Convair F-106A Delta Dart, 59-0003 / 8-24-132, Pima Air & Space Museum
This picture is © Martin Laycock and may not be used or published without permission.
Registration: 59-0003
Construction Number: 8-24-132
Code Number: 90003 / FN070
Model Convair F-106A Delta Dart
Operator: Pima Air & Space Museum
Airport: Tucson - Pima Air and Space Museum, USA - Arizona
Photographer: Martin Laycock
Date Taken: 10/1992
Date Submitted: 12/07/2009
The F-106 started life as an advanced derivative of the F-102 Delta Dagger. Initially known as the F-102B, the aircraft featured so many advances over its predecessor however, that it became a new design in its own right. The major change was the F-106's area ruled fuselage. Also, it featured a more powerful Pratt & Whitney J75-P-17 afterburning turbojet. Maximum speed at 40,000ft was Mach 2.31. The F-106 was the United States Air Forces primary all-weather interceptor from the 1960s through the 1980s. They were regarded by many as being the finest all-weather interceptors ever built. Although considered for use in Vietnam, they never saw combat, nor were they exported to foreign countries. They would prove to be the last dedicated interceptors in USAF service to date. The name 'Delta Dart' was rarely used, the aircraft were usually known simply as the 'Six'. The F-106 started to be replaced in 1981 by the F-15A, the F-106s typically then being assigned to Air National Guard units. They remained in service until 1988. Starting in 1986, many of the surviving F-106s were converted into full scale aerial targets designated QF-106A, the last one being destroyed in January 1988. Happily, a number survived being shot down over the Gulf of Mexico's weopons ranges. This one wears the markings of her last operator, the 5th FIS (the "Spitten Kittens"), based at Minot AFB, North Dakota. Still visible on her nose is her AMARC inventory code from her time in storage. Despite being covered in Spraylat she still looks 'right'. She is displayed at Pima courtesy of the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
Picture ID:1182443