Something extra: The F-101B and atomic air-to-air armament

July 29 commemorates an event that never happened.  On that day in 1958, the United States had been scheduled to conduct an “all-up” test of its newest air defense weapons and systems against live targets, and using the new live nuclear warheads of this new generation of manned interceptors and guided surface-to-air missiles.   All of this was to be controlled from the ground by the amazing  computerized SAGE system, the first large-scale use of radically-new digital computers.

Forming the future close-in defense of major industrial areas would be the Nike Hercules missile, raised to launch position from underground silos and automatically directed by radar command-guidance to intercept a target with either a high explosive warhead or one of two different versions of the W-31 nuclear warhead. 

Defending the perimeter of North American airspace would be left to the new F-101B, still under development but due to enter service the following year.  Designed to a specification to be able to score a minimum of three bomber kills per interceptor, the F-101B carried a brace of nuclear-tipped MB-1 Genie rockets in addition to a pair of Falcon missiles with small high explosive warheads. 

Almost sixty years later, the notion of using nuclear weapons to defend the territory of the United States and Canada seems patently insane.  One live test of the Genie had been conducted a year previously over a small group of observers less than 20,000 feet below an explosion equivalent to 2,000 tons of TNT.   All six of the men involved developed cancer although it did not contribute to the deaths of those who have passed away since the Plumbbob John test in 1957.  The photographer in later years dismissed it as a propaganda stunt, meant to build acceptance by the American people of the notion of using nuclear weapons over their homes and cities by “demonstrating” their safety. 

The Genie rocket, in particular, is singled out as the result of the paranoid atmosphere of the 1950s along with the “Red Scare,” “Communist witch hunts,” and the like.  Playing upon a perception of defending virginal American airspace against the Red hordes crossing the North Pole in massive bomber formations, the Genie is portrayed as a defense against mass formations of Soviet bombers.  History, in its context, shows this perception to be inaccurate.  Facing an enemy force that would use defensive formation tactics during the initial penetration of North American airspace and anticipating the development of high speed, high altitude manned bombers and pilotless cruise missiles, the Genie was an expedient solution to both sets of problems that could be developed and fielded relatively quickly.  The F-101B Voodoo would provide an interceptor with the payload, range, speed, and climb performance to use these weapons effectively, even against targets that could fly higher and faster than the Voodoo.

When development was undertaken in 1954, the near-term threat consisted of jet or turboprop-powered long range bombers that combined high subsonic speed with good altitude capability, cruising at about 40,000 feet.  In Soviet design practice, these bombers retained defensive gun armament that would be used within a small formation of bombers to provide mutual defensive gunfire support against American and Canadian interceptors, which at the time did not have a significant performance edge over the new Tu-95 Bear and M-4 Bison bombers.  Special aircraft modified to “jam” defensive radars and ground-to-air communications would also be fielded alongside the bombers, and were also equipped with guns.  During the initial penetration of enemy airspace, the Soviet bombers would maintain close formation to maximize both defensive firepower and the effectiveness of their electronic “screen” against searching American and Canadian radars.  As they closed to within a couple of hundred miles of their targets, the bombers would split up and proceed individually, relying on speed and confusion for their survival.  By that time, the Soviets had dropped high-yield atomic and hydrogen weapons from their new bombers during tests.  Fearing the consequence of a weapon with 20 to 100 times the destructive power of the bombs that leveled the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, American planners needed a defense that would stop them cold.

That weapon came in the form of the MB-1 Genie, armed with a W-25 warhead producing an explosive yield of 1.7 kilotons, about 1/10^th the yield of the “Little Boy” bomb dropped over Hiroshima.  Fielded in 1957 on the best long-range interceptor of the time, the Northrop F-89 Scorpion, the power and the tactical employment of the weapon was hampered by the limited performance capability of the Scorpion.  Woefully underpowered and limited in flight speed due to its straight-wing design, the F-89 would be barely adequate to face new jet bombers, and would be hopelessly outmatched facing bombers or other weapons with increased altitude capabilities or higher speeds.  The Genie did give the older interceptor some capability to make attacks from the front of the target and to “snap-up” and launch at a target at a higher altitude. 

