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      • Dave Lovelady
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    • Background to the Wars in Southeast Asia
    • 1961 to 1964: Civil War in Laos/Early Operations in South Vietnam
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The F-102 Delta Dagger (Jan 1969)

The F-102 Delta Dagger first began to re-equip PACAF fighter interceptor squadrons in March 1959.  By June 1960 five squadrons had received the F-102; the 4th FIS at Misawa AB, Japan, the 16th FIS at Naha AB, Okinawa, the 40th FIS at Yokota AB, Japan, the 68th FIS at Itazuke AB, Japan, and the 509th FIS at Clark AB, Philippines.  It was the last named squadron that bore much of the burden of combat duty in Southeast Asia.  The F-102 first arrived in the war zone for air defence duties as early as August 1961 when four aircraft from the 509th FIS deployed to Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport in Thailand under the code name Bell Tone.  The 509th FIS also sent four aircraft to Tan Son Nhut on 22 March 1962 following reports of possible North Vietnamese aircraft activity south of the DMZ.  The early F-102 rotations to Southeast Asia consisted on routine GCI missions but no threat ever transpired.  The F-102 detachments returned to Clark in May 1963.  On 5 August 1964, following the escalation of the war after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, six F-102s of the 16th FIS were sent to Tan Son Nhut and operated as a detachment of Clark’s 405th FW.  A further six aircraft from the 509th FIS arrived at Da Nang the same day.  F-102 detachments remained in Southeast Asia but by July 1965 the 509th FIS was the last F-102 squadron left in PACAF as all the other squadrons had re-equipped with the F-4C.  Despite an inventory of 42 Delta Daggers the 509th FIS had difficulty maintaining the detachments at Bien Hoa, Da Nang, Tan Son Nhut, Udorn and Don Muang, so two F-102 squadrons were transferred from the USA as reinforcements.  The 82nd FIS arrived at Naha on 18 February 1966 while the 64th FIS deployed to Clark on 11 June 1966.  The 64th joined the 509th FIS in providing detachments to the bases in Southeast Asia.

Although air defence was the F-102’s primary task the aircraft was also used for combat air patrol, Arc Light escort, and even close air support and air interdiction.  The F-102s were known to have used their infra-red seekers to search for traffic on the Ho Chi Minh Trail and fire Falcon air-to-air missiles at blips on the radar.  The aircraft also used 2.75 inch unguided rockets against ground targets, but without much success.  The last F-102 lost in Southeast Asia crashed on 7 January 1969.  On 15 December 1969 the 64th FIS was inactivated at Clark leaving the 509th to soldier on until 24 July 1970.  The last F-102 squadron in PACAF was the 82nd FIS, which inactivated at Naha on 31 May 1971, thereby bringing to an end the F-102’s 12-year service in PACAF.

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© Chris Hobson and David Lovelady. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
      • Chris Hobson
      • Dave Lovelady
    • About the Book
    • About the Data
    • About this Site
  • Sidelines
    • Background to the Wars in Southeast Asia
    • 1961 to 1964: Civil War in Laos/Early Operations in South Vietnam
    • 1965: Escalation of the War/Start of Rolling Thunder
    • 1966: Rolling Thunder Gets into its Stride
    • 1967: Rolling Thunder - The Peak Year
    • 1968: Tet, Khe Sanh, and the End of Rolling Thunder
    • 1969: Interdiction on the Ho Chi Minh Trail
    • 1970: The Year of Withdrawal
    • 1971: A Much Reduced Presence
    • 1972: The Spring Invasion/Linebacker Campaigns
    • 1973: Winding Up the War
  • Statistics
    • Loss Statistics
    • Losses Due to Air Base Attacks
    • Losses Due to Accidents on the Ground or Aboard Ship
    • US Air Force Loss Statistics
    • US Navy Loss Statistics
    • US Marine Corps Loss Statistics
  • Details
    • Order of Battle
    • Index of Names
    • Abbreviations and Glossary of Operations, Code Names, and Projects
    • Bibliography
  • Searching the Database
    • Hints on How to Search
    • Notes and Caveats
    • Searching for Call Signs
    • Search Forms
  • Photo Gallery
  • Contact Us
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