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| The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger resulted from a 1950 USAF design competition for an integral all-weather interceptor weapon system. Combining the Hughes Falcon air-to-air missile, the delta wing platform first flown on the XF-92A, and the 4944kg thrust Pratt & Whitney J57-P-11 turbojet, the first of 10 YF-102s (52-7994/7995 and 53-1779/1786) flew at Edwards AFB, California, on 24 October 1953. The prototype was lost in a mishap nine days later, but tests with other YF-102 airframes revealed a disappointing truth: the type was sorely underpowered and incapable of level supersonic flight. Rarely had the Air Force invested so much in a system which performed so poorly.
Convair designers went back to the drawing board and the indented fuselage or 'area rule' configuration developed by NACA's Richard Whitcomb was hastily introduced in the much-altered YF-102A, which was assembled in a scant 117 days. The first of four YF-102As (53-1787/1790) flew at Edwards AFB on 20 December 1954, not merely with 'area rule' but with cambered wing, new canopy (except on 53-1788) and 5443kg thrust Pratt & Whitney J57-P-23. The new design was supersonic and met USAF expectations.
The production F-102A began to reach Air Defense Command squadrons in June 1955. The first two-seat TF-102A combat proficiency trainer (54-1351) flew at Edwards AFB 8 November 1955 and operated alongside F-102As in ADC service. Total Delta Dagger production was 873 airplanes.
The F-102B designation was briefly assigned to a new aircraft completed as the F-106. The little-known YF-102C (53-1806), a converted F-102A model, tested change in the internal fire control system, but these were not adopted.
A rakish, well-liked and easily-handling aircraft, popular out of proportion to its importance, the F-102A eventually served with 27 ADC and 23 ANG squadrons. Air Defense Command machines went through several modernisation programmes before being relegated to the ANG, the internal provision for rockets being eventually omitted. A few F-102As went to Greece and Turkey. A few camouflaged F-102As were deployed to South East Asia in 1964-6, and to trouble-plagued Korea in 1968 but, while they flew a few missions over North Vietnam, they are not thought to have actually been in combat.
The PQM-102A is a Sperry-converted airframe under the Pave Deuce programme for use as a fully manoeuvrable manned or unmanned target drone. About 30 have been converted. Numerous F-102A airframes have been saved, the 199th Fighter Interceptor Squadron of the Hawaii Air National Guard having retained no fewer than four non-flyable F-102As for display purposes after transitioning to the F-4C Phantom.
FACTS AND FIGURES © To make it supersonic, the
original YF-102 was
lengthened and given bulges
on the rear fuselage to
change the cross-section.
These protuberances were
known as 'Marilyns'. © The YF-102 was a
development of the XF-92
research aircraft, which was
originally to be the ramjet-powered
'return' component
of a large two-part composite
attack aircraft. © The canopy of the YF-102
had heavy framing more
akin to an early World War
II fighter. Convair were
probably worried about the
stress of supersonic flight on
large areas of Perspex.
 | A three-view drawing (1680 x 1223) |
| CREW | 1 |
| ENGINE | 1 x Pratt Whitney J57-P-23, 7802kg |
| WEIGHTS |
| Take-off weight | 14187 kg | 31277 lb |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Wingspan | 11.62 m | 38 ft 1 in |
| Length | 20.84 m | 68 ft 4 in |
| Height | 6.46 m | 21 ft 2 in |
| Wing area | 61.45 m2 | 661.44 sq ft |
| PERFORMANCE |
| Max. speed | 1328 km/h | 825 mph |
| Range | 2173 km | 1350 miles |
| ARMAMENT | air-to-air missiles |
| Bob Quinn, e-mail, 11.04.2013 21:17 I had the pleasure of working on the F-102A as a Pneudraulic Repairman at Seymour Johnson AFB -482nd FIS-1964 /65. I also worked the F-101B and the F-100B /C. I still have a great affection for the F-102A. reply | | Richard (Dick) Vedas, e-mail, 25.02.2013 01:39 I was a 32251F radar tech,496th FIS Hahn AB.As everyone knows the most common thing out, radar out! Hahn was cold rainy,foggy,just plain nasty weather.TDY anywhere was my motto,I tried to go on every one.Madrid every December and January two weeks each TDY.Any 322 radar troop will tell you about the two headed pig known as a TF 102A,what a nightmare to work on,trying to get the rails qualified with WESM's! Always make sure you have counter balance air when removing canopy jack!I was at Hahn May 1965- May 1968
Then back to my favorite Voodoo's 322nd FIS Kingsley,out Oct 68. reply | | Mike Ferros, e-mail, 21.02.2013 02:31 I was stationed at CLARK AFB in the PI and assigned to the 509th FIS as a 27150 (dispatcher) back in '62 through'64 as an EM...It was a great duty station and I was fortunate to be associated with some the finest pilots I have ever served with. During that time, our F-102's had the skull in the desert with a rose growing from the eye cavity painted on the tail except when we went TDY to Vietnam, it was painted over until the A /C returned to Clark.