Genie-equipped aircraft were based along the peripheries of the United States in the hope of catching Incoming Soviet bombers in their small defensive formations of three or four aircraft.  Producing a 1,000-foot diameter fireball, the W-25 warhead of the Genie was deemed potent enough to knock down a bomber aircraft within a half mile of the detonation point.  Armed with two Genies apiece, the F-89s stood a chance of knocking down several bombers apiece, if they were lucky to catch them in close formation.  Each bomber destroyed meant a city and its inhabitants saved.

Soviet planners realized the potential of American defensive improvements, and soon began work on measures to negate them.  One was to increase the ceiling to the basic Tu-95 Bear design from 40,000 feet to 55,000 feet, putting it above the combat ceiling of most American interceptors.  Strategic Air Command, the bomber force of the U.S. Air Force, had done the same with its obsolescent B-36 piston-engine bombers under the “Featherweight” program that proved an effective counter against Soviet interceptors.  America had also begun work on a supersonic bomber, the B-58, that could fly at twice the speed of sound and over 50,000 feet.  A pilotless, supersonic cruise missile was also under development, the SM-64 Navaho, which would fly at three times the speed of sound and 70,000 feet. 

Given the apparent recent progress in the Soviet nuclear weapons program, Western technological superiority could no longer be taken for granted.  Although there were glaring gaps in American intelligence efforts at that time in the mid-1950s, it was reasonable to assume that the Soviets were also pursuing parallel developments.  As the historical record now shows, they were, although with variable levels of success.  By the late 1950s, what would have to be in place to counter such developments?  In 1954, the U.S. Air Force had placed all of its eggs in one basket for an advanced new interceptor, the F-102.  Facing innumerable delays with its intricate fire control system, armament, and engines, the Air Force by then had settled on an interim version that was barely supersonic and lacked nuclear weapons capability: the F-102A.  The “ultimate” version, the F-106, would not be ready until the 1959-1960 time frame.  Capable of Mach 2 performance and outstanding climb capability, the F-106 would not have the range needed to adequately defend the perimeter of North American airspace and, limited to one MB-1 Genie rocket, would effectively have half the defensive capability against penetrating Soviet bomber formations.  Something with the range to meet that threat, the payload to carry two Genies, and high supersonic performance approaching that of the F-106 was needed quickly.  The one basic design available that could fulfill that role was for an aircraft under development whose “strategic fighter” mission was already becoming obsolescent, the McDonnell F-101A Voodoo.  With a radius of nearly 1,000 miles, ability to climb to 40,000 feet in two minutes, and a top speed of 1,000 miles-per-hour, the Voodoo could be adapted to meet future threats anticipated for the late 1950s.

Essentially borrowing the already-tested radar, fire control system, and engines from the ongoing F-102A project, the interceptor Voodoo, dubbed the F-101B, would have a top speed approaching Mach 2 and promised an ability to “snap-up” to altitudes of 60,000 feet and more.  Flight testing of the F-101A showed that even with the basic engines the latter capability was possible and that engaging targets at 60,000 feet and higher would be no problem with suitable armament and a fire control system to direct it.  The armament would be mounted on a novel rotary weapons bay door.  On the “outside” would be a pair of conventionally-armed Falcon guided missiles launched from retractable rails.  Rotating the door 180 degrees would expose a pair of large MB-1 Genie rockets, normally nestled inside of the fuselage to reduce drag.  The basic Hughes MG-3 fire control system of the F-102A was modified for a two-seat rather than single-seat presentation and with firing circuits for the Genie to yield the MG-13 fire control system.  Flight testing in the spring and early summer of 1958 demonstrated that the new Voodoo could intercept targets while flying at speeds in excess of Mach 1.4, or about 900 miles-per-hour.  The time came to put it to the test.

The detonation of relatively low-yield air-to-air or surface-to-air warheads high over American cities was a small price to pay in comparison to the utter devastation of even a single Soviet atomic bomb.  As it turns out, the most powerful bomb available to the Soviet Union at that time would have been the RDS-27 with a yield of 215 kilotons, less than the 400-kiloton RDS-6 device that it was derived from, or the 3-megaton RDS-37 device that was to be delayed until 1962 before entering service with Soviet Long-Range Aviation units.  The blast from the RDS-27 would be sufficient to knock down most structures over a radius of several miles from the blast point, and dropped over a large urban area would instantly kill hundreds of thousands, if not millions. 

