Convair F-106

Convair F-106 Delta Dart
An F-106A “Delta Dart” from the 5th FIS
Type:	Interceptor
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Convair
First flight:	December 26, 1956
Commissioning:	May 1959
Production time:	1955 to 1964
Number of pieces:	340

The Convair F-106 Delta Dart was a single -engine, all-weather, high-performance interceptor with delta wings made in the USA , which was in service from 1959 to 1988. The F-106 was tailor-made for the air defense system of the United States developed and therefore only by the US Air Force used. This aircraft has many special features and until November 22, 1961 held the absolute world speed record recognized by the FAI of 2,455.736 km / h (1525.93  mph) This performance is still one of the highest speeds officially recognized by a single-engine jet. In the following years there was only one single-engine aircraft that set an official airspeed world record - the Mikoyan-Gurevich Je-166 on June 7, 1962 with 2,681 km /H.

The F-106 belonged to the so-called Century series ( F-100 to F-110 ).

development

An F-106A fires an AIR-2 Genie training missile .

In the early 1950s it became clear that the "Ultimate Interceptor" that Convair developed would not be ready for use by 1954. The USAF therefore decided to bridge the gap by purchasing a technologically less sophisticated interceptor. This interim model was the Convair F-102A Delta Dagger and the actual MX-1554 project was named F-102B. Intermittent problems with the development and introduction of the F-102A led to the temporary termination of the F-102B program. In November 1955, when the intended Hughes MA-1 fire control system was finally ready, work on the F-102B was resumed; on June 17, 1956, the project was finally officially renamed the F-106 Delta Dart. The Pratt & Whitney J57 engine of the F-102A was replaced by the Pratt & Whitney J75. Extensive detail changes improved the aerodynamics in the transonic and supersonic speed range. The F-106 was now able to fly over Mach 0.9 without an afterburner and to reach supersonic speed with two external tanks. The operational concept envisaged operations of this interceptor under automatic control by SAGE ground stations ( Semi-Automatic Ground Environment ), with which the Hughes MA-1 system was coupled. The hunter was guided from the ground to the target until the on-board radar could detect it. The further approach was controlled by the MA-1 system using data from the on-board radar. As soon as the F-106 approached the target within weapon range, the MA-1 system fired the missiles. Then the machine turned off automatically. The only task of the pilot during the mission was to start, activate the weapons, check the systems, etc., intervene in the event of problems, control the thrust according to Mach number specifications and land. Two prototypes of the F-106A (Convair Model 8-24) flew for the first time on December 26, 1956 and February 26, 1957. The first tests were disappointing and revealed numerous defects, particularly on the engine and the fire control system. In addition, there were drastic cuts in the armaments budget, so that the planned procurement of 1,000 aircraft had to be reduced to just 350 to save the program. Modifications to the air inlets and the electronic system largely eliminated the identified problems, and so the first operational fighters were handed over to the 539th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at McGuire Air Force Base (New Jersey) in May 1959. 275 machines of the single-seat variant F-106A were built.

In addition to the F-106A, there was also the two-seat trainer version F-106B (Convair Model 8-27), which could also be used as a fully suitable emergency machine. 63 machines were built from this version.

The NASA used to 1991, a F-106B with Vortex flaps at the leading edge of the wings. The Vortex Flap is used to make targeted use of the vortex systems emerging at higher angles of attack, whereby the suction force of these vortices is to be used either to reduce drag or to increase lift through the shape and setting of the flap relative to the wing. Ideally, the glide ratio, i.e. the ratio of lift to drag, can be maximized. The investigations served to develop a flap system for supersonic airliners in order to achieve more favorable aerodynamic conditions for subsonic cross-country flights.

Improved versions (F-106C, F-106D and F-106X) remained only projects. These versions with the designation "Super Dart" would have had new air inlets for the engine, canards, new avionics, new radar and a General Electric jet engine J93-GE-3AR, some of these innovations had their origin in the unrealized Convair Model 200 . The US Air Force and the Japanese Air Force were considered potential customers. In the course of production, improvements were made step by step, so that retrofitting programs for the common standard model 8-31 and 8-32 were carried out parallel to the delivery of the last series machines. Through continuous modernization, the F-106 were finally kept in service until 1988. As a final unit, the 119th Fighter Interceptor Squadron flew the New Jersey Air National Guard , the Delta Dart to August 1988th

Special features of the F-106A

F-106A of the 119th FIS, New Jersey Air National Guard, with the weapon bay open.

An innovation that flowed into a number of US fighter aircraft designs (e.g. after the F-102, the F-104 Starfighter , F-105 Thunderchief , F-4 Phantom II and Convair B-58 Hustler ) of the 1950s, was the torso (wasp waist) constricted in the middle for aerodynamic reasons, following the so-called rule of area . This earned the jet the nickname "flying cola bottle". The F-106A was the first aircraft with a digital on-board computer with target identification and already had radar with fixed-character suppression, so it only displayed moving targets. Furthermore, from 1960 onwards, the F-106A had an infrared aiming system (IRST) installed in front of the cockpit . So it was possible to use the IR missiles even at short range or when the radar was technically or hostile. As standard, the machine was equipped with two AIM-4D / G-Falcon rockets with infrared guidance and two AIM-4F Falcon with semi-active radar guidance. However, the F-106A could also carry the unguided AIR-2 Genie - the most powerful weapon an interceptor had ever carried. The AIR-2A had a nuclear warhead of 1.5 kilotons (kT) TNT and was intended to be used against enemy bomber formations by exploding between the bombers. Because of the short range of the air-to-air missile of only 9.5 km, the F-106 had to turn around extremely quickly after being shot down in order to escape the destruction radius of the nuclear weapon explosion.

