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The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo is a
supersonic Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...
jet fighter which served the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...
(USAF) and the
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environ ...
(RCAF). Initially designed by McDonnell Aircraft Corporation as a long-range bomber escort (known as a '' penetration fighter'') for the USAF's
Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile c ...
(SAC), the Voodoo was instead developed as a nuclear-armed
fighter-bomber A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, ...
for the USAF's
Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...
(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 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 An interceptor aircraft, or simply interceptor, is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically for the defensive interception role against an attacking enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Aircraft that are ...
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 crew member 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 USAF
Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly ina ...
in 1959 and the
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environ ...
in 1961. US examples were handed off to the USAF Air National Guard where they served until 1982. Canadian examples remained in service until 1984.


Design and development


Background

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 The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "''Dragon Lady''", is an American single-jet engine, high altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It provides da ...
and US Navy's Vought RF-8 Crusaders, the RF-101 reconnaissance variant of the Voodoo was instrumental during the
Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the Unite ...
and saw extensive service during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. Interceptor versions served with the Air National Guard until 1982, and in Canadian service, they were a front line part of
NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...
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 The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bo ...
, one of the most successful Western fighter designs of the 1950s. 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 The McDonnell XF-88 Voodoo was a long-range, twinjet fighter aircraft with swept wings designed for the United States Air Force. Although it never entered production, its design was adapted for the subsequent supersonic F-101 Voodoo. Design and ...
.


Initial design

Initial design on what would eventually become the Voodoo began just after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
in response to a USAAF Penetration Fighter Competition in 1946. This called for a long-range, high-performance fighter to escort a new generation of bombers, much as the
North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
had escorted the
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theat ...
es and
Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models ...
s in World War II. Several companies responded with designs, and the Air Force provided funds for several of them to produce prototypes. After being awarded a contract (AC-14582) on 14 February 1947,
McDonnell The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded on July 6, 1939, by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom II ...
built two prototypes, designated the XF-88 Voodoo.Francillon 1979, pp. 460–461. The first prototype (serial number ''46-6525''), powered by two 3,000 lbf (13.3 kN) Westinghouse XJ34-WE-13 turbojets, flew from Muroc on 20 October 1948.Angelucci and Bowers 1987, p. 304. Preliminary testing revealed that while handling and range was adequate, the top speed was a disappointing 641 mph (1,032 km/h) at sea level.Francillon 1979, p. 461. After fitting McDonnell-designed afterburners to the second prototype, thrust was increased to 3,600 lbf (16.1 kN) with corresponding performance increases in top speed, initial rate of climb and reduced takeoff distance. Fuel consumption was greatly increased by use of the afterburners, however, reducing the range. Although the XF-88 won the "fly-off" competition against the competing Lockheed XF-90 and
North American YF-93 The North American YF-93 was an American fighter development of the F-86 Sabre that emerged as a radically different variant that received its own designation. Two were built and flown before the project was eventually canceled. Design and d ...
, the detonation of the first nuclear weapon by the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
resulted in the USAF (created in 1947) re-evaluating its fighter needs, with interceptors being more important and bomber escorts being of reduced priority, and it terminated the Penetration Fighter program in 1950.Dorr and Donald 1990, pp. 146, 148. Analysis of
Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...
missions, however, revealed that contemporary USAF strategic bombers were vulnerable to fighter interception. In 1951, the USAF issued a new requirement for a bomber escort with all major US manufacturers submitting designs. The McDonnell design was a larger and higher-powered version of the XF-88 and won the bid in May 1951. The F-88 was redesignated the ''F-101 Voodoo'' in November 1951.Peacock 1985, p. 76.


Design changes for new engines

The new design was considerably larger, carrying three times the initial fuel load and designed around larger, more powerful
Pratt & Whitney J57 The Pratt & Whitney J57 (company designation: JT3C) is an axial-flow turbojet engine developed by Pratt & Whitney in the early 1950s. The J57 (first run January 1950) was the first 10,000 lbf (45 kN) thrust class engine in the United Stat ...
turbojets.Francillon 1979, p. 538. The greater dimensions of the J57 engines required modifications to the engine bays, and modification to the intakes to allow a larger amount of airflow to the engine. The new intakes were also designed to be more efficient at higher Mach numbers. In order to increase aerodynamic efficiency, reduce structural weight and alleviate pitch-up phenomena recently identified in-flight testing of the Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket, an aircraft with a control surface configuration similar to the XF-88, the horizontal tail was relocated to the top of the vertical stabilizer, giving the F-101 its signature "T-tail". In late 1952, the mission of the F-101 was changed from "penetration fighter" to "strategic fighter", which entailed equal emphasis on both the bomber escort mission and on nuclear weapons delivery. The new Voodoo mock-up with the reconfigured inlets, tail surfaces, landing gear, and dummy nuclear weapon was inspected by Air Force officials in March 1953.Knaack 1978, pp. 137–138. The design was approved, and an initial order for 29 F-101As was placed on 28 May 1953, no prototypes being required as the F-101 was considered a simple development of the XF-88,Francillon 1979, p. 539. with the Cook-Cragie production policy, in which initial low-rate production would be used for testing without the use of separate prototypes, chosen instead.Peacock 1985, p. 78.Knaack 1982, p. 136.


