his time with the Air National Guard. He was a member of the 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron of the Texas Air National Guard.

The F-102 served in Vietnam, flying fighter patrols, bomber escorts and ground attack missions. A total of 15 aircraft were lost in Vietnam; one to air-air combat, several to ground fire and the remaining to accidents.

Initially F-102 detachments began to be sent to bases in Southeast Asia in 1962, when radar contacts that were detected by ground radars were thought to possibly be North Vietnamese Il-28 "Beagle" bombers, which was considered a very credible threat during that time period. F-102's were sent to Thailand and other nearby countries to intercept these aircraft if they indeed threatened South Vietnam at any time.

Later on, B-52 strikes codenamed ARC LIGHT, were escorted by F-102's based in the theater. It was during one of these missions that an F-102 was shot down by a North Vietnamese MiG-21 using an AA-2 Atoll heat-seeking missile. The MiGs approached undetected, and one of the F-102's was shot down. The other F-102 pilot managed to shoot off some AIM-4's at the fleeing MiG-21's, but no hits were recorded. This was the only air-to-air loss for the F-102 during the Vietnam War.

Interestingly enough, the F-102 became fairly heavily used in the air-to-ground role. The interceptor was equipped with 24 70-mm FFAR's in the fuselage bay doors, and these weapons were used to good effect against various types of North Vietnamese targets. Additionally, heat-seeking Falcon missiles used in conjunction with the F-102's nose-mounted IRST (Infrared Search & Track) were employed on night time harassment raids along the Ho Chi Minh trail. This is likely the only time an air-to-air missile has been used for air-to-ground operations.

Operations with both the F-102A and TF-102A two-seater (which was used in a Forward Air Control role because its two-seats and 70-mm rockets offered good versatility for the mission) in Vietnam until 1968, when all aircraft were sent back to the United States.

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Variants

  • YF-102 - The first prototypes.
  • YF-102A - Prototypes
  • F-102A - Single-seat all-weather interceptor fighter aircraft, 889 built
  • TF-102A - Two-seat training version, 111 built
  • QF-102A - Two piloted target drones, (converted from the F-102A).
  • PQM-102A - 200+ unpiloted target drones, (converted from F-102A).
  • PQM-102B - Unpiloted target drones.
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Operators

  • Greece, Turkey, United States (Air Force),
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Specifications (F-102A)

Template:Airtemp</ref> |crew=1 |length main=68 ft 4 in |length alt=20.83 m |span main=38 ft 1 in |span alt=11.61 m |height main=21 ft 2 in |height alt=6.45 m |area main=695 ft² |area alt=64.57 m² |empty weight main=19,350 lb |empty weight alt=8,777 kg |loaded weight main=24,500 lb |loaded weight alt=11,115 kg |max takeoff weight main=31,500 lb |max takeoff weight alt=14,288 kg |more general=

  • Internal fuel capacity: 1,085 US gal (4,107 l)
  • External fuel capacity: 2x 215 US gal (815 l) drop tanks |engine (jet)=Pratt & Whitney J57-P-25 |type of jet=afterburning turbojet |number of jets=1 |thrust main=11,700 lbf |thrust alt=52.0 kN |afterburning thrust main=17,200 lbf |afterburning thrust alt=76.5 kN |max speed main=Mach 1.25, 825 mph |max speed alt=1,304 km/h |max speed more=at 40,000 ft (12,190 m) |range main=1,350 mi |range alt=2,175 km |ceiling main=53,400 ft |ceiling alt=16,275 m |climb rate main=13,000 ft/min |climb rate alt=66 m/s |loading main=35 lb/ft² |loading alt=172 kg/m² |thrust/weight=0.70 |avionics=
    • MG-10 fire control system
    |armament= }}
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    References

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    External links

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