‘It was a wonder to watch on our radar scopes what they were able to do to us. Their favourite trick was to negate every effort we made to close in and get a “fire” indication [on our FCS],’ Lt. Col. Frank W. Trojcak, former F-102 pilot
The F-102’s main role was to locate and eliminate enemy aircraft. It was the first jet in the world capable of supersonic speeds in all weather conditions and the first operational delta‑wing aircraft used by the U.S. Air Force. The F-102 first flew on October 24, 1953, and entered service with the Air Defense Command in 1956. At the height of its use in the late 1950s, more than 25 ADC squadrons flew F-102s, and by 1961, 23 of the Air National Guard’s 32 fighter‑interceptor squadrons were equipped with Delta Daggers.
Because the Texas Air National Guard was located fairly close to Convair’s Fort Worth factory, where B-58A supersonic bombers were produced, F-102 pilots had some special training opportunities. Lt. Col. Frank W. Trojcak, who served with the Texas ANG’s 149th Fighter Interceptor Group from 1962 to 1986, described these experiences in Peter E. Davies’ book F-102 Delta Dagger Units.
“The B‐58A had so much technological capability at that time. At Fort Worth, it was in close proximity to us for testing its technology against frontline F‐102 interceptors. All the interception runs on B‐58As were done at around 18,000 ft and at a speed at which we could easily stay with the bomber. They were on a race‐track circuit from about Brady, Texas, to Brownsville. We would pull up about four to five miles behind him and continue to close in, using our very good FCS to try and defeat his ECM. It was both a learning experience for the B‐58A crew and for us as interceptor pilots.”
“It was a wonder to watch on our radar scopes what they were able to do to us. Their favorite trick was to negate every effort we made to close in and get a “fire” indication [on our FCS]. At times, we would be driving in on him, and everything seemed to be going perfectly. We would get what appeared to be a good “fire” signal, but no! When we looked up, expecting to find him about a mile ahead, he was not there. He was off to one side or the other by about a mile, and we were almost abreast of each other. He could take our [radar] range gate and slowly steer our FCS to one side or the other and still let us get a good “fire” signal—but out in space.”
“Now this grizzly old pilot was not to be outfoxed. I learned how to defeat what he was doing to my FCS. I went to manual control of the system and kept on driving right up his tail and got a good “fire” signal. As far as I know, I’m the only one who repeatedly did that with 100 per cent success. But that was kids’ games, and if he wanted [to win] it was very simple. All we would see were four black smoke trails from the B‐58A’s engines suddenly stopping with the initiation of his four afterburners, after which he just accelerated out of sight. There was no way anyone could stay with him or catch him.”
“I flew approximately 20 of these missions, all by day. I did have the chance of a one-night mission, but I had a maintenance problem and aborted on take‐off. Convair sent us a letter of thanks and appreciation for all the information they had learned during our makeshift interceptions, which just consisted of getting in trail with the bomber and having a go at him. I loved the experience and gained a tremendous amount of confidence in my ability and in the F‐102—a great aircraft!”
Even though the B-58A showed up less on radar than a B-52, an F-102A’s IRST could still detect it from over 60 miles away in a head-on approach, and from even farther over the ocean. The IRST could be combined with the radar in several operating modes that emphasized either radar data or infrared signals. Using the IRST in this way also made it easier to counter the bomber’s electronic countermeasures.
Lt Col Trojcak noted that intercepting high‑altitude U‑2 reconnaissance aircraft was also feasible. In theory, a U‑2 could be brought down by an F‑102 firing Falcon missiles, or by 20 mm cannon fire from an F‑104A, which could reach slightly higher altitudes. To carry out such an interception, an F‑102 pilot would accelerate to Mach 1.25 at 50,000 feet, pitch up into a rapid ‘snap‑up’ climb, and fire the missiles at about 60,000 feet. The F‑102 could also maintain straight‑and‑level flight at roughly 58,000 feet.
F-102 Delta Dagger Units is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.
Photo by U.S. Air Force
