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| The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was the inevitable follow-on to the company's XF-88 and was intended for the same purpose. Though the 1950 penetration fighter competition among XF-88, XF-90 and YF-93A resulted in no production contract, the Strategic Air Command still wanted an aircraft conceived from the outset as an escort fighter, its F-84F being seen as only an interim solution. McDonnell's design team under Herman Barkey responded with the heaviest single-seat fighter ever built. Powered by two 5307kg Pratt & Whitney J57-P-13 turbojets, the F-101 would carry four 20mm cannon plus three Hughes GAR-ID or GAR-2A Falcon missiles or 127mm high-velocity aircraft rockets (HVAR) mounted on rotary bomb doors. The first F-101A flew on 29 September 1954 at St Louis, and exceeded Mach 1 on its maiden flight. This was a production craft, there being no service-test machine. SAC dropped its requirement and the 77 F-101As built went to the Tactical Air Command. The first delivery was made 2 May 1957 to the 27th Tactical Fighter Wing. Seven of these airframes were later designated JF-101A while being used for temporary tests.
The first of two YRF-101A service-test reconnaissance Voodoos flew on 10 May 1956, followed by 35 RF-101A airframes delivered to TAC's 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Shaw AFB, South Carolina. The reconnaissance Voodoo had a lengthened nose with space for downward or oblique cameras and other sensors. An RF-101A was shot down during the Cuban missile crisis of October 1962.
The F-101B was the tandem two-seat all-weather interceptor version of the Voodoo for the Air Defense Command, powered by two 5438kg thrust afterburning J57-P-55 turbojets. The first F-101B flew on 27 March 1957 at St Louis. For long-range intercept, it could carry two Douglas MB-1 Genie nuclear unguided rockets as well as three Falcons. Deliveries began on 18 March 1959 to the 60th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. Eventually, the F-101B equipped 16 ADC squadrons, guarding against the Soviet bomber threat to North America. The JF-101B designation was applied to two machines used for temporary tests. One NF-101B was structurally modified for development work. Very late in their careers, with reconnaissance Voodoos still needed long after the interceptor variant was retired, 22 of the two-seat airframes were converted to RF-101B. The TF-101B was a version of the interceptor with full dual controls.
ANG units operated the F-101B between 1970 and 1982. This Voodoo flew with the 179th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Minnesota ANG in 1973.
The F-101C single-seat tactical fighter differed from the F-101A primarily in having the capability to carry a US tactical nuclear weapon, and 47 were delivered to TAC. The RF-101C, the first of which was flown 12 July 1957, was an improved development of the RF-101A; 166 went to TAC squadrons. The USAF began operating the RF-101C in South East Asia in 1964 and suffered its first combat loss on 21 November 1964 when an RF-101C of the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was shot down over Laos. Though not as much publicised as other combat types, the RF-101C remained in combat until 1970. No fewer than 31 airframes were lost in battle, plus another six to operational causes. In the mid-1960s, a few RF-101Cs served with the Nationalist Chinese air force, flying clandestine missions over the mainland.
Other Voodoo variants were the F-101F, the USAF designation for the CF-101F interceptor operated by Canadian forces; the RF-101G, a conversion of high-hour RF-101A airframes for reconnaissance duties with the Air National Guard; and the RF-101H, another reconnaissance conversion. One F-101B appeared briefly on the US civil register, as N8234, used for thunderstorm research by Colorado State University. A few CF-101Fs remain in service with Canadian forces for electronic warfare operations. Total production was 807 Voodoos.
 | A three-view drawing (1685 x 1015) |
| CREW | 1 |
| ENGINE | 2 x P+W J-57-P-13, 52.0kN |
| WEIGHTS |
| Take-off weight | 18000-22250 kg | 39683 - 49053 lb |
| Empty weight | 12700 kg | 27999 lb |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Wingspan | 12.1 m | 40 ft 8 in |
| Length | 20.6 m | 68 ft 7 in |
| Height | 5.5 m | 18 ft 1 in |
| Wing area | 43.2 m2 | 465.00 sq ft |
| PERFORMANCE |
| Max. speed | 1940 km/h | 1205 mph |
| Cruise speed | 950 km/h | 590 mph |
| Ceiling | 15800 m | 51850 ft |
| Range w/max.fuel | 4800 km | 2983 miles |
| ARMAMENT | 4 x 20mm machine-guns, 15 missiles |
| Reg Saretsky, e-mail, 04.03.2009 00:42 If interestede, check the discussion pages on wikipedia- F101 Voodoo. Voodude& myself pretty musch pinned Bill Zuk, guru of the Arrowheads, on the issues of price, capabilities, etc., of the Arrow vrs the Voodoo.
