Modern-Aviation

Aircraft And Military Development & Applications

76-Convair-F-102-Delta-Dagger

The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was an American interceptor aircraft that was built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s. Entering service in 1956, its main purpose was to intercept invading Soviet strategic bomber fleets during the Cold War. Designed and manufactured by Convair, 1,000 F-102s were built.

Maiden flight: 24 Oct 1953 Length: 68.34 ft Wingspan: 38.09 ft Passengers: 2 Introduced: Apr 1956 Retired: 1976

Introduction to Service
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 F-102As were built, production ending in September 1958. TF-102s and F-102s were used in the 1960s by the Air Defense Command (ADC) at Perrin AFB, Texas to train new F-102 pilots. They also provided platform training on flight characteristics of delta-winged aircraft for pilots who were destined to fly the B-58 Hustler bomber for the Strategic Air Command (SAC).

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 wider fuselage with side-by-side twin seating.

During the time the F-102A was in service, several new wing designs were used to experiment with the application of increased conical camber to the wings. Ultimately, a design was selected that actually increased elevon area, reduced takeoff speed, improved the supersonic L/D ratio and increased the aircraft's ceiling to 56,000 ft (17,069 m). A modification was required to the landing gear doors due to the wing redesign.

The Air Defense Command had F-102 Delta Daggers in service in 1960 and the type continued to serve in large numbers with both Air Force and Air National Guard units well into the 1970s. George W. Bush, later President of the United States, flew the F-102 in the 147th Fighter Interceptor Group based at Ellington AFB in Houston, Texas as part of his Texas Air National Guard service from 1968 to 1972.

Vietnam Service
The F-102 served in Vietnam, flying fighter patrols and serving as bomber escorts. A total of 14 aircraft were lost in Vietnam: one to air-to-air combat, several to ground fire and the remainder to accidents.

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

Later on, Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strikes, codenamed "Arc Light", were escorted by F-102s based in the theater. It was during one of these missions that an F-102 was shot down by a North Vietnamese Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 using an AA-2 Atoll heat-seeking missile. The MiGs approached undetected, and one of the F-102s was hit by an air-to-air missile, which did not explode immediately, but remained lodged in the aft end of the aircraft, causing stability problems. As the pilot reported the problem to his wingman, the wingman observed the damaged Delta Dagger explode in midair, killing the pilot. This was the only air-to-air loss for the F-102 during the Vietnam War. The other F-102 pilot fired AIM-4 missiles at the departing MiG-21s, but no hit was recorded.

The F-102 was employed in the air-to-ground role with limited success, although neither the aircraft nor the training for its pilots were designed for that role. The 509th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron's Deuces arrived at Da Nang Air Base, 4 August 1964 from Clark Air Base, Philippines. The interceptor was equipped with 24 2.75 in (70 mm) FFARs in the fuselage bay doors. These could be used to good effect against various types of North Vietnamese targets in daylight. At night it proved less dangerous to use heat-seeking Falcon missiles in conjunction with the F-102's nose-mounted IRST (Infrared Search & Track) on nighttime harassment raids along the Ho Chi Minh trail. Some F-102As were configured to accommodate a single AIM-26 Super Falcon in each side bay in lieu of the two conventional AIM-4 Falcons. Operations with both the F-102A and TF-102A two-seaters (which were used in a Forward Air Control role because its two seats and 2.75 in/70 mm rockets offered good versatility for the mission) continued in Vietnam until 1968 when all F-102s were returned to the United States.

General Characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 68 ft 4 in (20.83 m)
Wingspan: 38 ft 1 in (11.61 m)
Height: 21 ft 2 in (6.45 m)
Wing area: 695 ft (64.57 m)
Airfoil: NACA 0004-65 mod root and tip
Empty weight: 19,350 lb (8,777 kg)
Loaded weight: 24,500 lb (11,100 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 31,500 lb (14,300 kg)
Powerplant: 1 x Pratt & Whitney J57-P-25 afterburning turbojet
Dry thrust: 11,700 lbf (52.0 kN)
Thrust with afterburner: 17,200 lbf (76.5 kN)
Internal fuel capacity: 1,085 US gal (4,107 l)
External fuel capacity: 2x 215 US gal (815 l) drop tanks

Role: Interceptor aircraft
Manufacturer: Convair
First flight: 24 October 1953
Introduction: April 1956
Retired: 1979
Primary users: United States Air Force
                        Greece
                        Turkey
Number built:   1000
Unit cost:          US$1.2 million
Developed from: Convair XF-92
Developed into: F-106 Delta Dart

Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 1.25 (825 mph, 1,304 km/h) at 40,000 ft (12,190 m)
Range: 1,350 mi (1,170 nm, 2,175 km)
Service ceiling: 53,400 ft (16,300 m)
Rate of climb: 13,000 ft/min (66 m/s)
Wing loading: 35 lb/ft (172 kg/m)
Thrust/weight: 0.70

Armaments
Rockets: 24 x 2.75 in (70 mm) unguided rockets in missile bay doors
Missiles:
6 x AIM-4 Falcon air-to-air missiles or
3 x AIM-4 Falcon
1 x AIM-26 Falcon with conventional or nuclear warhead

Avionics
MG-10 fire control system

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