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.