Teh price per CF -101 Voodoo actually worked out to 1,598 ,000 each( typo on my part) or 796,000.00 each, including the ten two seat trainers. Documentation links are on the Voodoo discussion site- Worth a look. reply | | r saretsky, e-mail, 02.03.2009 13:44 www2.canada.com /calgaryherald /news /theeditorialpage /story.html?id=c37b7b82-28af-4e36-8117-7a88599fe36a
FPI, here is the humble editorial that barry fortier , aka Mr Hypewrsonic, has been weeping over for twelve months....
enjoy. reply | | r saretsky, e-mail, 02.03.2009 13:32 www2.canada.com /calgaryherald /news /theeditorialpage /story.html?id=c37b7b82-28af-4e36-8117-7a88599fe36a
FPI, here is the humble editorial that barry fortier , aka Mr Hypewrsonic, has been weeping over for twelve months....
enjoy. reply | | r saretsky, e-mail, 02.03.2009 01:34 members.allstream.net /~geminimp /bbb.html
Hmmm- Mr fortiers' business, besides trolling the web, appears to consist of an on line blog called the ' Calgary Bitter Business Bureau"
His URL is above. Thank you, barry, for removing my name form your ,err, 'site". PleAse do not email me again. I am sure Canwest ,& the Calgary HErald, woudl also appreciate it if you email barrages stopped. reply | |
| | Reg Saretsky, e-mail, 01.03.2009 20:58 I feel we all wish to keep this a 'debate among gentlemen". Quoting verbatim, from on of barry f's on line debates.
:
+ + + + + + + + ++++++
Barry Fortier writes:
..love the little platform view of the CF-105 Avro Arrow, as an example of a design for a well over Mach 3 hypersonic machine…"
Then writes:
"Marek Zalewski, L. Barker, Linda Wilson, Green Guy, Fox in a Bo Regis P. Digiacomo "Engineer", heavy-duty reader "SRK", "snowfox89", and others who never read the book, and know less than nothing about the subject matter, THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! From the bottom of my heart, I THANK YOU, for encouraging me ….through your name calling, ignorance, and spite."
+ + + + + + + +++
'Nuff said.
Barry,please do not email me... reply | | Ray Tuggle, e-mail, 25.01.2009 15:14 I was a Voodoo medicine man at Grand Forks, N.D. from 1963 to 1966. Ever see one do a "gate climb"? Awesome!! Electronics were always broke but mechanically very sound. reply | | Barry F, e-mail, 29.09.2008 07:19 Again, Reg S. HAS to put his foot in it, with his unshakable ignorance about aircraft, mission types, and pretty much anything else. As for the 101's range figure given, there were several versions of the 101.... different numbers of crew, different amounts of fuel, different missions. As for his sickening blather about the Arrow, he flatly refuses to understand that the figures for a high speed (supersonic) intercept, and a lower speed (subsonic) intercept or even economical cruise, would be rather different. He insists on comparing a high speed Arrow mission, NOT to the 101 at the same speed, but at a much lower speed, and concludes the Arrow was short ranged. Compare both machines for RADIUS at mach .8, mach 1.3, mach 1.5, and mach 1.8, and the Arrow wins on all counts. As for his babbling about comparative costs, he has been blown out of the water in the local newspaper on this point, but refuses to update his information on that point, as well. Unshakable dedication to a dead hack of a politician... How sad. reply | | parry henis, e-mail, 08.09.2008 17:14 hey hey. suck my balls reply | | Jim Baker, e-mail, 02.09.2008 23:17 I flew the F-101B with the 83rd, 84th and the 49th FIS's from 1961 to 1965. I then flew the F-101A and C which were converted to the RF-101G and H with the Arkansas Air National Guard. What a great airplane it was and with ANG maintance you never had any problems with it. Used to go cross country and do eight or ten legs with no write ups. Good range and with two 450 gsllon drop tanks it was even better. Very comfortable and even had a good autopilot reply | | Joe Slowik, e-mail, 26.07.2008 22:18 I was in both 101B & 102 outfits in the early to mid 60'S and the 102's were the only birds to carry AIM-26's. It would have cost to much to modify the armament door on the 101 to carry the '26. I was in the 49 FIS (Griffis AFB NY) and 4780 A&E Maint Sq (Perrin AFB Tex). reply | | Barry A. Miller, e-mail, 20.05.2008 03:27 Has anybody ever heard of the F-101B interceptor version carrying anything other than AIM-4 Falcons & AIR-2A (MB-1) nuclear Genies on its rotating missile tray? One person claims it also carried the AIM-26A nuclear Falcons (I understood were only carried on modified F-102s) reply | | Butch Owens, 09.05.2008 06:33 I was a Flight Chief at Dow AFB, Maine with F-101B Voodos 1966 - 1968.
One of the easier maintained century series fighters that I worked on. Held the record from take off roll to 40,000 feet for many years. reply | | r Saretsky, e-mail, 07.02.2008 01:00 An utterly superb aircraft. The range figure seems very high, is this perhaps the ferry distance, as range is out & back( Radius of action?
at 1.50 million each, the CF101 Voodoo was a bargain , compared to the 12 million plus ( 1958$) Avro arrow, with 300 mile radius of Action reply |
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