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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 |
| Don Langhorn, e-mail, 09.12.2010 22:43 I was a crew chief on F-102s at Truax fld Madison,Wi from 57 to 1960 reply | | Roger Pile, e-mail, 09.12.2010 19:29 Flew the F102 at Tyndall, Thule, Travis, Okinawa and Clark, deploying to Viet Nam, Thailand, Taiwan and Korea. Accumulated 1800 hrs and 142 combat missions in it over a 9 year period between 1959 and 1970, with a break for an MBA fo 18 months at Syracuse Univ. Was one of the pilots who flew the Thirsty Camel flight from Travis to Okinawa, the first at midair refueling for the Deuce in Feb 1966. While assigned to Clark, came back to Perrin to ferry another one back to Clark, perhaps the only one to do it twice. Jerry Doty was my wingman on the flight from Travis-Hahaii-Wake Island-Okinawa. We had to abort back into Hickam when I had a hydraulic problem right after take-off, so we waited another day for the second wave of 12 F-102's and joined them for the rest of the trip. The bird was a joy to fly and I loved my association with it. If anyone has a squadron patch from either the 82nd or the 509th, please contact me. reply | | Rick Thomas, e-mail, 13.11.2010 03:59 I was a field engineer assigned to the 48th CIS in the Pittsburgh ANG. My job was to support the Air Force in maintaining the F-102. I was there form 1963 through 1966. My boss and I supported the 6 aircraft deployed to Tyndall AFB for Willaim Tell in 1963. We won with 1 miss in four flights with 4 aircraft. reply | | grady howell, e-mail, 04.11.2010 18:08 I worked on and served as a crew chief of "deuces" at Perrin AFB from 1966 to 1970. I was attached to 'D' Flight and A.D.A.B. (Air Defense Alert Barn) during my tour. The F / and TF /102A "birds" and experiences of serving at "Perrin Field" are memories that I always cherish. I possessed a "Run-up and Taxi License" and can still remember the thrill of taxi-ing "deuces" out to the trim-pad for inspections. I never had to try a second time to position the aircraft in the circle. When I braked the plane was chocked, cabled, and with me pushing as hard as I could on the brakes the technicians radiod from the engine compartments, "Take her up to military Sarge!" Throttling up to "Full Military," it wasn't long before a voice chimed in, "Pop her into AB!" Damn! Rocking and reeling, that was a kick!! Once they were through with their inspections I was "untethered" and I throttled my way back to "Dog" Flight. Of course I had to wait for the green light (clearance) from the tower before crossing the air strip. The F /TF /102A was a good "bird" and relatively easy to maintain. While I was at Perrin "E" Flight lost one plane (the air crew escaped) to a hydraulics problem and another aircraft was destroyed and the pilot killed in Oklahoma (later found to be due to pilot error). I have a handfull of pictures that were taken when I served at Perrin, taken for my Mom and an old girlfriend. They are of me, the O.M.S Barracks, my room on inspection day, etc. To paraphrase an old Frank Sinatra song, "Those were some very good years." reply | |
| | Walt Houghton, e-mail, 02.11.2010 01:34 Assignments: 52nd CAMRON, Suffolk, Arm. Shop & Alert, 1959
4683rd CAMRON, Thule AB, Arm. Shop, 1960
4756th A&E Sqdn, Tyndall 1961-62
158th CAMRON VTANG, Burlington, 1962-70
Loved working on the Deuce. Nothing prettier than a four ship pitching out for landing. Which there was still one flying in the warbird community.Vivid memories of mass-loading & turnaround exercises at Thule in the dark and -48 F. Below!! reply | | Jack Stein, e-mail, 27.10.2010 03:34 I worked on the F102 at Perrin AFB, Texas then was a crew chief on a TF102 in Iceland. This jet was easy to maintain with few exceptions and as an E-5 I was luck to get a demo ride in my TF in Iceland. That was quite an experience for a young airman. reply | | Dallas Smith, e-mail, 14.10.2010 07:25 To Jerry Doty Jr. I have lots of info on your Dad. Met him at Travis and was stationed with him at Naha, Perrin and Nha Trang. Contact me: gypsy2880@yahoo.com. reply | | Roger Henderson, e-mail, 09.10.2010 19:25 I worked on the F102D at Keflavic Naval air Station Iceland in 1967-1968.I was assigned to the 57th Fighter Intercepter Squadron as flight line maint. I worked at the alert barn where four HOT aircraft were on alert. I was later transfered to the Tire Shop as NCOIC. As I was in charge of the crash recovery equiptment I had the oppertunity to go to two crash sites. One aircraft was totaly destroyed leaving only the engine intact and the other ran off the end of the runway and busted its left main gear. (Both pilots were OK) reply | | Frank "Smitty" Smith, e-mail, 04.10.2010 00:44 Flew the "Duece" with the 317th FIS at Elmendorf AFB Alaska from Dec '63 to Dec 66'. Back to Perrin AFB instructing as an IP and Academic Instructor until June '69. Great airplane and a dream to fly, especially in the cold climate in Alaska! As a side note: 317th won TWO Hughes Trophys and a "William Tell" at Tyndall AFB in '63. reply | | Jim Gourdoux, e-mail, 03.10.2010 04:26 I worked on the F-102 from 1964 through 1966 at Truax AFB in Madison Wisconsin and Tyndall AFB in Panama City Florida as a technician on the radar and infrared missile systems. The weapons system was being converted from tube to solid state. The F-106 was newer and had a fully solid state "fire control system", but had many more problems than the F-102, which was relatively reliable. The air to air missile systems had fuel for about two seconds, and would then have another two seconds of manuerability, but they could reach mach 2 plus the speed of the F-102 during that timeframe, all that was needed to hit a target. reply | | Jim Bath, e-mail, 12.08.2010 07:09 I was a line pilot flying the F 102 from 1961-1972, first in the USAF, then the Texas ANG ........Great airplane, almost impossible to make it bite you.......Would outturn almost anything flying then, but difficult to keep the airspeed up for long in the high G turns....... reply | | Hawai, e-mail, 21.08.2010 03:34 About F-102 shot down during Vietnam war. Who known anything about fighter escort for Arc Light B-52 mission? Did F-102 and F-100 flew that kind of mission in 65-66, maybe?
