Tag Archives: F-102A

Have a ripple

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convair-f-102-delta-dagger-31793-firing-rockets

A combination shot of two screen frames of Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, 53-1793, as it ripple fires 24 × 2.75 in (70 mm) FFAR (Folding Fin Aerial Rocket) unguided rockets from its missile bay doors.

The world’s first supersonic, all-weather jet interceptor and the U.S. Air Force’s first operational delta wing aircraft, the F-102 used a very complex fire control system for the time, the Hughes MG-3/10 series, which would automatically fire the onboard air-to-air rockets and missiles. Besides the FFARs shown, the Dagger could carry a mix of a half-dozen semi-active radar homing (the AIM-4A Falcon) and infrared homing (the AIM-4C Falcon) guidance air to air missiles as well as the brutal AIM-26A Nuclear Falcon, which sounds like a classic Air Force weapon.

F-102A-5-CO s/n 53-1793 served in the following Fighter Intercepter Squadrons:

*USAF 18th FIS.
*USAF 37th FIS.
*USAF 460th FIS.
*USAF 16th FIS.
*USAF 509th FIS.
*10/1965: Stuck off charge at Clark AB, Philippines.

Texas Dagger

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Convair TF-102A Delta Dagger 0-62379 of 111 Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 147 Fighter Group, Texas Air National Guard in 1971

Convair TF-102A Delta Dagger 0-62379 of the 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 147 Fighter Group, Texas Air National Guard in 1971. The 111th flew the Dagger out of Ellington Field  from 1960–1975.

Operational in 1956, the Air Force bought 889 F-102As and 111 two seat TF-102As as combat trainers with side-by-side seating. Largely used for air defense the Dagger likely intercepted more Russian aircraft than any other during the Cold War. It was armed with 24 unguided 2.75-in. rockets and six guided missiles. The USAF withdrew the type all together in 1979, expending the majority of the best airframes as QF-106 target drones over the Gulf of Mexico in the 1980s.

As for the 111th, they transitioned from the Dagger to the F-101 Voodoo, then the F-4 Phantom and finally the F-16 before becoming a Reconnaissance Squadron in 2008 flying Predator drones. The 111th Reconnaissance Squadron is currently the oldest unit of the Texas Air National Guard– and they still fly from Ellington.