F-101 Voodoo
GENERAL INFORMATION
MANUFACTURER: McDonnell Aircraft (later McDonnell-Douglas and
The Boeing Company)
PRODUCTION PERIOD: 1957 TO 1961
NUMBER PRODUCED: 885 total all sources
PRODUCTION SERIES: F-101A, B & C; RF-101A, B, C, G; EF-101B,
CF-101B, F
ROLES: The F-101 Voodoo is a supersonic long-range escort fighter
designed to accompany Strategic Air Command bombers if they were ever called upon
to carry out their nuclear strike mission against the Soviet Union. The Voodoo
never served in this particular role; however, it eventually emerged as a tactical
reconnaissance aircraft, as a all-weather interceptor and as a nuclear strike
aircraft
PERFORMANCE AND SPECIFICATIONS
(Varies by model)
MAXIMUM SPEED: 1,134 mph (Mach 1.72)
SERVICE CEILING: 58,000 feet + above sea level
RANGE: 1,520 miles
WEAPONS: F-101A: three M39 20mm cannons; F-101B: four AIM-4 Falcon
short-range air-to-air missiles or two AIM-4 Falcon and two AIR-2 Genie nuclear
rockets
CREW: Two
LENGTH: 67 feet, 5 inches
WINGSPAN: 39 feet, 5 inches
HEIGHT: 18 feet
MAXIMUM TAKEOFF WEIGHT: 52,400 lbs.
POWERPLANT: F-101A: two Pratt & Whitney J57P-13 turbojet engines
with afterburner, providing 15,000 lbs. of thrust each; F-101B: two Pratt &
Whitney J57P-55 turbojet engines with afterburner, providing 16,900 lbs. of thrust each
ACHIEVEMENTS: The Voodoo served in a variety of other roles, including
the fighter-bomber, all-weather interceptor aircraft and photo reconnaissance roles.
RF-101s were used for low-altitude photo coverage of missile sites during the 1962
Cuban Missile Crisis and during the mid to late 1960s in the Vietnam War
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