First production

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 at . This aircraft, which is privately owned, has been moved to the Evergreen Maintenance Center in
Marana, Arizona Marana is a town in Pima County, Arizona, United States, located northwest of Tucson, with a small portion in Pinal County. According to the 2010 census, the population of the town is 34,961. From 1990 to 2000, Marana was the fourth fastest- ...
, restored, and now on display at the
Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum is an aviation museum in McMinnville, Oregon. Its exhibits include the Hughes H-4 Hercules (''Spruce Goose'') and more than fifty military and civilian aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), and spac ...
in McMinnville, Oregon. It was previously on display at the
Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum The Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum is a non-profit aviation museum located in Southern Colorado. It was founded in the mid-1970s by former Pueblo City Manager Fred Weisbrod. The museum is made up of two hangars that were built in 2005 and 2011. ...
. The end of the war in Korea and the development of the jet-powered
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic aircraft, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the ...
negated the need for fighter escort and
Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile c ...
withdrew from the program. Despite SAC's loss of interest, the aircraft attracted the attention of
Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...
(TAC), and the F-101 was reconfigured as a
fighter bomber A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...
, intended to carry a single
nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
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 In fluid dynamics, angle of attack (AOA, α, or \alpha) is the angle between a reference line on a body (often the chord line of an airfoil) and the vector representing the relative motion between the body and the fluid through which it is ...
that was never entirely solved.Dorr 1995, p. 172. Around 2,300 improvements were made to the aircraft in 1955–56 before full production was resumed in November 1956.


Operational history


F-101A / RF-101G

The first F-101A was delivered on 2 May 1957 to the 27th Strategic Fighter Wing, which transferred to TAC in July that year, replacing their F-84F Thunderstreak. The F-101A was powered by two Pratt & Whitney J57-P-13
turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, ...
s, allowing good acceleration, climb-performance, ease in penetrating the sound barrier in level flight, and a maximum performance of
Mach Mach may refer to Mach number, the speed of sound in local conditions. It may also refer to: Computing * Mach (kernel), an operating systems kernel technology * ATI Mach, a 2D GPU chip by ATI * GNU Mach, the microkernel upon which GNU Hurd is bas ...
 1.52. The F-101's large internal fuel capacity allowed a range of approximately nonstop.Francillon 1979, p. 547. The aircraft was fitted with an MA-7 fire-control radar for both air-to-air and air-to-ground use, augmented by a Low Altitude Bombing System (LABS) for delivering nuclear weapons, and was designed to carry a Mk 28
nuclear bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bo ...
. The original intended payload for the F-101A was the McDonnell Model 96 store, a large fuel/weapons pod similar in concept to that of the
Convair B-58 Hustler The Convair B-58 Hustler, designed and produced by American aircraft manufacturer Convair, was the first operational bomber capable of Mach 2 flight. The B-58 was developed during the 1950s for the United States Air Force (USAF) Strategic Air ...
, but was cancelled in March 1956 before the F-101 entered service. Other operational nuclear payloads included the Mk 7, Mk 43, and Mk 57 weapons. While theoretically capable of carrying conventional bombs, rockets, or Falcon air-to-air missiles,Taylor 1995, pp. 236–237. the Voodoo never used such weapons operationally. It was fitted with four 20mm M39 cannon, with one cannon often removed in service to make room for a
TACAN A tactical air navigation system, commonly referred to by the acronym TACAN, is a navigation system used by military aircraft. It provides the user with bearing and distance (slant-range or hypotenuse) to a ground or ship-borne station. It is a mor ...
beacon-receiver. 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",Dorr 1995, p. 173. 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 The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the " Century Series" o ...
. 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."Operation Sun Run".
''National Museum of the United States Air Force''. Retrieved: 7 February 2008.
A total of 77 F-101As were built. They were gradually withdrawn from service starting in 1966.Knaack 1982, pp. 140–141. Twenty-nine survivors were converted to ''RF-101G'' specifications with a modified nose, housing
reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...
cameras in place of cannons and radar. These served with the Air National Guard through 1972.Dorr 1995, p. 187.


RF-101A

In October 1953, the USAF requested that two F-101As be built as prototype YRF-101A tactical
reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...
aircraft. These were followed by 35 RF-101A production aircraft.Dorr 1995, p. 174. The RF-101A shared the airframe of the F-101A, including its 6.33 ''g'' (62 m/s²) limit, but replaced the radar and cannons with up to six cameras in the reshaped nose.Peacock 1985, pp. 78, 80. Like all other models of the F-101, it had provision for both flying boom and probe-and-drogue in-flight refueling capability, as well as for a buddy tank that allowed it to refuel other aircraft. It entered service in May 1957,Peacock 1985, p. 80. replacing the
RB-57 Canberra The Martin B-57 Canberra is an American-built, twin-engined tactical bomber and reconnaissance aircraft that entered service with the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1953. The B-57 is a license-built version of the British English Electric C ...
.
USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
RF-101As from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Shaw AFB, SC flew reconnaissance sorties over Cuba during the
Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the Unite ...
in October 1962. In October 1959, eight RF-101As were transferred to Taiwan, which used them for overflights of the Chinese mainland. These ROCAF RF-101A were modified with the C-model vertical fins and air intake. The intake is used to cool the drag chute compartment and eliminates the 5-minute limit on using the afterburners on the A model. Two were reportedly shot down.


F-101B / CF-101B / EF-101B

In the late 1940s, the Air Force had started a research project into the future
interceptor aircraft An interceptor aircraft, or simply interceptor, is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically for the defensive interception role against an attacking enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Aircraft that are ...
that eventually settled on an advanced specification known as the 1954 interceptor. Contracts for this specification eventually resulted in the selection of the
F-102 Delta Dagger The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was an American interceptor aircraft designed and manufactured by Convair. Built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s, it entered service in 1956. Its main purpos ...
, but by 1952 it was becoming clear that none of the parts of the specification other than the airframe would be ready by 1954; the engines, weapons, and fire control systems were all going to take too long to get into service. An effort was then started to quickly produce an interim supersonic design to replace the various subsonic interceptors then in service, and the F-101 airframe was selected as a starting point.Knaack 1982, pp. 150–151. Although McDonnell proposed the designation F-109 for the new aircraft (which was to be a substantial departure from the basic Voodoo),Dorr and Donald 1990, p. 187. the USAF assigned the designation F-101B. It was first deployed into service on 5 January 1959, with the 60th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron.Knaack 1982, p. 152. The production ended in March 1961.Knaack 1978, p. 153. The Voodoo featured a modified cockpit to carry a crew of two, with a larger and more rounded forward fuselage to hold the Hughes MG-13 fire control
radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
of the F-102. It had a data link to the
Semi-Automatic Ground Environment The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) was a system of large computers and associated networking equipment that coordinated data from many radar sites and processed it to produce a single unified image of the airspace over a wide area. SA ...
(SAGE) system, allowing ground controllers to steer the aircraft towards its targets by making adjustments through the plane's autopilot. The F-101B had more powerful Pratt & Whitney J57-P-55 engines, making it the only Voodoo not using the −13 engines. The new engines featured a substantially longer afterburner than J57-P-13s. To avoid a major redesign, the extended afterburners were simply allowed to extend out of the fuselage by almost 8  ft (2.4 m). The more powerful engines and aerodynamic refinements allowed an increased speed of Mach 1.85. The F-101B was stripped of the four M39 cannons and carried four AIM-4 Falcon
air-to-air missile The newest and the oldest member of Rafael's Python family of AAM for comparisons, Python-5 (displayed lower-front) and Shafrir-1 (upper-back) An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying ...
s instead, arranged two apiece on a rotating pallet in the fuselage weapons bay. The initial load was two GAR-1 (AIM-4A) semi-active radar homing and two GAR-2 (AIM-4B) infrared-guided weapons with one of each carried on each side of the rotating pallet. After the first two missiles were fired, the door turned over to expose the second pair. Standard practice was to fire the weapons in SARH/IR pairs to increase the likelihood of a hit. Late-production models had provision for two 1.7-kiloton MB-1/ AIR-2 Genie
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rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entire ...
s on one side of the pallet with IR-guided GAR-2A (AIM-4C) on the other side. "Project Kitty Car" upgraded most earlier F-101Bs to this standard beginning in 1961.Donald 2003, p. 55. From 1963–66, F-101Bs were upgraded under the Interceptor Improvement Program (IIP; also known as "Project Bold Journey"), with a fire control system enhancement against hostile
ECM ECM may refer to: Economics and commerce * Engineering change management * Equity capital markets * Error correction model, an econometric model * European Common Market Mathematics * Elliptic curve method * European Congress of Mathematics ...
and an infrared sighting and tracking (IRST) system in the nose in place of the in-flight refueling probe.Peacock 1985, p. 95. The F-101B was made in greater numbers than the F-101A and C, with a total of 479 being delivered by the end of production in 1961.Dorr 1995, p. 175. Most of these were delivered to the
Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly ina ...
(ADC) beginning in January 1959. The only foreign customer for the F-101B was Canada.Dorr 1995, p. 178. For more details on the history of the Voodoo in Canada, see
McDonnell CF-101 Voodoo The McDonnell CF-101 Voodoo was an all-weather interceptor aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian Forces between 1961 and 1984. They were manufactured by the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation of St. Louis, Missour ...
. The F-101B was withdrawn from ADC service from 1969 to 1972, with many surviving USAF aircraft transferred to the Air National Guard (replacing F-102s), serving until 1982. The last Voodoo in US service (F-101B-105-MC, AF Ser. No. ''58-300'') was finally retired by the 2nd Fighter Weapons Squadron at Tyndall AFB, Florida on 21 September 1982.


F-101C / RF-101H

The F-101A fighter-bomber had been accepted into Tactical Air Command (TAC) service despite a number of problems. Among others, its airframe had proven to be capable of withstanding only 6.33 ''g'' (62 m/s²) maneuvers, rather than the intended 7.33 ''g'' (72 m/s²).Knaack 1982, p. 139. An improved model, the F-101C, was introduced in 1957. It had a 500 lb (227 kg) heavier structure to allow 7.33-''g'' maneuvers as well as a revised fuel system to increase the maximum flight time in afterburner.Dorr 1995, p. 181. Like the F-101A it was also fitted with an underfuselage pylon for carrying nuclear weapons, as well as two
hardpoints A hardpoint is an attachment location on a structural frame designed to transfer force and carry an external or internal load. The term is usually used to refer to the mounting points (more formally known as a weapon station or station) on the ...
for drop tanks. A total of 47 were produced. Originally serving with the 27th Tactical Fighter Wing at Bergstrom AFB, Texas, the aircraft was transferred in 1958 from TAC to the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, part of
United States Air Forces in Europe United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
(USAFE) which operated three squadrons from the twin RAF air stations
Bentwaters Royal Air Force Bentwaters or more simply RAF Bentwaters, now known as Bentwaters Parks, is a former Royal Air Force station about northeast of London and east-northeast of Ipswich, near Woodbridge, Suffolk in England. Its name was taken from ...
& Woodbridge. The 78th Tactical Fighter Squadron was stationed at Woodbridge, while the 91st and 92nd were stationed at Bentwaters. The 81st TFW served as a strategic nuclear deterrent force, the Voodoo's long-range putting almost all of the
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...
countries, and targets up to deep into the Soviet Union within reach. Both the A and C model aircraft were assigned to the 81st TFW and were used interchangeably within the three squadrons. Operational F-101A/C were upgraded in service with Low Angle Drogued Delivery (LADD) and Low Altitude Bombing System (LABS) equipment for its primary mission of delivering nuclear weapons at extremely low altitudes. Pilots were trained for high speed, low-level missions into Soviet or Eastern Bloc territory, with primary targets being airfields. These missions were expected to be one-way, with the pilots having to eject behind Soviet lines. The F-101C never saw combat and was replaced in 1966 with the F-4C Phantom II. Thirty-two aircraft were later converted for unarmed
reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...
use with the ''RF-101H'' designation. They served with Air National Guard units until 1972.


RF-101C

Using the reinforced airframe of the F-101C, the RF-101C first flew on 12 July 1957, entering service in 1958. Like the RF-101A, the RF-101C had up to six cameras in place of radar and cannons in the reshaped nose and retained the bombing ability of the fighter-bomber versions. 166 RF-101Cs were built, including 96 originally scheduled to be F-101C fighter-bombers. On 27 November 1957 during Operation Sun Run, an RF-101C piloted by then-Captain Robert Sweet set the Los Angeles-New York City-Los Angeles record in 6 hours 46 minutes, and New York to Los Angeles record in 3 hours, 36 minutes. Another RF-101C, piloted by then-Lieutenant Gustav Klatt, set a Los Angeles to New York record of 3 hours 7 minutes. The 1964 Project "Toy Tiger" fitted some RF-101C with a new camera package and a centerline pod for photo-flash cartridges. Some were further upgraded under the Mod 1181 program with automatic control for the cameras. The RF-101C saw service during the Cuban Missile Crisis and soon followed the North American F-100 Super Sabres in October 1961, into combat when RF-101s from the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing deployed to Vietnam. The RF-101C was deployed operationally during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, sustaining losses with the first F-101 being lost in November 1964 to ground fire. From 1965 through November 1970, its role was gradually taken over by the RF-4C Phantom II. In some 35,000 sorties, 39 aircraft were lost, 33 in combat, including five to
SAMs Sams or SAMS can refer to: As an acronym * Sadat Academy for Management Sciences * School of Advanced Military Studies * Scottish Association for Marine Science * South African Mathematical Society * South African Medical Service * South African M ...
, one to an airfield attack, and one in air combat to a
MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickn ...
in September 1967. The RF-101C's speed made it largely immune to MiG interception. 27 of the combat losses occurred on reconnaissance missions over North Vietnam. In April 1967, ALQ-71
ECM ECM may refer to: Economics and commerce * Engineering change management * Equity capital markets * Error correction model, an econometric model * European Common Market Mathematics * Elliptic curve method * European Congress of Mathematics ...
pods were fitted to provide some protection against SAMs. Although the Voodoo was again able to operate at medium altitudes, the added drag and weight decreased the speed enough to make RF-101 vulnerable to the maneuverable (and cannon-equipped) MiGs and thus requiring fighter escort. After withdrawal from Vietnam, the RF-101C continued to serve with USAF units through 1979. In service, the RF-101C was nicknamed the "Long Bird"; it was the only version of the Voodoo to see combat.


TF-101B / F-101F / CF-101F

Some of the F-101Bs were completed as dual-control operational trainer aircraft initially dubbed ''TF-101B'', but later redesignated ''F-101F''. Seventy-nine new-build F-101Fs were manufactured, and 152 more existing aircraft were later modified with dual controls. Ten of these were supplied to Canada under the designation ''CF-101F''. These were later replaced with 10 updated aircraft in 1971.


RF-101B

In the early 1970s, a batch of 22 former Royal Canadian CF-101Bs was returned to the US Air Force and converted to ''RF-101B''
reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...
aircraft with their radar and weapons bay replaced with a set of three KS-87B cameras and two AXQ-2 TV cameras. An in-flight refueling boom receptacle was also fitted. These aircraft served with the
192d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron The 192nd Airlift Squadron (192 AS) is a unit of the Nevada Air National Guard 152nd Airlift Wing located at Nevada Air National Guard Base, Nevada. The 192nd is equipped with the C-130H Hercules. History World War II Activated in October 1943 ...
of the Nevada Air National Guard through 1975. They were expensive to operate and maintain and had a short service life.


Variants

:'' Section source:'' Angelucci and Bowers 1987, pp. 309–10 ;F-101A: initial production fighter bomber, 77 produced ;NF-101A: one F-101A used by
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
for testing of the General Electric J79 engine ;YRF-101A: two F-101As built as prototype reconnaissance models ;RF-101A: first reconnaissance version, 35 built ;F-101B: two-seat interceptor, the most numerous version with 479 built (including CF-101B) ;CF-101B: 112 F-101Bs transferred to
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environ ...
;RF-101B: 22 former RCAF CF-101Bs modified for reconnaissance use ;TF-101B: dual-control trainer version of F-101B, redesignated ''F-101F'', 79 built ;EF-101B: single F-101B converted for use as a radar target and leased to Canada ;NF-101B: F-101B prototype based on the F-101A airframe; the second prototype was built with a different nose ;F-101C: improved fighter-bomber, 47 built ;RF-101C: reconnaissance version of F-101C airframe, 166 built ;F-101D: proposed version with General Electric J79 engines, not built ;F-101E: another J79 proposal, not built ;F-101F: dual-control trainer version of F-101B; 79 re-designated TF-101Bs plus 152 converted F-101Bs ;CF-101F: Canadian designation for 20 TF-101B/F-101F dual-control aircraft ;TF-101F: 24 dual-control versions of F-101B, re-designated F-101F (these are included in the -F total) ;RF-101G: 29 F-101As converted for ANG reconnaissance ;RF-101H: 32 F-101Cs converted for reconnaissance use


