This week in AFLCMC history and spotlight on Christmas 100 years ago

  • Published
  • By Air Force Life Cycle Management Center History Office
In this edition of Heritage Hangar, you'll learn about how AFLCMC marked Christmas 100 years ago. 

20 Dec 1954 (Fighters & Advanced Aircraft Dir.)  

The first flight of the revised Convair YF-102A Delta Dagger, a high-speed interceptor equipped with missiles to shoot down Soviet bombers. The original YF-102  design performed poorly during its flight tests, the result of a mostly unknown transonic aerodynamic phenomenon where drag increases as the cross-sectional area changes. NACA researcher Dick Whitcomb developed his eponymous “Area Rule” that calculated how a “wasp-waisted” aircraft could compensate for this. The YF-102 fuselage was modified accordingly and subsequently performed as expected. 
 
21 Dec 1962/1964 (Fighters & Adv Aircraft Dir.) 
 
On 21 December 1962, the Air Force issued an R&D letter contract to General Dynamics, kicking off Full Scale Development (FSD) of the F-111A/B program. Exactly two years later, the F-111A had its first flight. The airplane was a SECDEF-enforced compromise between the Air Force’s desire for a high-speed, low-level interdiction/bomber and the Navy’s need for a fleet air defense platform. The resultant TFX design was skewed toward the Air Force’s requirements, eventually causing the Navy to drop out of the program, eliminating the F-111B. The F-111 design proved versatile for the Air Force, thanks in part to its variable geometry wings. It served until 1998 as a tactical strike aircraft from Vietnam through the Gulf War, a strategic bomber, and as an electronic warfare tactical jammer. 

22 Dec 1970 (Armament Dir.—Eglin AFB) 
 
The Air Force conducted the preliminary configuration inspection of the AGM-65A Maverick air-to-ground missile. The Maverick was a product of the Tactical Missile Program of 1965. The Air Force chose Hughes as the contractor in 1968. The first Mavericks used electro-optical guidance, meaning a small TV camera in its nose relayed an image to a cockpit screen. The pilot designated a target, fired the missile, and then the missile stayed locked on autonomously. This “fire-and-forget” capability was a vast improvement on earlier guided missiles that required the airplane to stay pointed at the target. 
 
23 Dec 1969 (Fighters & Advanced Aircraft Dir.) 

The Air Force announced that McDonnell-Douglas won the F-X contract. The program resulted in the F-15 Eagle, the Air Force’s first dedicated air superiority fighter since the F-86 Sabre of the Korean War era. The program started in the mid-1960s and included a secondary ground attack capability, but the emergence of new Soviet fighters like the Mig-25 (which the F-15 superficially resembles) emphasized the air -to-air role with “not a pound for air-to-ground.” It was the proverbial “high” end fighter to the complementary F-16’s “low” in the Air Force’s fighter mix, with greater speed, ceiling, power, armament, avionics, and cost. 

24 Dec 1985 (Digital Dir./AFSAC) 

The Electronic Systems Division (ESD) at Hanscom AFB announced the award of a $70 million contract to the System Development Corporation, a Burroughs Corporation subsidiary, for the upgrading and automation of the Royal Thai Air Force Air Defense System (RTADS) and the supporting communication network. The upgrades were expected to be completed in 1989, per the announcement. The photo shows members of the RTAF at Hanscom in 1988, when they announced a $11.4 million contract modification for RTADS spares. 

25 Dec 1955 (Digital Dir.) 

In 1955, Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), used radar and command and control systems developed and managed by the Electronic Systems Division at Hanscom to monitor North American airspace for enemy missile or bomber incursions. That year, a child mistakenly called the CONAD Operations Center in Colorado Springs, looking for Santa Claus. Commander Col Harry Shoup quickly relayed the call to the North Pole, starting a tradition that continues to this day via “NORAD Tracks Santa” that uses AFLCMC systems to monitor the progress of the sleigh and reindeer all over the world on Christmas. 

26 Dec 1956 (Fighters & Advanced Aircraft Dir.) 

The first flight of the Convair F-106A Delta Dart interceptor, at Edwards AFB. The multitude of development problems with the F-102A (see 20 Dec above) convinced the Air Force to simultaneously pursue an upgraded –B model using the same airframe. The primary differences between the F-102A and –B were its more powerful Pratt & Whitney J75 engine and its MA-1 Fire Control system that was integrated with the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment air defense system developed at Hanscom. Full Scale Development of the F-102B began in November 1955 and it was re-designated the F-106 on 17 June 1956.

100 Years Ago This Week in AFLCMC History: Christmas 1921 

Since the end of World War I a century ago, the Engineering Division at McCook Field annually closed to all but essential personnel for the last two weeks of the year. 

Just as they do today during the year-end holiday season, the leadership of the Army Air Service traditionally passed on their well-wishes and congratulations to their workforce for another successful year. Maj Gen Mason M. Patrick, who had headed the Air Service for just the past few months, and his assistant Chief, the ubiquitous Brig Gen William “Billy” Mitchell, provided these statements to our predecessors in the Engineering Division in 1921. Their remarks are republished from the McCook Field newspaper, the Slipstream, December 15, 1921. (see below).

 
Christmas greetings