Convair F-102 Delta Dagger

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convai...2_Delta_Dagger

The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was an American interceptor aircraft that was
built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in
the late 1950s. Entering service in 1956, its main purpose was to intercept
invading Soviet strategic bomber fleets (Tupolev Tu-95) during the Cold War.
Designed and manufactured by Convair, 1,000 F-102s were built.

A member of the Century Series, the F-102 was the USAF's first operational
supersonic interceptor and delta-wing fighter. It used an internal weapons bay
to carry both guided missiles and rockets. As originally designed, it could not
achieve Mach 1 supersonic flight until redesigned with area ruling. The F-102
replaced subsonic fighter types such as the Northrop F-89 Scorpion, and by the
1960s, it saw limited service in the Vietnam War in bomber escort and
ground-attack roles. It was supplemented by McDonnell F-101 Voodoos and, later,
by McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs.

Many of the F-102s were transferred from the active duty Air Force to the Air
National Guard by the mid-to-late 1960s, and, with the exception of those
examples converted to unmanned QF-102 Full Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) drones,
the type was totally retired from operational service in 1976. The follow-on
replacement was the Mach-2 Convair F-106 Delta Dart, which was an extensive
redesign of the F-102.

On 8 October 1948, the board of senior officers of the U.S. Air Force (USAF)
made recommendations that the service organize a competition for a new
interceptor scheduled to enter service in 1954; as such, the all-new design
would initially be dubbed the "1954 Ultimate Interceptor". Four months later, on
4 February 1949, the USAF approved the recommendation and prepared to hold the
competition the following year. In November 1949, the Air Force decided that the
new aircraft would be built around a fire-control system (FCS). The FCS was to
be designed before the airframe to ensure compatibility. The airframe and FCS
together were called the weapon system.

The prototype YF-102 made its first flight on 23 October 1953, at Edwards AFB,
but was lost in an accident nine days later. The second aircraft flew on 11
January 1954, confirming a dismal performance. Transonic drag was much higher
than expected, and the aircraft was limited to Mach 0.98 (i.e. subsonic), with a
ceiling of 48,000 ft (14,630 m), far below the requirements.

The numerous inherent design and technical limitations of the F-102 led to a
proposed successor, initially known as the F-102B "Ultimate Interceptor". The
improved design, in which the proposed Curtiss-Wright J67 jet engine was
eventually replaced by a Pratt & Whitney J75, underwent so many aerodynamic
changes (including variable-geometry inlets) that it essentially became an
entirely new aircraft and hence was redesignated and produced as the F-106 Delta
Dart. Convair would also use a delta wing design in the Mach 2 class Convair
B-58 Hustler bomber.

Role
Interceptor aircraft

Manufacturer
Convair

First flight
24 October 1953

Introduction
April 1956

Retired
1979

Primary users
United States Air Force
Greece
Turkey

Number built
1,000

Unit cost

US$1.2 million

Developed from
Convair XF-92

Developed into
F-106 Delta Dart

The F-102's official name, "Delta Dagger", was never used in common parlance,
with the aircraft being universally known as the "Deuce." The TF-102 was known
as the "Tub" because of its wider fuselage with side-by-side twin seating.

The F-102 served in the Vietnam War, flying fighter patrols and serving as
bomber escorts. A total of 14 aircraft were lost in Vietnam: one to air-to-air
combat, several to ground fire and the remainder to accidents.

Initially, F-102 detachments began to be sent to bases in Southeast Asia in 1962
after radar contacts detected by ground radars were thought to possibly be North
Vietnamese Il-28 "Beagle" bombers – considered to be a credible threat in that
time period. The F-102s were sent to Thailand and other nearby countries to
intercept these aircraft if they threatened South Vietnam.

Later on, Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strikes, codenamed "Arc Light", were
escorted by F-102s based in the theater. It was during one of these missions
that an F-102 was shot down by a North Vietnamese Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 using
an AA-2 Atoll heat-seeking missile. The MiGs approached undetected, and one of
the F-102s was hit by an air-to-air missile, which did not explode immediately,
but remained lodged in the aft end of the aircraft, causing stability problems.
As the pilot reported the problem to his wingman, the wingman observed the
damaged Delta Dagger explode in midair, killing the pilot. This was the only
air-to-air loss for the F-102 during the Vietnam War. The other F-102 pilot
fired AIM-4 missiles at the departing MiG-21s, but no hit was recorded.

The F-102 was employed in the air-to-ground role with limited success, although
neither the aircraft nor the training for its pilots were designed for that
role. The 509th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron's Deuces arrived at Da Nang Air
Base, 4 August 1964 from Clark Air Base, Philippines.

Specifications (F-102A)

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 68 ft 4 in (20.83 m)
Wingspan: 38 ft 1 in (11.61 m)
Height: 21 ft 2 in (6.45 m)
Wing area: 661.5ft²/61.52m² (Original Wing) or 695 ft²/64.57m²
(Conically-Cambered Wing) ()
Airfoil: NACA 0004-65 mod root and tip
Empty weight: 19,350 lb (8,777 kg)
Loaded weight: 24,500 lb (11,100 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 31,500 lb (14,300 kg)
Internal fuel capacity: 1,085 U.S. gal (4,107 l)
External fuel capacity: 2 × 215 U.S. gal (815 l) drop tanks
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney J57-P-25 afterburning turbojet Dry thrust:
11,700 lbf (52.0 kN)
Thrust with afterburner: 17,200 lbf (76.5 kN)


Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 1.25 (825 mph, 1,304 km/h) at 40,000 ft (12,190 m)
Range: 1,350 mi (1,170 nmo, 2,175 km)
Service ceiling: 53,400 ft (16,300 m)
Rate of climb: 13,000 ft/min (66 m/s)
Wing loading: 35 lb/ft² (172 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.70

Armament

Rockets: 24 × 2.75 in (70 mm) FFAR (Folding Fin Aerial Rocket) unguided rockets
in missile bay doors
Missiles:
6 × AIM-4 Falcon air-to-air missiles or
3 × AIM-4 Falcon
1 × AIM-26 Falcon with conventional or nuclear warhead


Avionics
MG-10 fire control system




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