The F-101 Voodoo
Developed from the XF-88 penetration fighter, the F-101 was initially intended to serve as a long-range bomber escort for the Strategic Air Command. But once high-speed, high-altitude jet bombers such as the B-52 entered service, escort fighters were no longer necessary. As a result, before production began, the F-101 was redesigned to perform both tactical and air-defense missions.
The F-101 made its first flight on September 29, 1954. The first production F-101A became operational in May 1957, followed by the F-101C in September 1957 and the F-101B in January 1959. When production ended in March 1961, McDonnell had built 785 Voodoos, including 480 F-101Bs, the two-seat, all-weather interceptor used by the Air Defense Command. In its reconnaissance variants, the Voodoo became the world’s first supersonic photo-reconnaissance aircraft.
F-101 Voodoo used to keep the F-117 Nighthawk secret
Notably, the F-101 was also used to help keep the F-117 Nighthawk secret. Here’s how.
On July 11, 1986, 35-year-old Maj. Ross E. Mulhare, assigned to the 4450th Tactical Group, departed from Nevada’s Tonopah Test Range and entered California airspace in his F-117 on what would be his final flight. A 1974 graduate of the Air Force Academy, Mulhare told friends and family in New Jersey that he flew F-5E fighter jets in mock combat missions against Tactical Air Command pilots.
Air & Space Forces Magazine reports:
“Shortly before his flight, Mulhare was overheard telling a colleague that he was tired and ‘couldn’t shake it.’ Despite his physical condition, Mulhare took off at 1:13 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time—such late-night flights were intended to prevent discovery of the airplane’s unique shape—and proceeded westbound into the eastern portion of the San Joaquin Valley. He flew down the eastern side of the valley toward Bakersfield.”
Around 1:45 a.m., roughly 17 miles northeast of Bakersfield, Mulhare’s aircraft entered a steep dive and crashed into a hillside just inside the Sequoia National Forest. Mulhare was killed.
The physical damage to the aircraft was so severe that one crash investigator described it as “without exception … the worst crash I have worked.” He added that, although the airframe sustained only light fire damage, “the structural breakup was almost absolute” and that ” ‘shattered’ may best describe the aircraft after impact.” As a result, identifying special components was often impossible.
A 150-acre brush fire
According to Knowledge Stew, the crash sparked a 150-acre brush fire.
The USAF was not very forthcoming about the incident. The head of public affairs said the aircraft had only one crew member and “was definitely not a bomber.” Air Force officials at Nellis Air Force Base (AFB) acknowledged that Mulhare had not belonged to the base’s aggressor squadrons, which simulated Soviet air combat tactics to train USAF pilots. An Air Force spokesman also confirmed that Mulhare was part of the 4450th Tactical Group but said all information about the unit was classified and could not be discussed.
The Kern County sheriff’s office, whose jurisdiction included Bakersfield, passed along additional information from the Air Force, telling reporters that the “whole area has been restricted, including the airspace above the crash site” and that “there will be military aircraft in the area and anyone entering the area will be dealt with appropriately by the Air Force.”
Air & Space Forces Magazine says:
“At the crash site, investigators collected evidence and evaluated the remains of the aircraft for clues to the cause of the tragedy. Then came the task of cleaning the site and leaving no pieces of the highly classified aircraft for scavengers, the media, or others to find. A clean-up team moved out a thousand feet from the last of the recognizable debris and then dug and sifted all the dirt in the area.”
Debris of a crashed F-101 Voodoo to keep the F-117 Nighthawk Secret
“On Jul. 23, controlled explosive charges were detonated on the hillside to free pieces of the aircraft buried as the result of the crash.”
Then, according to Knowledge Stew, the Air Force brought in a crashed F-101A Voodoo—an aircraft that had been out of service with the Air Force since 1972 and with the Air National Guard since 1982. The crashed Voodoo had spent more than 20 years in storage at the secretive Area 51 in Nevada, and it was disassembled and used in place of the F-117 debris. Nearly a month later, the Air Force said the area was no longer restricted.
The following day, a reporter and photographer from Bakersfield’s KERO-TV were flown to the crash site by helicopter. They later said they had not expected to find anything, since they assumed the Air Force had thoroughly cleaned the area. To their surprise, however, they found countless pieces of debris scattered within 100 to 150 feet of a dirt helicopter landing pad built by the Air Force. They collected three bags of material, which were shown on the station’s Friday evening news broadcast. They then handed the bags over to an Air Force public affairs officer. An Edwards AFB spokesman said the debris would be examined as a precaution, but that there were no immediate plans to return to the crash site for more recovery efforts.
Photo by U.S. Air Force and RuthAS Own work via Wikipedia