The videos that we see of grown men seeming to play a child’s game with atomic weapons blasting overhead must be seen in the light of the absolutely obscene destructive power and massive loss of American lives that it was meant to stop.  But even in 1958, not everyone saw it that way.  During the course of July of that year, the governments of Mexico and pre-Castro Cuba  were not at all keen on the opening of a third nuclear weapons test range in the Gulf of Mexico.  Due to the diplomatic sensitivities involved with countries that were then mot on the best of terms with the United States, the live test was canceled just a few days before it was to occur.  The Nike missile was eventually tested with a live W-31 warhead in the Pacific during Operation Dominic, but the Voodoo was never to be tested with a live weapon.  Fortunately, it has also never had occasion to fire one in defense of the United States or Canada, which both went on to operate the Voodoo and its Genie armament into the early 1980s.

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: July 25

In 1949, McDonnell began detail design work for a turboprop research airplane to be converted from the first XF-88 prototype as the Model 36J.  Intended to mount a 2,500-hp Allison XT38 turboprop engine and modified J34-WE-15 engines with afterburners, conversion work would soon experience a lengthy delay with the crash of the second prototype and the need to substitute the aircraft for USAF evaluation during the penetration fighter “fly-off.”

Photo: Allison XT38-A-5 turboprop engine that was mounted into the modified nose compartment of the first XF-88 prototype.


Photo Credit: NASA

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: July 23

In 1961, the Nationalist Chinese air force in Taiwan experienced the first major accident with their small force of four RF-101A aircraft.  Aircraft “5652” was badly damaged in a landing accident and would not be available until the end of the year.  In the meantime, an attrition replacement was provided from the 363^rd TRW in the United States.  

On the same date in 1968, RF-101Gs of the 154^th TRS, Arkansas ANG, began movement across the Pacific Ocean to Itazuke AB, Japan to monitor North Korea after their forces captured the US Navy intelligence ship USS Pueblo in international waters.

Photo: After their retirement from the nuclear strike mission, most remaining F-101A and F-101C aircraft were converted into RF-101G and RF-101H aircraft to replace the obsolescent RF-84F Thunderflash in Air National Guard service.

Photo Credit: Mark Nankivil Collection

45 years: My thoughts on Apollo 11

I was three years old, and I remember. 

One thousand years from now, almost everything gripping the headlines or that people are beating each other up over are going to be a tiny footnote, at most, and the rest deservedly forgotten. But this will stand for all time as a signature moment for humanity.

I remain ashamed that we have turned our back on that noble quest of human space exploration. Unmanned probes are fine, but in that thousand year volume it will be the soul of a nation, founded upon and upholding the most noble aspirations of humanity, that will be remembered. What will that future chapter say about our human qualities in the early 21st Century?

My hope is that book will be written by a human author living on a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri or from some other speck of celestial dust with an endless, remote sky, contemplated by human eyes connected to a human soul.

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: July 21

In 1952, the Hughes AN/APG-37 radar was formally chosen for the F-101A over competing APG-30 and APG-31 equipment due to its greater capability and adaptability to both detecting and tracking aerial targets as well as ground targets for delivery of nuclear weapons.

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: July 19

In 1957, a live MB-1 Genie rocket was launched and detonated over the Nevada Test Range during shot John of Operation Plumbbob.  The intended primary armament for the F-101B interceptor then in the early stages of flight testing, the MB-1 was launched from a Northrop F-89 Scorpion over a group of observers 20,000 feet below, detonating the W-25 warhead with a yield of 1.7 kilotons, producing a fireball 1,000 feet wide.  Just over one year later, the VooDoo would be presented with its chance for a live test.  

7/23/14: See a video of the test from ground zero.  

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: July 15

In 1949, with the newer XF-88A to take part in the official penetration fighter competition, a contract is signed to convert the first XF-88 prototype into a test bed for the Allison XT38-A-5 turboprop engine as the XF-88B.  The intent of the program was to improve cruise performance and range of future escort fighters.  To provide extra power for air combat, the XF-88 would also be modified with the afterburning J34-WE-15 engines of the XF-88A.  The modified aircraft was developed by McDonnell as the Model 36J design.

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: July 14

In 1955, a conference at the NACA facility in Langley, VA is convened to determine the cause of the 15% range discrepancy noted during USAF Phase II testing.  One of the contributing factors was a poor “Area Rule” distribution and poor flow around the aft fuselage and empennage of the airplane, leading to an increase in base drag.  NACA suggested that a “boat tail” fairing could be added over the existing structure to improve airflow, reduce cruise drag, and minimize the disturbing, continuous buffet often encountered during cruise conditions at altitude.

Photo: Area Rule distribution of F-101A model from a NACA study.  The red line is the author's estimate for added cross sectional area from the Model 96 store, which in mid-1955 was considered the primary armament of the F-101A strategic fighter.

Photo Credit: NASA, with additions by author.

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: July 13

In 1954, Headquarters USAF gave formal endorsement to a single-seat interceptor derivative of the F-101A as a backstop to the advanced Convair F-102B program (later to become the F-106A).  Although losing the competition with McDonnell, the very advanced J57-P-35 engine being developed for the IF-100B interceptor would go on to become important in the development of the McDonnell interceptor.  One of the first turbojet engines to incorporate a variable-area convergent-divergent exhaust nozzle, the new engine would a supersonic exhaust velocity and a significant increase in engine thrust, particularly at the high operating altitudes for interceptors.

Photo:  Patent drawing of an early Pratt & Whitney convergent-divergent nozzle design mated to a core J57 engine.  This may be the design for the poorly-documented J57-P-35 engine.

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: July 10

In 1953, McDonnell formally began work on a new centerline store, the Model 96, carrying a MK 5 weapon to be mounted on the F-101A.  Far more destructive than any fighter weapon before it, the Model 96 store would allow the VooDoo to support SAC B-36, B-47, and B-52 bombers by destroying Soviet radar sites, interceptor bases, forward strategic bomber bases, and antiaircraft sites that lay in the path of the bomber streams. 

Photo: Early drawing of F-101/XW-5 proposal.  Notice F-88 style inlets as seen on original F-101A mockup, but with production "T-tail" design.  The tail was reconfigured well before the new store was considered for the Voodoo.

Photo Credit: Department of Energy.

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: July 7

In 1950, the “fly-off” competition at Edwards AFB between the McDonnell XF-88A VooDoo, the Lockheed XF-90, and the North American YF-93 was concluded.  

On the same date, in 1958, the second XF-88A prototype, 46-526, which had been transferred to the NACA facility in Langley, VA in February 1955 to provide spares in support of the XF-88B supersonic propeller test program, was turned over to base storage for disposal as a firefighting trainer.  

On the same date in 1967, an RF-101C departing Tan Son Nhut AB in Saigon, South Vietnam experienced a sudden hydraulic failure, forcing the pilot to eject.

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: July 6

In 1966, An RF-101C flown by Maj. James Young was hit by anti-aircraft fire over North Vietnam and forced to eject just on the other side of the border in Laos while trying to return to Udorn RTAFB in Thailand.  He was quickly captured by Communist forces and joined many of his fellow pilots as a POW. 

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: July 4

In 1951, Project Back Breaker is initiated to test and modify Republic F-84 fighters for the carriage of forthcoming MK 7 and MK 8 tactical atomic bombs for use in high-speed “intruder” missions.  In 1952, Operation Fox Peter One began with the deployment of F-84E Thunderjets modified for in-flight refueling, flying across the Pacific Ocean and arriving in Japan on 16 July.  This operation proved the concept of rapid, large scale movement of fighter aircraft in support of the long-range bombers of Strategic Air Command, and both developments were key to the conceptual development of the forthcoming “strategic fighter,” of which the F-101A would be the ultimate expression.   

In 1953, the modified XF-88B was announced to the public soon after it was turned over to NACA for research. 

"The Microscope": another character sketch

“Cliff, do you have a moment?”

The old man turned from the microscopes neatly arranged at his workbench and smiled when he saw Kathy.

“Kat!  Er, good morning, mum!  Anything for you, my dear!  How was your weekend?”

“Sopping wet and a bit sore.  I was out in Avon doing a bit of prospecting.”  Kathy picked up the heavy mahogany case that she had brought with her and placed on the bench.  Clifford Lowe had worked at the British Museum for decades and was a top-notch instrument technician.  “I’m afraid that this is not one of our pieces of equipment, but I was wondering if you might want to look it over anyway.”

