American postwar aircraft

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McDonnell F-101 Voodoo

The Voodoo was another of the "Century Series" fighters entering the Air Force in the 1950s. The development of the F-101B took place during a time when the Air Force was going through radical changes in developmental and procurement policies.
      The F-101 was originally conceived for service with fighter squadrons for the Strategic Air Command. The three commands most actively involved in the F-101 development were: the Air Research and Development Command, the Air Material Command and the Air Defense Command.
      The F-101 Voodoo first flew Sept. 29, 1954. It held numerous speed and endurance records during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1954, an F-101C set a world speed record of 1,207.6 mph. The F-101 was the working prototype for the F-4 series of fighters which are still flying today.
      The F-101 had important roles in the Cuban missile crisis and the Vietnam conflict. It was used by the air forces of Canada and Taiwan. The aircraft on display here is a TF-101B from Ellington AFB, Texas, and served with the Air Defense Command for many years as a trainer and interceptor. Common with all McDonnell fighters is the spooky names each were given (i.e., Voodoo, Demon, Banshee and Phantom).

General characteristics
Primary function	Fighter
Contractor	McDonnell Aircraft Company, later a division of McDonnell-Douglas, St. Louis
Power plant	Two Pratt & Whitney J-57-P-55 turbojets with afterburner
Thrust with afterburner	2x 16,900 lb		2x 75.18 kN
Wingspan	39.6 ft		12.08 m
Length	67.4 ft		20.54 m
Height	18 ft		5.49 m
Max. speed	1,134 mph		1,825 km/h
Initial climb rate	49,200 ft/s		14,996 m/min.
Ceiling	52,000 ft		15,850 m
Range	normal	1,522 miles	2,450 km
	max.	1,930 miles	3,106 km
Max. takeoff weight	52,404 lb		23,770 kg
Armament	20mm cannons; 6x AIM in weapons bay (usually 3x GAR-1 (AIM-4) semiactive radar guided missiles and 3x GAR-2 (AIM-4B) infra-red guided). Later version two unguided nuclear AIR-2A Genie missiles on external points.
Number built	480

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Jirka Wagner