With inspiration from some of the pilots, I used the GI bill for flight training for my multi, inst and rotor craft ratings after discharge and made a career with my home state flying mostly SAR. I'll always have good memories of those pilots and the Duce...Which btw is still my favorite fighter /interceptor. reply | | Clifford Maddy, e-mail, 07.01.2013 02:34 1956 ASIGNED TO 323RD FIS 325th FIGHTER AGROUP, Madison, Wis. Pr[ for Norad assignment Harmon AFB Newfoundland. Deuce was a fantastic aircraft. I was AFCS SPECIALIST. All worked well if pilot trusted computers. We had an old fighter pilot assigned to us who had not flown this type much. When he returned from first training flight I found a spot of chewing gum on the windshield. Guess what that was for? Kentucky windage. HA. We had excellent in commission status. AFCS was very picky about trim adjustment. At times one was ready to take off and needed trim set with engine running WOW! reply | |
| | Edward Elliott, e-mail, 25.12.2012 20:16 Looking for anyone that flew the 102's with the 82 FIS that went from Travis AFB to Okinawa. I am looking for the missions they flew and the rockets they used in air to ground action. The information on the IR system we installed at Travis an the purpose of our mission seems to be non-existant. reply | | John W. Van Dyke, e-mail, 09.12.2012 04:43 From June 1967 to June 1968 I worked the flight line. For the most part, I was Crew Chief on the "Tub" 56-2367. Also, many times taxied an aircraft to the Alert Barn or to the trim pad for engine runup. Awesome plane.... reply | | Jeff Simes, e-mail, 26.10.2012 05:42 Stationed at Thule most of 1963,worked the flight line and
was a crew chief on theF-102.Not a bad plane to work on, I
think the number was 369.Long time ago. reply | | Gary Quigg, e-mail, 25.09.2012 02:47 I am an archaeologist working on aircraft crash sites at Eglin AFB, and I have located an F-102 crash site. I believe it is most likely the remains of a PQM-102 drone, but need verification that these were shot down over Eglin. Can anyone verify this? I believe these drones were flown out of Tyndall. Thanks. reply | | John Kirkpatrick, e-mail, 22.09.2012 05:12 I was stationed at Clark AB, RP first with the 509th FIS then with the 64th FIS on the F102s, TDY to Da Nang AB. The lead-in article really does no justice to the role that the F102 played. It was a very good plane to work on (I later moved over to the F4C /D in the 523TFS at Clark & Da Nang), it was very valuable in Bomber escort duties over North Vietnam. It played a big role in ADC duties in the mid-late 50's in the US and Canada. All total, there were 1000 F102A's manufactured.