thaks reply | | Carl Quinn, e-mail, 28.05.2010 02:43 After reading comments on F106 attack geometry, I was reminded of a near midair between two F102s. One being the intruder took off 1 /2 hour early to get into position at altitude other to intercept. These were not live fire but thats another story. The Flight data Computer developed a malfunction where the "F" pole was missing and the intercepting F102 was flying a colision course. The pilot in the intruder F102 was able to call off the attack when a collision became appearent. In the A&E radar mockup we found the cause and were amazed that this was possible. Selfridge AFB about 1961. reply | | Jerry Bjerke, e-mail, 23.05.2010 15:45 The Jerry Doty message. I assume the person writing is Jerry,s son Jerry Doty Jr. As I noted in my earlier message, I was stationed with Jerry in the 82nd 1964-1968. My wife and I were good friends of Jerry and Kay, knew Debi and Diane.
Jerry, you can contact me via my E-Mail : deltadart@frontiernet.net or jerrybjerke@frontiernet.net. Would like to hear from you. reply | |
| | Jerry Bjerrke, e-mail, 22.05.2010 22:41 I was stationed with Jerry Doty at Travis and also flew the aircraft to Okinawa. I was in Okinawa until 1968. We were good friends of Jerry and Kay.
How might I contact Kay Doty? I may be contacted at my E-Mail address. reply | | Greg Gadd, e-mail, 21.05.2010 07:05 I spent 18 months at Clark, Dec 1967 until about June of 1969. I was a crew chief and TDY a bit to Udorn and Don Maung. Seems as if I can't really find much about the 509th or 64th FIS. reply | | Bill Ponseigo, e-mail, 09.04.2010 07:05 I was crewchief on the duce from 1962 thru 1965 at Richards Gebaur AFB near Kansas City MO. Many fond memorys of working on them , and a few sad ones . we lost 2 while I was there. One to hyd. failure and locked flight controls... this one flew around till it ran out of fuel. The other was on take off ,, it seems the pilots flashlight slid off the radar shield and jammed in the base of the cntrol stick ,,, it was found jammed in that position. ost both the plane and pilot on the runway. Very sad day! reply | | Ray, e-mail, 10.03.2010 20:47 My Dad worked on the Convair F102's in San Diego back in the 50's. I have a small 2" plastic model that says Convair F-102A, USAF. Unfortunately, the tip of one wing tips has broken. Its been in my keep sake box for 60 years.
If there is a collector out there that would value this mini model more than me, let me know. I may donate it.
Ray Benny reply | | Jerry Doty, e-mail, 21.02.2010 21:43 To John jcg11(@)socall.rr.com:
I was wondering if you knew my father, Jerry D. Doty. He was stationed at Travis Air Base in 1965 (where I was born) and was pilot with the 82nd. He was part of the crew that flew the 102 on its first intercontinental flight from California to Okinawa - refueling in fight five times. I have some pictures from this mission to share.
My Father recently passed away (www.tulsaworld.com /ourlives /article.aspx?subjectid=426&articleid=20100210_Ob_obsl_7182315) and I am looking for information on his service to preserver for the grandchildren. I have often heard stories about the mission you wrote about and I would like to talk to someone was part of it. I tried your email address but it bounded.
Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated reply | | John, e-mail, 06.02.2010 22:50 I was crew chief on the T /TF102A at Travis AFB, 82nd FIS in 1965. The aircraft were modified with an IFR system, in 1966 and we deployed to Naha Air Bas Okinawa to replace the 555th F4 squadron lead by Col Robbin Olds. We deployed routinely to Itazuki, Tachikawa, and Misawa Air Bases to provide aircover for the 7th Pacific Fleet. Great aircraft, for maintenance and pilots. FYI, Capt Golish brought his aircraft in dead-stick from over 120 miles, his picture made the cover of Stars&Stripes paper. reply |
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