The F-111 and the FB-111
Initially referred to as the TFX (Tactical Fighter “X”), the F-111 was designed to fulfill a requirement from the US Air Force for a new tactical fighter-bomber. In 1960, the Department of Defense merged the USAF’s needs with the Navy’s demand for a new air superiority fighter. The first flight of the USAF’s F-111A took place in December 1964, and the initial production models were provided to the USAF in 1967. Meanwhile, the F-111B program for the Navy was terminated. In total, 566 F-111s across all variants were produced; 159 of these were F-111As. Although the F-111 was informally called the Aardvark, this name was not officially adopted until the aircraft was retired in 1996.
One notable characteristic of the aircraft was its variable-geometry wings. While in the air, the wings could be shifted forward for takeoffs, landings, or slow-speed maneuvers and reclined backward for high-speed operations. The F-111 was capable of flying at extremely low altitudes and striking targets during adverse weather conditions. The FB-111 served as a bomber variant of the F-111 fighter, equipped with sophisticated avionics.
Flying at Mach 1.2 at 200 feet
Brett Kriger, former FB-111 pilot, recalls on Quora,
‘I was flying my FB-111 at about Mach 1.2 at 200 feet above ground on a combat simulation mission at Red Flag in the Nellis Ranges through a gap in a small mountain range. There happened to be a road running through the same gap. A couple of seconds (about a third of a mile) before I crossed over it, I saw a large Winnebago-type RV.
‘I completed my mission and went on with life but got called in to my squadron commander’s office about a month later. It seems that somebody was a little lost and “inadvertently” drove his RV into a restricted area, even though it was clearly marked with a warning of low-flying supersonic aircraft. It seems like something they couldn’t see had caused a big boom and blown out several of their windows and a door. When a damage claim was reported, the Air Force investigated and found an AWACS track match to my aircraft for the time and date. The Air Force paid the claim of about $5500 even though the RV was where it shouldn’t have been, and I was in an authorized supersonic flight area.’
‘The interesting thing to me was that I flew directly at and over him at 200 feet, and they didn’t see a thing. My crew chief asked if I wanted him to paint a Winnebago silhouette on the fuselage to record my “kill.”’
The FB-111 B61 “nuke” simulated release from its internal weapon bay
Kriger shares further info:
‘Update & Additional Info:
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- For the few who notice, yes, the picture is of an Australian F-111C. The Aussie F-111C is basically an FB-111 without the astro-tracker (which would be visible a bit in front of the cockpit). I just love that picture. The nose cowl is a little shorter, also. We even recovered an F-111C that had been damaged and sent it to General Dynamics for refitting to an FB.
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- It was actually a test called Global Shield, but it was basically a Red Flag environment and location in the Nellis Ranges.
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- The mission where this incident occurred was a rare actual release of a B61 “nuke” from the internal weapon bay. This simulated the final run into a heavily defended enemy target (Moscow, Leningrad, etc.), where low altitude and speed were critical. My target was an airfield, and my B61 (ballast instead of warhead) landed at the X of the crossing runways.
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- I had an F-105 illegally chasing me to the initial point, trying mightily to get a missile lock or gun camera “kill.”
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- I had to climb to 100 feet and slow down to below 1.1 Mach because that was the minimum altitude for the weapon to release and the maximum speed not to tear the weapons bay doors off.
Photo by Royal Australian Air Force