I am proud of my time with this plane and the missions it performed. You had to be there at Da Nang to know what we did and how it /we performed. reply | | KEMMEL H OWEN, e-mail, 04.09.2012 06:47 I flew the very last QF /PQM-102 (56-1072) manned and unmanned flights on Jun 27 & 30, 1986, at Holloman AFB, NM. It was shot down over White Sands by an experimental missile that worked very well against a fast, high-G target. Credit the Deuce with development of super missiles after Viet Nam showed we didn't have any. I have a picture of the very last flight without a pilot in the cockpit. Send me an email address to reply to. reply | | Jimmy Bridges, e-mail, 31.08.2012 01:35 Was Crew chief on F-102s at Portland AB 337 CAMRON 62-66 when unit was closed and some ac handed to ANG. Dont know what happened to the rest as the unit was scheduled to go to VN. I only had 5 mo to go and was let go early. Would like to hear from anyone from Portland air patch! We lost six aircraft during my 3 years at Portland! reply | | JT, e-mail, 23.08.2012 14:39 Looking to talk to anybody who flew the F-102 at Thule in the summer of 1961. Looking for info on Lt William Lilliedahl and a picture of tail number 61381. Thanks. reply | | Dave Altermatt, e-mail, 31.07.2012 20:26 Stationed at Clark A.B. Sep 61 to Mar 63
Crew chief on F102A 405 Consolidated Maint Sq. / 509th FIS
Good bird. Enjoyed Working on it. reply | | Carl Heineck, e-mail, 20.05.2012 22:23 I was a member of the 59th FIS in Goose Bay, Labrador from Fall of 1961 to February of 1963. I was a comm /nav tech working on F-102s. It was a trifle cold there (!) but we had a great group of guys, enlisted and officers. I believe Frank Smith was our Commander. Loved the aircraft. reply | |
| | Guy Roberts, e-mail, 28.04.2012 05:08 I was a part of the big move from Pain Field Wa to Clark AFB Pi, was assigned to both the 509th and the 64th, was at Clark for 16 month but went TDY to Bangkock,Udorn, and DaNang for 8 months total. I reall enjoyed working the "duice". reply | | Neil Carrell, e-mail, 16.03.2012 03:29 Worked as radar tech on f-102 with 598th at Geiger Field Spokane Wa. 1957-1958. Some good friend withwhom I have lost contact years ago. Most enjoyable time in a 8 year enlistment. reply | | Michael Flannagan, e-mail, 18.02.2012 07:24 Hello fellow Ducer's. I was a radar technician stationed at Perrin from 62 thru 66. Worked out of the old wooden building at south end of field that also housed the rescue helicopter pilots. Then they build us the big blue hanger with the built in shops. I worked both the flight line and the nose docks. Worked mostly mids or nights but did work some days also. We also had our mock-ups located in the large communications building next to the hangers.Loved working on the duce and have many great memories while there. From chasing and procuring jackrabbits on the runway during mid shift to playing on the shop softball team. Worked with a great bunch of people during my time there. If anyone out there was in the radar shop,shoot me an e-mail and we'll catch up. Also if anyone stationed at Perrin has some old pictures that I could get a copy of please let me know. reply | | Gary Komassa, e-mail, 19.12.2011 09:14 I worked on the engines for the F-102A at Truax Field in Madison, WI from 1963-66. Was in the overhaul section for complete tear-down. Did not work on the flight-line with an exception of a couple of times. Removing engine from aircraft required a bit of acrobatic positions. Truax was used for many final modifications prior to sending them to Vietnam. One of the modifications we had to accomplish was to replace the 8 1 /2 bearing which was way inside. The Pratt & Whitney engine was a hardy engine. The fuel control was a nightmare. Had to clean the filters using sulfuric acid for a select number of seconds. We were doing depot level maintenance during that period. reply | | Louis Lombardo, e-mail, 13.12.2011 18:51 I served in the Air Force..1963..Keflavic Iceland. There was a picture taken by a deuce pilot of a Russian Bear bomber.... zeroing in on the waist gunner's turret. The Russian gunner was holding a can of Coke in one hand and giving the U.S. pilot the "high sign" with the other. Also one taken by another deuce pilot of his wingman flying "between" two Russian destroyers on the deck...
If you have these photos.....please scan them and forward them to skyyydiver8@aol.com reply | | Einar, e-mail, 18.10.2011 20:56 F 102 is my favourid jet since they served here in Iceland in 57 FIS "Black Knights", I would like to build a radio controled model of but I need some plans, is anybody there who can help me ? Regards Einar reply |
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