“Well then, let’s see!”  Clifford gave a soft gasp as he opened the case to see the exquisite Leitz Wetzlar CMU polarizing microscope.  The case showed some hard wear, but the expensive microscope inside had been lovingly maintained.  He gently removed the heavy scope and began checking the movement of the focusing knobs and rotating stage.  “Eh, could use a bit of lubrication, but feels pretty good.  I had forgotten just how smooth these things are.  I didn’t know they paid you all well enough to afford one of these.  I’ll have to ask for a transfer!”

“It was one of my father’s microscopes.  I have a stereomicroscope as well in my flat, but it is a bit less temperamental than one of these things.”

“My dear, there is a difference between ‘temperamental’ and being insistent upon receiving well-deserved, loving care.  These beauties definitely fall among the latter!  And I am sure that you understand something of that yourself.”  Kathy smiled as she had long suspected that old Cliff had a bit of a crush on her, which he never made effort to hide.  With that, Cliff began a careful inspection of the gracefully curving lines of the heavy black microscope.  Now an older instrument, it still had a more modern feel than many of the newer scopes, particularly when compared to British instruments.  They were fine, fine instruments in their own right, of course, but the Germans had an unbreakable advantage in the seamless integration of form, function and style.  As he picked up the instrument to examine its base, he drew a breath and hesitated.  Setting it down, he scrutinized the serial number on the front of the instrument.  Looking suspiciously over his shoulder at Kathy, he said in a flat voice, “Where did you get this?”

Kathy felt her face flush, and suddenly she could not meet the older man’s eyes.

“Yes, of course.  I had forgotten.”  Clifford brightened his tone.  “C’mon love, of course I will look it over and have it back in proper working order.  Will Friday be okay?”

“Yes!  Thank you!  Thanks ever so much!  How much will I owe you?”

The old man had heard the stories, and knew Kathy’s background, “Kaia” by birth, as well as that of her father.  A shame for both of them, really.  Her father had been well-regarded in his day, before the war, and as for the lovely, sweet young woman before him…what a shame.  What a shame that no one thinks to look beyond that enthralling beauty to see the truly brilliant young woman who could have such a tremendous future ahead of her.  She really deserved to be much farther along than a laboratory technician at the museum, especially when compared to some of the young men who were earning their doctorates despite other dubious qualities, in some cases. 

“No charge, my dear.  Friday afternoon, then? I will bring it by your desk after lunch.”

Kathy acknowledged her thanks and retreated down the hallway.  Clifford stared at the microscope as her footsteps faded in the distance.  He gently turned the heavy instrument over once more to look at the markings on the underside of the horseshoe base of the instrument.  Stamped into the metal was an emblem of a stylized eagle grasping a tiny swastika in its talons.  Judging by the serial number, he surmised that the instrument had probably been manufactured in 1943.  As much as he adored the young girl like one of his own granddaughters, he could not shake the sense of dread as he touched the instrument.  Bloody hell.  Well, on with it, then…. 

Lost in her thoughts, Kathy walked through the doors and into the central hall of the museum.  She hardly noticed the visitors easing out of her way at the staccato sound of her heels as she strode past the giant Diplodocus skeleton, affectionately known as “Dippy”, over toward the opposite wing where the fossil fishes were housed.  A tall man in a blue suit, obviously lost and out of place, looked over at her as she strode by.  Reflexively, he rotated smartly on his heel to face her and their eyes met.  He was dressed in a military uniform, an American airman.  Another oversexed Yank.  Fabulous. Seeing the flash of irritation in her eyes, she noticed that he straightened and mouthed a silent “Ma’am” to her as she passed by.  He had sharp, angular features framing a face with a strange, slight tan, just around his piercing blue eyes, across the eyebrows and the bridge of his crooked nose, almost like a mask.  Not exactly handsome, but there seemed to be something rather sweet in his earnestness.  Kathy managed a slight smile as she brushed by and paid him no further attention. 

Returning to her small desk in the workroom just off of the exhibit hall, Kathy opened her old canvas field bag and took out the carefully wrapped specimens that she collected the day before.  She found the rock that she wanted to show to Doctor White, unwrapped it, and opened up the split cobble.  She turned on the illuminator next to her stereomicroscope and placed one of the halves under the objective.  At the apex of the tassel of bones, she peered through the low power lenses at a vaguely L-shaped, trapezoidal bone.  Examining it closely and adjusting the light, Kathy could make out the tiny facets, knobs, and ridges on the bone that, in life, had served as articulations for joints and attachment points for tiny muscles.  It was the fin from some sort of a sarcopterygean, or “flesh-finned” fish, more commonly known as “lobe-finned fishes” which included lungfishes and the recently-discovered coelacanth.  Her father had often spoken about them as she was growing up. 

