McDonnell F-101

McDonnell F-101 Voodoo
The F-101B "Voodoo" (s / n 58-0270) of the 142nd FIG
Type:	Fighter plane
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	McDonnell Aircraft Corporation
First flight:	September 29, 1954
Commissioning:	May 1957
Production time:	1956 to 1961
Number of pieces:	804 or 805

The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was a twin-engine fighter aircraft of the time of the Cold War from American production, the Century Series belonged ( F-100 to F-110 ).

history

It was developed in the 1950s from the prototype XF-88 Voodoo, also known as the “one-oh-wonder” and, according to the tender, was intended to be a companion fighter for the long-range bombers of the SAC . McDonnell stuck to the tried and tested design with two engines. The powerful J57 afterburner engines from Pratt & Whitney gave the F-101 a top speed of 1,900 km / h and a range of 2,500 km. Since the range was insufficient for use as an escort fighter , the requirements for the purposes of the TAC were modified and the F-101 redesigned into a fighter-bomber . The first F-101A flew on September 29, 1954, the official entry into service with the US Air Force took place in the spring of 1957. On December 12, 1957, an F-101A reached a new absolute speed record of 1,943.5 km / h.

The F-101A, built in 77 copies, had two J57-P-13 engines (4,630kp) and was equipped with four cannons and a nuclear missile for bomber defense. One machine was converted into the NF-101A test vehicle for various engines, two machines into the YRF-101A unarmed photo reconnaissance aircraft. Based on them, a total of 35 RF-101A were then produced. After the withdrawal from the task forces, remaining F-101A were converted into reconnaissance RF-101G for the Air National Guard . The second series version was designed as a two-seater interceptor with a newly designed front fuselage, air refueling system , an improved fire control system for MB-1 Genie nuclear missiles and without cannon armament. 407 F-101Bs were built, 56 of which went to Canada in July 1961, where they were used at NORAD as CF-101Bs. After the return, some aircraft were converted into two-seater RF-101B reconnaissance aircraft. 153 F-101B were later modernized to F-101F, including removing the air refueling system and adding an infrared sensor to the fire control system. 72 F-101B were later converted to trainers TF-101B, some of which were modified again to the TF-101F according to the modernized fighter version F-101F. Ten TF-101Bs went to the Canadian Air Force as CF-101Fs. The third production version was the F-101C, a single-seat fighter similar to the F-101A with a reinforced airframe, from which 47 machines were built. Like the RF-101A, 166 new RF-101C reconnaissance aircraft were built, while later F-101Cs that remained for the National Guard were converted into the RF-101H reconnaissance aircraft. The F-101D and E were variants with General Electric J79 engines, but they never got beyond the project stage.

The reconnaissance versions were used during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War, and there are reports of voodoo operations with the registration number of the Taiwanese Air Force, although these flights are also said to have taken place with American crews.

The "Voodoo" anticipated the essential design features of the later Phantom II : the two-seater design , two engines, the shape of the fuselage, even if it was slimmer and longer, and the large tank capacity. A special feature was the weapon bay in the fuselage, which contained several guided weapons in a rotatable starting device. As a fighter and fighter-bomber, she wielded four 20-mm cannons, and several cameras were built into the modified nose of the reconnaissance aircraft. The F-101 carried AIM-4 Falcon guided missiles and the nuclear - armed AIR-2 Genie missile.

The F-101 is very rarely found in museums. The only example in Germany is exhibited in the Technikmuseum in Speyer .

Versions

The single-seat F-101A

Recon RF-101C

Canadian EF-101B

F-101A

77 built, single-seat fighter-bomber

YRF-101A

Conversion of two F-101A into reconnaissance prototypes

RF-101A

35 built, reconnaissance version of the F-101A with six cameras

F-101B

479 built, two-seat interceptor.

