This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: June 29

In 1950, the official “fly-off” between the McDonnell XF-88A VooDoo, the Lockheed XF-90, and the North American YF-93 began.   Evaluation continued through the first week of July.  

On the same date in 1965, RF-101C pilot Maj. Marvin Lindsey was hit over North Vietnam and apparently killed in action, but by 1973 had been listed by the US government as MIA.

Photo Credit: Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: June 28

In 1955, Phase II evaluation of the F-101A was completed.  Although the new “Type II” inlet ducts improved pressure recovery within the inlet duct, the F-101A would still encounter compressor stalls at high speed and altitude.  Range performance was 15% below predicted values, the afterburners would blow out at high altitude, and lateral control was not as desired.  Work on the engines to improve surge margin and alleviate compressor stalls, along with changes to increase cruise efficiency, were undertaken by Pratt & Whitney while McDonnell worked on further improvements to the inlet ducts to eliminate compressor stalls during maneuvering flight.

First Photo: Maj. Austin A. "Gus" Julian at the controls of the second F-101A, 53-2419, which had been held on the production line for installation of the new Type II inlet ducts.

Photo Credit: National Archives and Records Administration via Mark Nankivil.

Second Photo: The first two ships in formation over Edwards AFB.  The longer Type II inlet ducts on 53-2419, in the foreground, are redily noticeable compared to the smaller Type I ducts of the original aircraft.

Photo Credit: National Museum of the United States Air Force via Mark Nankivil.

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: June 26

In 1956, an F-101A was tested with a weapon slated to replace the Model 96 store, the TX-28C, during the Dakota shot of Operation Redwing.  The blast exceeded predictions, damaging almost all of the aircraft participating in the test, including the F-101A.  Flying at an altitude of 26,000 feet, aluminum-painted surfaces were charred and honeycomb structures delaminated as they experienced a heat rise of up to 500° F.  The demonstrated reliability of the F-101A during Operation Redwing played into the decision to keep the VooDoo after all of the problems encountered to that point.

First photo: Fireball produced by the Dakota device.  With a predicted yield of 800 kilotons, the TX-28C weapon tested produced an actual yield of 1.1 megatons.

Second photo: F-101A pilot Capt. John Apple and a technician examining damage to the wing of his aircraft after return from the Dakota test mission.

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: June 23

In 1953, the USAF began a brief evaluation of the hybrid XF-88B aircraft, just prior to it being turned over to NACA for research in advanced supersonic propeller designs.  

On the same date in 1955, Hughes was directed to modify the E-9 fire control system of the Northrop F-89H Scorpion to target and fire the nuclear-tipped MB-1 Ding Dong rockets as the new MG-12 system.  Essentially, this would serve as an experimental prototype for the MG-13 system destined for the F-101B.

Photo: The converted Ship No.1, now carrying an Allison XT38-A-5 turboprop

engine in addition to the pair of Westinghouse J34-WE-15 engines mounted when it won the penetration fighter competition in 1950.

Photo Credit: Art Davies, Jr. Collection, Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: June 22

In 1950, after the crash of the second XF-88 prototype, the original ship, with new afterburning J34-WE-15 engines, was ferried to Edwards AFB to compete in the penetration fighter “fly-off” against the Lockheed XF-90 and the North American YF-93.  

On this date in 1954, the results of a study for a single-place interceptor to supplement the now badly-delayed Convair F-102B were presented.   Two single-seat F-101A derivatives, the rocket-armed IF-101A and J67-powered IF-101B with a combination of rockets and guided missiles were chosen over the Northrop F-89X and advanced North American IF-100B interceptor proposals.

Photo: Ship No.1 as it had been evaluated in the XF-88A configuration.  Here, it is being removed from storage in January 1952 as both XF-88 aircraft were to be prepared to resume flight testing.

Photo Credit: Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: June 21

In 1955, the USAF requested a study of the use of the radically new General Electric J79 turbojet in the F-101, developed for the new Lockheed YF-104A Starfighter and the forthcoming Convair B-58A Hustler, both capable of Mach 2 performance using the new engine.  In time, the first F-101A, 53-2418, would be bailed to G.E. for modification and flight testing with J79 engines.  

On the same date in 1967, the VooDoo suffered its first loss to a surface-to-air missile when Capt. Robert Patterson was shot down by an SA-2 Guideline near the border with Laos.  Five more missiles were fired at rescue forces, which were able to successfully rescue Capt. Patterson. 

