McDonnell F-101 Voodoo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F-101_Voodoo

The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was a supersonic jet fighter which served the United
States Air Force (USAF) and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

Initially designed by McDonnell Aircraft as a long-range bomber escort (known as
a penetration fighter) for the Strategic Air Command (SAC), the Voodoo was
instead developed as a nuclear-armed fighter-bomber for the Tactical Air Command
(TAC), and as a photo reconnaissance aircraft based on the same airframe. An
F-101A set a number of world speed records for jet powered aircraft, including
fastest airspeed, attaining 1,207.6 miles (1,943.4 km) per hour on 12 December
1957. They operated in the reconnaissance role until 1979.

Delays in the 1954 interceptor project led to demands for an interim interceptor
aircraft design, a role that was eventually won by the B model of the Voodoo.
This required extensive modifications to add a large radar to the nose of the
aircraft, a second crewmember to operate it, and a new weapons bay using a
rotating door that kept its four AIM-4 Falcon missiles or two AIR-2 Genie
rockets hidden within the airframe until it was time to be fired. The F-101B
entered service with Air Defense Command in 1959 and the Royal Canadian Air
Force in 1961. US examples were handed off to the Air National Guard where they
served until 1982. Canadian examples remained in service until 1984.

The Voodoo's career as a fighter-bomber was relatively brief, but the
reconnaissance versions served for some time. Along with the US Air Force's
Lockheed U-2 and US Navy's Vought RF-8 Crusaders, the RF-101 reconnaissance
variant of the Voodoo was instrumental during the Cuban Missile Crisis and saw
extensive service during the Vietnam War. Interceptor versions served with the
Air National Guard until 1982, and in Canadian service they were a front line
part of NORAD until their replacement with the CF-18 Hornet in the 1980s.

While the Voodoo was a moderate success, it may have been more important as an
evolutionary step towards its replacement in most roles, the F-4 Phantom II, one
of the most successful Western fighter designs of the 1960s. The Phantom would
retain the twin engines, twin crew for interception duties, and a tail mounted
well above and behind the jet exhaust but was an evolution of the F3H Demon
while the Voodoo was developed from the earlier XF-88 Voodoo.

F-101A serial number 53-2418 was the first production aircraft; its maiden
flight was on 29 September 1954 at Edwards AFB where it reached Mach 0.9 (961.0
km/h) at 35,000 feet (11,000 m) This aircraft, which is privately owned, has
been moved to the Evergreen Maintenance Center in Marana, Arizona, restored, and
now on display at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.
It was previously on display at the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum.

The end of the war in Korea and the development of the jet-powered Boeing B-52
Stratofortress negated the need for fighter escort and Strategic Air Command
withdrew from the program.

Role
Fighter aircraft

Manufacturer
McDonnell Aircraft

First flight
29 September 1954

Introduction
May 1957

Retired
1972, USAF
1982, US ANG
1984, Canada

Primary users
United States Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force

Number built
807

Unit cost

US$1,276,145 (RF-101C)
US$1,754,066 (F-101B)

Developed from
XF-88 Voodoo

Variants
McDonnell CF-101 Voodoo

Despite SAC's loss of interest, the aircraft attracted the attention of Tactical
Air Command (TAC), and the F-101 was reconfigured as a fighter bomber, intended
to carry a single nuclear weapon for use against tactical targets such as
airfields. With the support of TAC, testing was resumed, with Category II flight
tests beginning in early 1955. A number of problems were identified during
development, with many of these fixed. The aircraft had a dangerous tendency
toward severe pitch-up at high angle of attack that was never entirely solved.
Around 2,300 improvements were made to the aircraft in 1955–56 before full
production was resumed in November 1956.

The F-101 set a number of speed records, including: a JF-101A (the ninth F-101A
modified as a testbed for the more powerful J-57-P-53 engines of the F-101B)
setting a world speed record of 1,207.6 mph (1,943.4 km/h) on 12 December 1957
during "Operation Firewall", beating the previous record of 1,132 mph (1,811
km/h) set by the Fairey Delta 2 in March the previous year. The record was then
subsequently taken in May 1958 by a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. On 27 November
1957, during "Operation Sun Run," an RF-101C set the Los Angeles-New York
City-Los Angeles record in 6 hours 46 minutes, the New York to Los Angeles
record in 3 hours, 36 minutes, and the Los Angeles to New York record in 3 hours
7 minutes.

A total of 77 F-101As were built. They were gradually withdrawn from service
starting in 1966. Twenty-nine survivors were converted to RF-101G specifications
with a modified nose, housing reconnaissance cameras in place of cannons and
radar. These served with the Air National Guard through 1972

Specifications (F-101B)

General characteristics
Crew: 2
Length: 67 ft 5 in (20.55 m)
Wingspan: 39 ft 8 in (12.09 m)
Height: 18 ft 0 in (5.49 m)
Wing area: 368 ft² (34.20 m²)
Airfoil: NACA 65A007 mod root, 65A006 mod tip
Empty weight: 28,495 lb (12,925 kg)
Loaded weight: 45,665 lb (20,715 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 52,400 lb (23,770 kg)
Internal fuel capacity: 2,053 gal (7,771 l) or 2,953 gal (11,178 l) with two
external tanks
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney J57-P-55 afterburning turbojets Dry thrust:
11,990 lbf (53.3 kN) each
Thrust with afterburner: 16,900 lbf (75.2 kN) each


Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 1.72 (1,134 mph, 1,825 km/h) at 35,000 ft (10,500 m)
Range: 1,520 mi (1,320 nm, 2,450 km)
Service ceiling: 58,400 ft (17,800 m)
Rate of climb: 36,500 ft/min (185 m/s)
Wing loading: 124 lb/ft² (607 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.74

Armament

Missiles:
4 (originally 6)× AIM-4 Falcon, or
2× AIR-2 Genie nuclear rockets, plus 2× AIM-4 Falcon

note: Falcon missile variants – AIM-4A, AIM-4B, AIM-4C only. The range was about
5 mi (8 km). Avionics

Hughes MG-13 fire control system



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