Training film shows how to remove a pilot from a F-102 Delta Dagger interceptor in case of an emergency. Pilot Rescue Sequence: 1. Gain Entry (a sledge hammer is used to break open the canopy if necessary), 2. Disarm Ejection Seat, 3. Remove Oxygen Leads, 4. Remove Pilot.
Public domain film from the US Air Force, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied.
The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).
The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was an American interceptor aircraft that was built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force’s air defenses in the late 1950s. Entering service in 1956, its main purpose was to intercept invading Soviet bomber fleets during the Cold War. Designed and manufactured by Convair, 1,000 F-102s were built.
A member of the Century Series, the F-102 was the first operational supersonic interceptor and delta-wing fighter of the USAF. It used an internal weapons bay to carry both guided missiles and rockets. As originally designed, it could not achieve Mach 1 supersonic flight until redesigned with area ruling. The F-102 replaced subsonic fighter types such as the Northrop F-89 Scorpion, and by the 1960s, it saw limited service in the Vietnam War in bomber escort and ground-attack roles. It was supplemented by McDonnell F-101 Voodoos and, later, by McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs.
Many of the F-102s were transferred from the active duty Air Force to the Air National Guard by the mid-to-late 1960s, and with the exception of those examples converted to unmanned QF-102 Full Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) drones, the type was totally retired from operational service in 1976. The follow-on replacement was the Mach-2 Convair F-106 Delta Dart, which was an extensive redesign of the F-102…
On 8 October 1948, the board of senior officers of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) made recommendations that the service organize a competition for a new interceptor scheduled to enter service in 1954; as such, the all-new design would initially be dubbed the “1954 Ultimate Interceptor”…
To speed development, it was proposed to equip the prototypes and pre-production aircraft with the less-powerful Westinghouse J40 turbojet. Continued delays to the J67 and MA-1 (formerly “MX-1179”) FCS led to the decision to place an interim aircraft with the J40 and a simpler fire control system (dubbed “E-9”) into production as the F-102A. The failure of the J40 led to the Pratt & Whitney J57, rated with 10,000 pounds-force (44 kN) of thrust being substituted for the prototypes and F-102As. This aircraft was intended to be temporary, pending the development of the F-102B, which would employ the more advanced Wright J67, a licensed derivative of the Bristol-Siddeley Olympus which was still in development. The F-102B would later evolve to become the F-106A, dubbed the “Ultimate Interceptor”…
The prototype YF-102 made its first flight on 24 October 1953, but was lost in an accident nine days later. The second aircraft flew on 11 January 1954, confirming a dismal performance. Transonic drag was much higher than expected, and the aircraft was limited to Mach 0.98 (i.e. subsonic), with a ceiling of 48,000 ft (14,630 m), far below the requirements…
To solve the problem and save the F-102, Convair embarked on a major redesign, incorporating the recently discovered area rule, while at the same time simplifying production and maintenance. The redesign entailed lengthening the fuselage by 11 ft (3.35 m), being “pinched” at the midsection (dubbed the “Coke Bottle configuration”), with two large fairings on either side of the engine nozzle, with revised intakes and a new, narrower canopy. A more powerful model of the J57 was fitted, and the aircraft structure was lightened.
The first revised aircraft, designated YF-102A flew on 20 December 1954, 118 days after the redesign started, exceeding Mach 1 the next day. The revised design demonstrated a speed of Mach 1.22 and a ceiling of 53,000 ft (16,154ying m). These improvements were sufficient for the Air Force to allow production of the F-102, with a new production contract signed in March 1954…