As a child, before the war and the arrival of the Red Army, Kaia had accompanied her father on some of his frequent visits to the Aruküla caves just north of the university where he taught.  Searching among the white sandstone columns inside and the rock floor below, she often hoped to find something like this as her father searched for fossil fish remains in those Devonian rocks.  Her father would be so proud of her right now.  Kathy wanted nothing more than for him to be at her side, peering through the microscope and sharing in her joy at her discovery.  No matter what had happened since, or how others wanted to judge her father and her family, she could never be ashamed of him. 

Her father was the kindest, most humble, and most giving person she had ever known.  That their family had emigrated from West Germany ten years before and that her father had worked for the Nazis during the war was through no choice of his own.  Even after Kaia arrived in London as a new student at the University College of London in 1951, much of the terrible aftermath of the German Blitz remained, of nights filled with the sound of bombers and, later, of diabolical “buzz bombs” and at the end the soundless approach of dreadful V-2 rockets.  She could not blame the occasional hard stare or muttered curses under the breath of passersby when they found out where she and her family were from.  She understood, but they, thank God, would never know what she and her family had seen, what they had been so truly blessed to escape with their lives.  Her new countrymen had fought off occupation, but her country had been crushed by not one but two brutal totalitarian dictators.  The Germans had enslaved her people and turned their country into a charnel house, only to be followed by the Soviets who stole and ravaged what was left of her homeland, who tore the living soul out of her sister and murdered her.  Along with thousands of others who had taken refuge in Britain after the war, she feared that she would never see Estonia again.   And her father would never again see his collections at the university in Tartu, and be able to compare them with what she could see through the eyepieces of her microscope at that moment.  But he had given up everything so that she could be there, doing it all herself.  Kaia loved her father, Professor Janek Tamm, now nothing more to the world but a manager at a dingy wool factory up in Yorkshire.  And she remained proud of him.

"Dinghy's Dilemma": An excerpt from the novel that I am putting together

The foul purplish scud overhead had changed to an unrelenting downpour.  The constant tapping against the drafty window only worsened Dunham’s already foul mood as he studied the memo on his battered wooden desk for what seemed like the hundredth time.  He reached for his cup of coffee and recoiled in disgust.  It was now ice cold.  He was about to call his aide to bring more coffee but stopped short.  The memo was code word Top Secret/NOFORN and he had several maps spread out over the desk along with many scribbled notes and calculations.  There was much to do and it wasn’t worth the trouble to tidy up and secure it all for the sake of a hot cup of coffee.  His wide and naturally intense black eyes burned with incendiary irritation.  Gathering himself, he turned and took a worn blue binder out of the small gray steel bookcase behind his chair.

Thumbing through his worn copy of T.O. 1F-101A-1, “Flight Handbook, USAF Series F-101A Aircraft,” he flipped through the first few pages to Figure 1-2, “Block Numbers.”  Dunham stared intently at “F-101A-25-MC, A. F. Serial 54-1444A thru 54-1452A,” wheels turning as he mentally ticked off the tail numbers of the nine aircraft produced.  How many of them have made it over here?  He needed to go talk to Senior Master Sergeant Rawcliffe, the section chief in charge of all maintenance of all of the wing’s aircraft.  Dunham picked up the phone and dialed the five-digit extension to hear the young voice of Staff Sergeant Mersky on the other end.  SMSgt Rawcliffe had gone over to RAF Woodbridge, the second of the Bentwaters “twin” bases, to sort out a problem with the 78^th’s line chief, Stedman.  Muttering a gruff “Thanks,” Dunham called his driver to bring the jeep over to take him the several miles over to Woodbridge.  Muttering invectives under his breath, he tightened his rain jacket, secured his service cap, and as he closed his office door behind him told his aide that he would be out and that no one was to enter his office.