production

Acceptance of the F-106 by the USAF:

version	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	TOTAL
F-106A	1	1	13	114	130	259
F-106B		5	19th	27	27	78
YF-106C			2			2
TOTAL	1	6th	34	141	157	339

Technical data of the F-106A

Three-sided tear

Cockpit of a Convair F-106A

A two-seat F-106B

Parameter	Data
Type:	Interceptor
Length:	with pitot tube: 21.56 m without pitot tube: 19.95 m
Wingspan:	11.67 m
Wing area:	58.65 m²
Wing extension :	2.32
Wing loading :	minimum (empty weight): 183 kg / m²   nominal (normal takeoff weight): 267 kg / m² maximum (maximum take-off weight): 324 kg / m²
Height:	6.18 m
Empty weight:	10,728 kg
Normal takeoff weight:	15,670 kg
Maximum take-off weight:	18,974 kg
Fuel capacity:	909 l in the fuselage and 9,420 l in the wing tanks
Top speed:	Mach 2.31 or 2,455 km / h (at optimal altitude)
Rate of climb:	202 m / s
Service ceiling:	17,670 m
Use radius:	without additional tanks: 1,850 km with additional tanks: 2,466 km
Transfer range:	4,245 km
Crew:	1 pilot
Armament:	see text
Engine:	a Pratt & Whitney J75-17 - jet engine
Thrust:	with afterburner: 109.04 kN without afterburner: 76.52 kN
Thrust-to-weight ratio :	maximum (empty weight): 1.04 nominal (normal takeoff weight): 0.71 minimum (maximum take-off weight): 0.59
Unit price:	$ 4.7 million

Armament

Internal barrel weapon

• 1 × 20 mm Gatling cannon General Electric M61A1 "Vulcan" (GAU-4) with 650 rounds of ammunition (as a replacement for Genie / AIM-26, single-seater only)

Ordnance up to 2,400 kg in the internal weapon bay and at two external load stations

In the central weapon bay

Air-to-air guided missile

• 4 × Hughes AIM-4A / F "Falcon" / "Super Falcon" (formerly GAR-1A / 3A) - radar-controlled short-range air-to-air guided missile
• 4 × Hughes AIM-4B / C / D / G "Falcon" / "Super Falcon" (formerly GAR-2 / 2A / 2B / 4A) - infrared controlled short-range air-to-air guided missile
• 1 × Hughes AIM-26A "Falcon" (formerly GAR-11 with nuclear 1-kt warhead) - radar-controlled short-range air-to-air guided missile
• 1 × Hughes AIM-26B "Falcon" (formerly GAR-11 with conventional warhead) - radar-controlled short-range air-to-air guided missile

Air-to-air unguided missiles

• 1 × AIR-2A "Genie" / AIR-2B "Super Genie" (formerly MB-1 with nuclear 1.5 kt warhead)

At two external load stations

Air-to-surface guided missile

• 2 × General Dynamics AGM-78 "Standard" anti-radar missiles

Additional container

2 × drop-off additional tanks with 871 liters (230 US gallons) of kerosene

Incidents and losses

losses

Of the 340 F-106s produced by Convair (277 single-seaters F-106A and 63 two-seaters F-106B), a total of 112 aircraft were lost in the long service life from 1959 to 1988 in the Air Force and National Guard.

Cornfield bomber

F-106 "Cornfield Bomber"

→ Main article : Cornfield bomber

On February 2, 1970, the F-106 of the 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron with the serial number 58-0787 fell into a flat spin over Montana during a training flight . Pilot Gary Faust tried unsuccessfully to end the spin and ended up ejecting about 15,000 ft. He landed unharmed with the parachute.

The F-106 stabilized immediately after disembarking and landed driverless with the engine running and the landing gear retracted on a snowy wheat field in Montana. The damage was so minor that the aircraft was partially dismantled and loaded onto a wagon for return transport on a nearby railway line and could be used again after the necessary repairs.

The machine known as the " Cornfield Bomber " is exhibited today in the National Museum of the United States Air Force .

Deployments overseas

F-106 were relocated overseas twice. Some flew temporarily in West Germany and others in South Korea.

Web links

Commons : F-106 Delta Dart  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• F-106 Delta Dart Association. Home of the Ultimate Interceptor. Retrieved on March 27, 2018 (English): "Mission Statement: To publicize and distribute knowledge of the F-106 Delta Dart legacy ..." 
• Record entry of the F-106A in the FAI (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Website: F-106 Delta Dart: Single Engine Speed ​​Record
2. ↑ ^{a b} Mike Spick Milestones in Aviation, From the Wright Brothers to Stealth Technology , 2nd edition, Stocker-Schmid (special edition 2000); Authorized licensed edition for the Federal Republic of Germany, Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart ISBN 3-7276-7124-6 p. 95
3. ^ History of the F-106 Delta Dart. In: www.f-106deltadart.com. Archived from the original on August 7, 2012 ; accessed on January 9, 2015 . 
4. ^ Project terminated. Erik Simons, pages 112-117, ISBN 978-0-85979-173-1
5. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1956, p. 91; 1957, p. 97; 1958, p. 72; 1959, p. 68; 1960, p. 62
6. ↑ Peter Grier: "Gary, You Better Get Back In It!" Air Force Association, April 2009, accessed March 28, 2018 : "Two Safe Landings" 
7. ↑ The Cornfield Bomber. 8-0787 Lands Pilotless ... without Pilot Lt Gary Foust. F-106 Delta Dart Association, January 26, 2005, accessed March 27, 2018 (2005 report with later additions). 
8. ↑ Convair F-106A Delta Dart. National Museum of the United States Air Force, accessed July 13, 2016 : "The aircraft on display was involved in an unusual incident." 
9. ↑ F-106 in South Korea ( Memento from October 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive )