The Best Fighter pre 1970

[Matt308]

No one has mentioned the F-8 Crusader...

[Lucky13]

1 Interceptor: F104 Starfighter
1 Dogfight: F-8 Crusader
1 Ground Attack: A-1 Skyraider

[renrich]

Noticed a few listed F4 for a air to mud fighter. Not what I hear. Have a friend that flew 150 FAC missions in Viet Nam and he said they were not noted for their bombing accuracy. Also read a book about A1s flying out of Thailand and the author said the F4s were notorious for their inaccuacy in bombing. Said the most proficent was the F105.

[renrich]

I would also vote for the F8 as the top dogfighter.

[Matt308]

Here's some great footage of the Hawker Hunter.

YouTube - hawker hunter blue note

[TinWolf]

Hi guys.

New boy here

What about the MiG25 as an interceptor?
good speed, plenty of power to get where it needs to be.
As long as it`s not facing something that can turn i.e. a bomber i think it`d do the job.

Dogfighter: I think it`s gotta be the F8
Mudmoving: My favourite, the F-105 Thud, a great plane in it`s day and once the RAF had shown how to fly it low, it couldn`t be caught. Thinking about that what about the Buccaneer, again it couldn`t be caught down low.

[Heinz]

Interceptor - Lightening

Dogfight - Crusader

Ground Attack - Phantom

[V-1710]

Best interceptor of all time was the F-106. Very fast, very advanced avionics, and very well armed, thanks to the MB-1 Genie. The ability to take on dozens of bombers all at once with a high probability of getting ALL of them. Dogfighter, probably the F8U, ground pounder the F-105 or Buccaneer.

[Matt308]

I've read about the F-106. Had a high top speed, but literally took almost 10 minutes to get there.

[FLYBOYJ]

Originally Posted by Matt308

I've read about the F-106. Had a high top speed, but literally took almost 10 minutes to get there.

Mentioned a few times, bare with me - My father in law ran a squadron of F-106s used as chase planes on the B-1 program (He was the chief test pilot on the B-1 program). He said they took forever to accelerate but once at speed would keep picking up speed until they self-destructed. He said the F-111 and the B-1 were the same way. They had the opportunity to play with F-15 during dis-similar aircraft exercises and he said a few times they caught an Eagle drive napping! Some of his boys also brought back a few 106s with some popped rivets in the wings.

Dad has high regards for the 106, they even had a 106B (Tandem trainer) which they referred to as the "station wagon."

[Matt308]

FBJ, when you talk about the B-1, are you referring to the original Carter cancelled version with the strait inlets and no diffusers?

The -106B was an ugly airplane. Just ruined the lines in my opinion. Also, wasn't the -106 what Bush flew while in ANG?

[FLYBOYJ]

Originally Posted by Matt308

FBJ, when you talk about the B-1, are you referring to the original Carter cancelled version with the strait inlets and no diffusers?

No - he was the chief test pilot on the B-1B - production test pilot. He and one of his buddies took one out over 4th of July weekend in 1987 and set about 90 world speed and altitude records, about 20 still stand today where he flew as co-pilot, he as 6 remaining as pilot.

They won the MacKay Trophy for that one. He could of accepted it in his own name, he's such a modest guy he shared it with the whole unit....

NAA: National Aeronautic Association

Originally Posted by Matt308

The -106B was an ugly airplane. Just ruined the lines in my opinion. Also, wasn't the -106 what Bush flew while in ANG?

No, he flew an F-102...

[Matt308]

I thought that with the revision to the B-1 program post Carter, that they sacrificed top speed for stealth. While I had seen the records broken for the weight class, I didn't realize that top speed was not greatly affected by the B modifications.

And Bush flew -102s. Man those were antiquated even for his time.

[pbfoot]

Originally Posted by Matt308

I thought that with the revision to the B-1 program post Carter, that they sacrificed top speed for stealth. While I had seen the records broken for the weight class, I didn't realize that top speed was not greatly affected by the B modifications.

And Bush flew -102s. Man those were antiquated even for his time.

The early 70's the 102 was about right for ADC in Texas not many threats that far into the Gulf anything out of Cuba would have been tagged by Florida or Louisiana ADC

[FLYBOYJ]

Originally Posted by Matt308

I thought that with the revision to the B-1 program post Carter, that they sacrificed top speed for stealth. While I had seen the records broken for the weight class, I didn't realize that top speed was not greatly affected by the B modifications.

It reallly wasn't. I believe the top speed was limited due to some of the RAM material placed around the intakes and other areas of the airframe...

Originally Posted by Matt308

And Bush flew -102s. Man those were antiquated even for his time.

Considering was was being develped at the time, they were. F-102s actually got deployed to Vietnam and Bush "Could of" gotten deployed, much to the sh-grin of his detractors...

"By the end of 1958, 26 Air Defense Command squadrons were flying F-102As, and the Delta Dagger had replaced the North American F-86D Sabre as the most numerous interceptor with the ADC. F-102As in service numbered 627, or about half of the total number of interceptors operated by the Air Defense Command. At the height of its service, 32 ADC units flew the F-102A. The last of 873 F-102As produced was delivered in September 1958.
The first overseas deployment took place in June 1958 when the 327th Fighter Interceptor Squadron moved to Thule, Greenland. The first squadron in Europe to receive the F-102 was the 525th FIS based at Bitburg in West Germany. Five other squadrons based in Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands also got Delta Daggers.

During the early 1960s, the F-102A was gradually replaced in the ADC by the McDonnell F-101B Voodoo and the Convair F-106 Delta Dart. By the end of 1969, with the exception of a squadron maintained in Iceland, all ADC F-102As had been transferred to the Air National Guard. The F-102As stationed in the Pacific had been withdrawn in December of 1969. The last ADC unit to operate the F-102A, the 57th FIS based at Keflavik in Iceland finally traded in its F-102As for McDonnell F-4C Phantoms in mid-1973.

As they left USAF service, most F-102As were transferred to the Air National Guard. First to receive the F-102A was the 182nd FIS of the Texas ANG in mid-1960. Twenty-three ANG units ultimately got F-102As, including squadrons in Louisiana, Florida, Texas, North Dakota, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, New York, Washington, Connecticut, Oregion, Maine Vermont, Tennessee, Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Montana, Idaho, and California.

Large-scale retirement of the F-102A from the ANG began in late 1969 and continued throughout the 1970s. The last F-102A finally left ANG service in October of 1976, when the 199th FIS of the Hawaii ANG traded in their Delta Daggers for F-4C Phantoms. Most of the retired F-102As ended up in the boneyards at the Davis-Monthan AFB storage facility. Many were subsequently converted into remote-controlled drone aircraft.

Each F-102A squadron normally included two TF-102A two-seaters on strength.

Vietnam-era deployment
Though essentially useless in the small-war role, F-102s were indeed deployed to South Vietnam. Aircraft from the 590th Fighter Interceptor Squadron were transferred to Tan Son Nhut AFB near Saigon in March 1962 to provide air defense against the unlikely event that North Vietnamese aircraft would attack the South. F-102As continued to be based there and in Thailand throughout much of the war. F-102As also stood alert at Bien Hoa and Da Nang in South Vietnam and at Udorn and Don Muang in Thailand. The F-102A was finally withdrawn from Southeast Asia in December of 1969.
A few missions were flown over North Vietnam, but the Southeast Asia-stationed F-102As are not thought to have actually engaged in air-to-air combat. However, Joe Baugher cites an F-102A of the 509th FIS being lost to an air-to-air missile fired by a MiG-21 while flying a CAP over Route Package IV on February 3, 1968. Two F-102As were lost to AAA or small-arms fire, four were destroyed on the ground by the Viet Cong, and eight were lost in operational accidents.

The F-102A even flew some close-support missions over South Vietnam, even though the aircraft was totally unsuited for this role. These operations started in 1965 at Tan Son Nhut. Operating under the code-name "Project Stovepipe," the F-102s used their heat sinking Falcon missiles to lock onto heat sources over the Ho Chi Minh trail at night, often Viet Cong campfires. They would even fire their radar-guided missiles if their radars managed to lock onto something.

The F-102s soon switched to a day role, firing unguided FFAR rockets using the optical sight; 618 day sorties were flown, the last one at the end of 1965. One F-102A was downed by ground fire during one of these rocket attacks. There were some later missions flown, especially in emergencies when the 102's were the fastest response available in South Vietnam. Some TF-102A two-seaters were also used on occasion in Vietnam as forward air controllers."