The sound of the rough treads of his jeep announcing his arrival, Colonel Dunham stepped out of the vehicle and stopped to look toward the flight line before continuing into the squadron maintenance shed that stood in for Master Sergeant Stedman’s office.  “As you were!” he growled as the two senior sergeants began to snap to attention.  Walking in toward the window opposite their desk and then turning back toward them, the colonel greeted them with a wide horse-trader’s smile.  “Good morning, boys!  I hate to disturb you, but I was wondering if I could borrow Master Sergeant Rawcliffe for a few minutes?”  Stedman agreed and hastily excused himself to give the two senior men the room. 

“Good morning, sir.  What’s going on?”  The tall sergeant was rough-hewn, but had softer features than the intense colonel before him.  Dunham shot a toothy grin back and said, “Walt, I received a special request this morning that I was wondering if you could help me with?  How many Block 25 aircraft do we have assigned?”

A puzzled look shot across Rawcliffe’s face as he counted through the memorized tail numbers.  “Well, sir, a couple of aircraft remained stateside for test work, and one or two more have been lost, but by my reckoning, sir, we have five Block 25 aircraft assigned to the wing: 444; 445; 44…9; 451 and 452, sir.”  Dunham was lost in his thoughts for a second as he looked again towards the flight line.  Without looking back he asked, “Have any of those five birds suffered any landing gear failures or had the original gear replaced?”  Rawcliffe stood silent for a few seconds, not sure where the conversation was going or if he wanted to know, for that matter.  “Well, sir, I will have to check the 781 forms, but as I recall 451 had a gear failure about a year ago that required replacement of the main struts, and I think maybe 449, too.  I can check and let you know right away once I get back to my desk, sir.” 

Dunham rubbed his short, thick brush of graying black hair as he paced back toward Stedman’s desk.  “So that leaves 444, 445, and 451, doesn’t it?   445 is a hangar queen, isn’t she?”  Rawcliffe noticed the uncharacteristic tone in the colonel’s voice.  “Yes, sir, she seems to spend more time in the hangar than out on the line, but she has never had any landing gear work done that I know of.  May I ask what this is all about, sir?” 

Rawcliffe was met with Dunham’s large, wide-set, beady eyes looking back with a rare reserve as he thought through his response.  “Walt, I want you to keep quiet about this and I want you to pull the records for all three of those planes and scour them with a fine-toothed comb.  If there is a squawk of any sort I want you to personally double check it and make sure it is fixed and fixed right.  Next, I want you and Master Sergeant Stedman--he is a hydraulics guy, right?  I want you guys to GI those struts and run both the main and nose wheel struts to their full extension.  You will find that on these particular aircraft you are going to get more extension on them, about an extra six inches or so.  Lastly, I want you to pull that little center panel between the engine bay doors and check that external stores hook on each bird.  Make sure that it is working and that it’s not going to fail in any way.  There’s also several small panels forward between the fuel drain doors, just aft of the ammo bay, and I want you to open them up and check out the plumbing and electrical connections in there, too.  Make sure that it is all in good working order.  I’ll tell you more later, but right now I want you to get on this and report back to me ASAP.  Any questions?”  Radcliffe unconsciously stood ramrod straight as he acknowledged the gravity behind the colonel’s request.  “No sir.  I’ll get Stedman and we will get right on it, sir.”  Dunham picked his cap and as he made his way back toward the door he turned back.  “And Walt, check and be sure on 449.  I could really use four aircraft.”  With that he stepped out into a break in the weather.  Fighting the glare of the sunlit puddles covering the slick road, Colonel Dunham climbed back into the jeep as they ground down the road back to Bentwaters and, with any luck, a warm steaming cup of coffee.

Back at his desk, Dunham remembered a small bit of information that he had heard several years before in the spring of 1956.  The whole F-101 program was a train wreck then, teetering on the razor’s edge of being cancelled.  Among all of the other problems was one that still remained closely held and unknown to most of the pilots and maintenance troops that serviced their aircraft.  Block 25 was being produced at that point, but the aircraft then sat on the ramp in St. Louis for nearly a year while various fleet-wide modifications were carried out to fix the major problems and get the Voodoo ready for squadron service.  The original armament, about which he never spoke except to the old man and the squadron commanders who were around the airplane in those days, was deleted but the early aircraft still retained the long-stoke struts that could be inflated to give the extra ground clearance needed for the large, and now defunct, centerline store.   He was pretty sure that they were gone by Block 30….  The extension provisions were supposed to be removed after cancellation of Shape 96, but in the rush to get everything done and the intensive effort needed to make over 300 critical modifications to each aircraft he thought that he had heard that they just left it alone in those early squadron aircraft.  Rawcliffe would let him know for sure by close of business that afternoon.