CF-101B

Designation for 112 F-101B delivered to Canada

EF-101B

Conversion of an F-101B for Canada as a radar target display aircraft

RF-101B

Conversion of 22 former Canadian F-101Bs with cameras in the weapon bay

TF-101B

79 built, F-101B with double control, later F-101F

F-101C

47 built, single-seat fighter-bomber, structurally reinforced F-101A

RF-101C

166 built, reconnaissance version of the F-101C with six cameras and a remote station for dropping an atomic bomb

F-101D

Version with General Electric J79 engines, not built

F-101E

Version with J79 engines, not built

F-101F

Reconstruction of 152 F-101B with double control and renaming of the TF-101B

CF-101F

20 F-101F delivered to Canada

RF-101G

Conversion of 29 F-101A to reconnaissance aircraft

RF-101H

Conversion of 32 F-101C into reconnaissance aircraft

production

Acceptance of the F-101 by the USAF:

version	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	TOTAL	price
F-101A	4th	23	3	47					77	$ 2,935,490
F-101B				6th	43	214	206	11	480 (479)	$ 1,831,410
F-101C				23	24				47	$ 2,207,368
YRF-101A		2							2
RF-101A			2	33					35	$ 1,616,371
RF-101C				20th	140	6th			166	$ 1,306,525
TOTAL	4th	25th	5	129	207	220	206	11	807 (806)

Conversion of the F-101:

version	out	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	TOTAL
F-101F	F-101B	65	1					3		2		3		74
TF-101B	F-101B	5				1		1						7th
TF-101F	F-101F	4th						5		1		2		12
RF-101B	F-101B										1	8th	15th	24
RF-101C	F-101C								2					2
RF-101G	F-101A						3	24						27
RF-101H	F-101C						1	25th	5					31
TOTAL		74	1	0	0	1	4th	58	7th	3	1	13	15th	177

In Vietnam, a total of 38 RF-101Cs were lost between 1964 and 1968. Of these, at least 30 aircraft were destroyed by enemy action. Eleven pilots were killed, two injured and eleven became prisoners of war.

Users

 Canada

 Taiwan

 United States

Technical specifications

3-sided crack of the McDonell F-101AC Voodoo

3-sided crack of the F-101B

Parameter	F-101B
crew	2
length	20.54 m
span	12.09 m
height	5.49 m
Wing area	34.19 m²
Empty mass	13,141 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	23,768 kg
Engines	two Pratt & Whitney J57-P-55s , each 6,750 kp
Top speed	1,965 km / h at 12,190 m or 1.85 Mach at high altitudes
Service ceiling	16,705 m
Range	2,494 km

Armament

The reconnaissance variants were entirely unarmed; the F-101A / B / C / F were armed.

Internal guns (F-101A / C only)

• 4 × Pontiac M39A1 (T-160) 20 mm revolver automatic cannons with 200 rounds each

Ordnance up to 1500 kg at two external load stations

unguided air-to-air missiles

• 2 × AIR-2A "Genie" (formerly MB-1 with a nuclear 1.5 kT warhead)

Unguided bombs

• 1 × B28EX (1.45 MT atomic bomb)
• 1 × B43 (1-MT atomic bomb)
• 1 × Mk.7 "Thor" (tactical 61 kT atomic bomb)
• 1 × Mk.57 mod.2 (tactical 10 kT atomic bomb)

External container

• 2 × drop-off additional tanks with 1700 liters (450 US gallons)

in the weapon bay for six guided missiles

Air-to-air guided missile

• 4 × Hughes AIM-4A / B "Falcon" (formerly GAR-1)

literature

• Nigel Walpole: McDonnell F-101 Voodoo - Database . In: Airplane Monthly August 2015, pp. 73–89
• Robert F. Dorr: McDonnell F-88 / F-101 Voodoo Variant Briefing . In: Wings of Fame, Volume 1, 1995, pp. 166-187
• John M. Andrade: US Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909 , Midland Counties Publ., 1979, ISBN 0-904597-22-9 , pp. 107-108
• Marcelle S. Knaack: Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems. Volume 1: Post-World War II Fighters, 1945–1973. Office of Air Force History, Washington DC 1978, ISBN 0-912799-19-6 , pp. 134-157.

Web links

Commons : McDonnell F-101  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

1. ^ One-Oh-Wonder, the F-101 Voodoo. May 22, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2019 (American English). 
2. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1954, p. 70; 1955, p. 80; 1956, p. 91; 1957, p. 97; 1958, p. 72; 1959, p. 68; 1960, p. 62; 1961, p. 70; Marcelle Size Knaack: Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems. Volume 1. Washington DC 1978, p. 155.
3. ^ Andrade, 1979, p. 107
4. ↑ Walpole, 2015, p. 89
5. ↑ Dorr, 1995, pp. 175-177
6. ↑ Statistical Diary of the USAF 1961-1972. "USAF Aircraft Gains and Losses" table
7. ↑ Statistical Diary of the USAF 1964–1968. "USAF Aircraft Gains and Losses" table
8. ↑ Chris Hobson: Vietnam Air Losses. Hersham 2001