Operators

; *
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environ ...
(1961-1968) *
Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...
** Air Defence Command (1968-1975) ** Air Command (1975-1984 (historical) ; *
Republic of China Air Force The Republic of China Air Force, retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based ...
; *
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...
* Colorado State UniversityCSU Uses F-101B For Storm Study; N8234, nickname, 'the Gray Ghost', on display at Air Combat Museum, Topeka,KS
Retrieved 14 October 2013


Aircraft on display

Following the type's retirement, a large number of F-101s are preserved in museums or on display as gate guards.


Specifications (F-101B)


Aircraft type badges

All models of the aircraft were known by the nickname "One-oh-Wonder" and this was reflected on the aircraft type patches worn by crews.


See also


References


Notes


Bibliography

*Angelucci, Enzo, and Peter M. Bowers. ''The American Fighter''. Sparkford, Somerset, UK: Haynes Publishing Group, 1987. . *''Characteristics Summary, F-101B'', dated 16 August 1960. *Donald, David, ed. ''Century Jets: USAF Frontline Fighters of the Cold War''. Norwalk, CT; AirTime Publishing, 2003. . * Dorr, Robert F. "McDonnell F-88/F-101 Variant Briefing". '' Wings of Fame'', Volume 1. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1995. . *Dorr, Robert F., and David Donald. ''Fighters of the United States Air Force''. London: Temple Press/Aerospace, 1990. . *Francillon, René J. ''McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920'' (Vol. II). London: Putnam, 1990. (2nd ed.) . *Francillon, PhD., René J. "It's Witchcraft: McDonnell's F-101 Voodoo". ''Airpower'', Vol. 10, no. 3, May 1980. * * * Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. ''The Great Book of Fighters''. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing, 2001. . *Greenhalgh, William
''The Air Force in Southeast Asia The RF-101 Voodoo 1961-1970''.
Office of Air Force History. 1979. . * Gunston, Bill. ''Fighters of the Fifties''. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens, 1981. . *Hansen, Chuck. ''U.S. Nuclear Weapons''. Arlington, Texas: Aerofax, 1988. . *Hobson, Chris. ''Vietnam Air Losses: United States Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in Southeast Asia, 1961–73''. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2002. . *Jenkins, Dennis R., and Tony R. Landis. ''Experimental & Prototype U.S. Air Force Jet Fighters''. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2008. . *Jones, Lloyd S. ''U.S. Fighters: Army Air-Force 1925 to 1980s''. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers, 1975. . *Keaveney, Kevin. ''McDonnell F-101B/F''. (Aerofax Minigraph 5). Arlington, Texas: Aerofax, 1984 . *Kinsey, Bert. ''F-101 Voodoo (Detail and Scale; vol. 21)''. Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: Tab Books, 1986. . *Knaack, Marcelle Size
''Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems: Volume 1 Post-World War II Fighters 1945–1973''.
Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History, 1978. . *Peacock, Lindsay. "The One-O-Wonder". ''
Air International ''AIR International'' is a British aviation magazine covering current defence aerospace and civil aviation topics. It has been in publication since 1971 and is currently published by Key Publishing Ltd. History and profile The magazine was f ...
'', Volume 29, No. 2, August 1985, pp. 75–81, 93–95. ISSN 0306-5634. *Taylor, Michael J. H., ed. "The McDonnell Voodoo". ''Jane's American Fighting Aircraft of the 20th Century''. New York: Modern Publishing, 1995. . *'' United States Air Force Museum Guidebook''. Wright-Patterson AFC, Ohio: Air Force Association, 1975 edition.


External links


McDonnell F-101 Voodoo articles and publicationsUSAF National Museum site: XF-88 page

F-101A/C fact sheet

F-101B & F-101B fact sheet

RF-101A/C fact sheet
List of static displays, location, serial numbers, and links.
(1971) T.O. 1F-101(R)G-1 Flight Manual USAF Series RF-101G and RF-101H Aircraft (Part 1)(Part 2)
{{Authority control F-101 1950s United States fighter aircraft Twinjets T-tail aircraft Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1954 Second-generation jet fighters