Dunham looked down at a large scale map spread out on the center of his desk.  He used his extended pinky to pace out distances on the map.  The inbound course to the target is about 1,500 statute miles, accounting for a couple of “doglegs,” with a direct return of a little over 1,000 miles…call it 1,100.  The original fuel store carried 1,400 gallons of fuel and the refueling stores carried, what, about 1,200 gallons of transferrable fuel?  Are there any of those things gathering dust somewhere?  I really need to get a hold of Adrian and see if he knows anything.  I will need a minimum of two of those for tanker aircraft, and two of those spoofing pods, if those things even exist anymore.  Four airplanes.  Just four measly airplanes…that’s all I need to get this done.  Are these aircraft equipped for the countermeasures  pods?  I’ve got to check on that, too.  Might have to do some rewiring….

Reviewing his growing mental checklist, Dunham began to organize the scattered pages of notes into a manila file folder and clean off his desk.  Turning the silk-smooth dial of the combination lock on the safe behind his desk, he heard it click and pushed down the heavy steel lever to open it and placed the folder inside.  He flattened the large map smooth for one last time as he studied the familiar shape of the Caspian Sea, and traced out in his mind the penciled line that he had drawn, dancing along its shoreline and headed north.  He could feel the burning blue over the faraway desert, see in his mind towering dust devils plying across the dusty sands in the distance.  It would be a tough mission under the best of circumstances and they would need every drop of fuel to get to the objective and back.  There was no doubt that it would not be under the best of circumstances, but perhaps the audacity of the plan would give them the advantage of surprise.  It seemed a delicate thing to hang an important, presidentially-directed plan on but it was all he had, and even then the tools to accomplish it simply might not be available anymore.  Four young men were going to have to be selected to fly the mission.  Dunham carefully folded the map, deposited them all into the safe, closed the heavy door and pulled up on the level to hear the satisfying “chunk!” as it locked shut. 

Standing up and turning toward the window, Dunham reached for his cup of coffee to take a sip, lost in the vision of faraway places.  He grimaced as he sipped and then held the mug out at arm’s length, inspecting the lukewarm coffee with utter disdain.  Not again!  Well, just shaping up to be one of those days, I guess….  Listening to the distant ringing whine of big J57 engines as a pair of F-101s began to taxi out for a training mission, Dunham looked out through the broken, soggy cloud deck and into a vision of a barren, incandescent landscape of impossibly bright blues, tans, and grays.  He would give anything to be out there and not tied to the worn old desk and the stale carpet behind him.

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: July 1

In 1957, less than two months after entering service with Strategic Air Command, the 27^th Strategic Fighter Squadron was formally transferred to Tactical Air Command to become the 27^th Fighter-Bomber Wing, still based at Bergstrom AFB, TX.  During their brief stay with TAC, the VooDoos of the 27^th FBW would be sent to a number of critical “flashpoints” in response to potential Communist aggression during the waning years of the Eisenhower era.  

On the same date in 1967, Capt. Charles Winston III was downed by an SA-2 missile, despite carrying the AN/ALQ-51 jammer, which after several months was losing its effectiveness.  Capt. Winston was listed as MIA.  

In 1982, CF-101Bs of the Canadian Armed Forces begin Operation Cold Shaft with aircraft of 425 “Alouettes” Squadron deployed on 1-hour alert to deploy to forward bases to stand alert and perform combat air patrol missions to intercept Soviet Tu-95 long-range reconnaissance and targeting aircraft and escort them away from North American airspace.  With such intercepts taking place far from prying eyes and often at night, the encounters always had the potential to become very dangerous.

This Day in McDonnell Voodoo History: June 30

In 1955, the first flight of the YRF-101A reconnaissance aircraft, taking place from Lambert Field, St. Louis.  The primary focus of testing was on general flying qualities.  As the Fairchild KA-1 and KA-2 cameras were not yet ready, the aircraft was delivered without them.  

On the same date in 1964, 414 “Black Knights” Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force at North Bay was disbanded and its CF-101B VooDoos distributed to the remaining three squadrons.  

Photo Credit: NMUSAF via Mark Nankivil.