Photo: Patterson's RF-101C, 56-0085, during better days with the 45th TRS in the early 1960s.
Photo Credit: D. Ostrowski via Mark Nankivil.

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: June 20

In 1946, Air Materiel Command issued a formal letter contract for the production of two experimental XP-88 VooDoo penetration fighters by McDonnell.  

On the same date in 1955, the armament configuration for the new F-101B interceptor was specified as radar-guided GAR-1 and heat-seeking GAR-2 Falcon missiles along with MB-1 Ding Dong rockets.  All weapons were tied into a Hughes MG-3 fire control system, borrowed from the Convair F-102A and modified for a two-place layout.  

In 1962, Taiwanese RF-101As began intensive reconnaissance operations across the Taiwan Strait over mainland China as both sides threatened invasion.  The four Nationalist Chinese aircraft were augmented by four more RF-101Cs of the 45^th TRS at Misawa AB, Japan, which were hastily repainted in Taiwanese markings for the operation.

Photo Credit:  Jim Sullivan Collection

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: June 16

In 1950, two weeks before its formal “fly-off” to decide the penetration fighter contract, the XF-88A suffered a hydraulic failure and was badly damaged in a belly landing at Edwards AFB.  While the aircraft was disassembled and trucked back to St. Louis, the first prototype, now retrofitted with the afterburning J34-WE-15 engines and redesignated as a second XF-88A, was quickly prepared to take part in the USAF evaluation.

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: June 15

In 1948, the second XP-88A prototype, with the new afterburning Westinghouse J34 engines, began a detailed “689” inspection by USAF officials.  The afterburners were designed in-house by McDonnell engineers using an advanced iris exhaust nozzle.  Unusually for such designs at the time, the new afterburners proved quite reliable.

On the same date in 1958, six RF-101s detached to CASF Bravo departed Shaw AFB for Incirlik AB, Turkey, to monitor developments in Lebanon as the Middle East was awash in a series of bloody coups in the aftermath of the 1956 Suez Crisis, inspired by the Arab Nationalist movement of Egypt’s Gamal Nasser.  Fearing a communist-inspired rebellion, the situation in Lebanon turned out to be a sectarian rebellion against the Lebanese president.  The situation was defused after elections, but the new Lebanese government then began to align with the Arab Nationalists, along with a number of regional allies.  

In 1961, a program to modify the MG-13 fire control systems of all F-101B intercpetors to the final Block 120 standard began under Project Kitty Car, increasing the detection range, ability to defeat jamming, and overall reliability of the system.  Provision for the radar-guided GAR-1D was dropped, leaving only the heat-seeking GAR-2A Falcons and MB-1 Genies for armament.  

Photo Credit: The Col. Ray W. Schrecengost Archives

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History:

June 14

In 1950, USAF Phase II tests of the improved XF-88A ended in preparation for the penetration fighter “fly-off.”  

In 1956, an F-101A participated in testing of a miniaturized atomic warhead for air-to-air rockets during the Kickapoo shot of Operation Redwing.  Crucial for evaluating the potential of an interceptor version of the VooDoo, the shot almost did not go off due to technical issues.  Running low on fuel, Capt. John Apple landed his F-101 at Eniwetok Atoll and ground crews set to work to get it airborne twenty minutes later.  Supersonic at 7,500 feet over the blast, the F-101A outran the expanding shock wave of the bomb.  The test was a success, demonstrating both the potential of the F-101 as an interceptor as well the reliability of the basic aircraft.

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: 

June 13: 

In 1946, Air Materiel Command issued an initial experimental contract to McDonnell for two XP-88 aircraft under Contract W-33-038-ac-14582, followed by a formal letter contract a week later.

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History

June 12:

In 1956, an F-101A participated in a proof test of one of its future weapons during the Flathead shot of Operation Redwing at Bikini Atoll.  The device was a cobalt “salted” variant of the TX-28 hydrogen bomb, detonating with a force of 365 kilotons.  

In 1961, the Canadian government signed an agreement for the transfer of late-production F-101B interceptors to the RCAF following the cancellation of the magnificent Avro Arrow interceptor, to be conducted under Operation Queen’s Row.  The first two aircraft arrived within two weeks of the order.  

In 1972, the last Air National Guard RF-101A was delivered to the “Bone Yard” at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ from the Michigan ANG.