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McDonnell CF-101 Voodoo

1961 COLD WAR

MacDonald CF-101 Voodoo Stories

For some time during the Cold War (1947-1991), supersonic missile interceptors were the mainstay of Western air power. Canada was within the danger zone of the dreaded Soviet Union, and its mission to protect this vast northern hemisphere airspace with significant U.S. support led to the introduction of various aircraft designs to meet the needs.

From 1961 to 1984, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) used the CF-101 Voodoo in a key intercept role, procured from the United States Air Force (USAF) existing F-101 model inventory.

The original F-101 was designed as a long-range, single-seat, twin-engine "bomber escort" aircraft for use with similarly long-range American-type bombers in sortie coalitions against targets throughout the Soviet Union. The F-101 design was an evolution of the experimental XF-88 "Voodoo" (detailed elsewhere on this page) and eventually developed into a more complete fighter-bomber that was then used as a reconnaissance platform (like the "RF-101").

First flown in 1954 and officially entered into service with the U.S. Air Force in 1957, production of this high-speed all-weather interceptor reached 807 units by the end of the year. The F-101 served on the front lines until 1972, while the reconnaissance version served as a soldier until 1979. Both were defeated by the U.S.

Air National Guard (ANG), who used witchcraft until 1982.

The F-101 wasn't an absolute success during the flight, it turned out to be more of a "bridge" design of the classic McDonnell F-4 "Phantom II" (in fact, the Phantom II inherited voodoo traits , making it an excellent multirole fighter). Nonetheless, the F-101 remains a formidable jet-powered solution with inherent capabilities suitable for an interceptor role.

In RCAF service, the F-101 was selected as the immediate successor to the aging family of domestic straight-wing twin-engine Avro CF-100 "Canuck" interceptors (detailed elsewhere on this site), which date back to 1952 and 692, efforts from local Canadian industry. Voodoo received the local designation "CF-101" while serving in Canada, and it provided a strong replacement for the RCAF with impressive performance and the ability to carry AIR-2A "Genie" unguided nuclear weapons.

The need to follow the CF-100 fleet stems largely from the elimination of the CF-105 "Arrow" (detailed elsewhere on this site), another Cold War-era interceptor product backed by local industry, It will already supply the Royal Canadian Air Force with a Mach 2 capable two-seat, twin-engine, radar-equipped interceptor. Extensive development work on this elegant aircraft took place in the 1950s, leading to five aircraft having sails removed from the project before a political decision in February 1959 to cancel the project.

The move, in turn, had a long-term disruptive impact on Canada's aviation industry that has been felt for decades (it also contributed to Avro's demise as a major airline).

With this in mind, the proven F-101 was selected for the USAF, which intends to offload approximately 56 F-101B two-seat interceptors and 10 dual-control F-101F two-seat trainers to its northern neighbors . The first pair of aircraft landed on Canadian soil in July 1961, and in October of the same year, the first RCAF squadron began routine, formal operations using models in QRA (Quick Response Alert) status to thwart any incoming Soviet bomber threat. About 56 of the original batches were then sent back to the USAF (many of which were subsequently scrapped) for 66 low-altitude airframes to maintain the strength of the RCAF squadron.

After decades of loyal service, time and age ended up working against the CF-101 fleet, it was finally decided to replace these Voodoo with another McDonnell product, the supersonic twin-engine McDonnell Douglas. CF-18 (described elsewhere on this page). The CF-18 is exactly the U.S.

Navys multirole carrier-based F/A-18 Hornet, designed to be operated by the RCAF from a land base.

During RCAF service, the CF-101 family consisted of only two notable variants: the "CF-101F" two-seater trainer with dual controls, and the "EF-101B" and electronic warfare (EW) platform ("Electric Voodoo", so to speak).

It is identical in form, function and capability to its original F-101 sibling, with a two-seat (tandem) configuration for its two crew members and powered by two Pratt & Whitney J57-P-55 afterburner turbojets (12,000 lb to 17,000 lb thrust) side-by-side configuration. The speed reaches Mach 1.72 and the range is 1,520 miles.

It has a service ceiling of 55,000 feet and a climb rate of 49,200 feet per minute.