In 1962, Americans were glued to their television
sets, the glow of the screens casting long shadows as the Cuban Missile Crisis escalated. The nation
watched, breath held, as President John F. Kennedy announced the discovery of Soviet missile sites
in Cuba, a direct threat to American soil. Right then and there, the RF-101 Voodoo
supersonic jet fighter was catapulted into the spotlight. Skimming the treetops
at breakneck speeds, the Voodoo jets darted over Cuban terrain. These aircraft were America's
eyes, capturing crucial images that would dictate the nation's next move. The reconnaissance
variants flew daring, low-altitude missions, mapping the terrain while dodging the lethal
clasp of SA-2 missiles lurking on the ground. As the fighter/bomber units awaited
their orders, the pilots stood beside their fully-loaded aircraft. Each pilot felt the
weight of responsibility upon their shoulders, knowing that within the rotary bomb bays
of their jets rested nuclear weapons, ready for deployment at a moment's notice. The RF-101 Voodoo, once a mere
blueprint on the brink of cancellation, had defied odds and broken speed barriers. Now, it hovered on the cusp of executing what could
become the most decisive bombing run in history… The genesis of the legendary Voodoo jet took
flight in June 1946, sparked by the U.S. Army Air Forces' call for a long-range, high-octane
fighter. This challenge was a direct descendant of the World War 2 mission that saw the North
American P-51 Mustang shepherding Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators
through enemy skies. The Voodoo was envisioned as the nuclear age's answer to the Mustang, a
guardian of the skies in an era of atomic tension. McDonnell Aircraft Corporation and several
contenders threw its hat into the ring, drawing on cutting-edge German jet
research. On Valentine's Day, 1947, McDonnell's innovative design was recognized
with a contract for two prototype aircraft, marking the birth of the XF-88
Voodoo. The first prototype, with its twin Westinghouse XJ34-WE-13 turbojets,
took to the skies from Muroc in October 1948, promising a new dawn in aerial supremacy.
However, its initial performance, while solid, didn't quite hit the mark of expectations, with
a top speed that left engineers hungry for more. Undeterred, McDonnell doubled down, outfitting the
second prototype with afterburners, significantly boosting its thrust and performance. The
Voodoo's speed, climb rate, and agility soared, though at the cost of its range due to the
afterburners' voracious appetite for fuel. Despite clinching victory in the fly-off against
its rivals, the Lockheed XF-90 and North American YF-93, the Voodoo's destiny took an abrupt turn.
The Soviet Union's entry into the nuclear club forced the newly minted United States Air Force
to pivot its priorities towards interceptors over bomber escorts, leading to the premature
grounding of the Penetration Fighter program in 1950. It seemed, for a moment, that the Voodoo's
fate was sealed before it could truly ascend. In the early months of 1951, the United
States Air Force reconsidered and came up with a new demand for a bomber escort that
could match the escalating threats of the Cold War. Every major American aircraft
manufacturer leaped at the call with their most advanced designs. McDonnell's
bold vision, an evolution of the XF-88, stole the show in May 1951. Recognizing
the quantum leap in design and capability, the Air Force rechristened this aircraft
as the F-101 Voodoo in November 1951. This wasn't just a simple makeover; the
Voodoo was reborn larger, more ferocious, and thirsting for the skies. Engineered around
the massive Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojets, this beast carried triple the fuel load,
promising unparalleled endurance. The modifications were extensive: larger engine bays
to house the behemoth J57s and revamped intakes designed to gulp down air more efficiently
at the razor's edge of the sound barrier. In a stroke of aerodynamic genius, and
to tackle the vexing issue of pitch-up identified in the Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket's
flight tests—an issue that could send a jet into an unrecoverable tailspin—the Voodoo's
designers elevated its horizontal tail to the top of the vertical stabilizer, bestowing the
aircraft with its iconic “T-tail” silhouette. As the geopolitical tides shifted, so too
did the Voodoo's mission. By late 1952, the Air Force envisioned the F-101 not
just as a guardian of bombers but as a deliverer of nuclear payloads, branding it a
“strategic fighter.” This dual role demanded versatility on a grand scale, a challenge
McDonnell met head-on. The redesigned Voodoo, complete with its new inlets,
T-tail, robust landing gear, and a mock-up of its nuclear arsenal, passed
muster with Air Force brass in March 1953. The green light flashed, and an order
for 29 F-101As was placed on May 28, 1953. Eschewing the tradition of prototypes, the Voodoo was ushered straight into low-rate
production, showing confidence in its lineage from the XF-88 and a bold gamble that promised
to redefine air power in the nuclear age. From a bomber escort to a nuclear strike plane, the Voodoo could do it all, even
save the world from nuclear war… Transformed into a powerful fighter-bomber, the
F-101 Voodoo was primed to deliver a knockout nuclear punch against tactical assets like
enemy airfields. The Tactical Air Command, or TAC, recognizing the Voodoo's lethal potential, dialed in a slew of modifications to tailor
this aerial titan for its new role. Enhancements included beefing up its air-to-ground comms,
outfitting it to lug additional external pods, and reinforcing its structure to handle the
added stress and strains of its expanded arsenal. On May 2, 1957, the inaugural F-101A rolled out,
destined for the 27th Strategic Fighter Wing. This unit, shifting under TAC's
wing in July of the same year, bid farewell to their F-84F Thunderstreaks in
favor of the Voodoo's cutting-edge prowess. Powered by twin Pratt & Whitney J57-P-13
turbojets, the F-101A was a beast in the skies—boasting rapid acceleration, a skyward
surge that laughed in the face of gravity, and the muscle to punch through the sound
barrier with ease, all culminating in a blistering top speed of Mach 1.52. Its
cavernous fuel tanks endowed it with a staggering range of around 3,000 miles, making it
a long-reach fist of the United States Air Force. Equipped with the MA-7 fire-control radar and
complemented by a Low Altitude Bombing System, the F-101 was a dual-threat platform, adept in
both dogfights and delivering its nuclear payload, namely the Mk 28 nuclear bomb, a thermonuclear
warhead capable of yielding 1450 kilotons of TNT. Its nuclear arsenal was versatile,
capable of handling Mk 7, Mk 43, and Mk 57 warheads, though it shied away
from conventional armaments in operational theaters. The F-101 was also armed to the
teeth with four 20-millimeter M39 cannons, though it was common practice to swap out one
cannon for a TACAN beacon receiver in the field. The Voodoo didn't just carry weapons; it
set records. A special variant, the JF-101A, cranked the throttle during “Operation
Firewall” to set a world speed record of 1,207.6 mph, outpacing the previous
record held by the Fairey Delta 2. Yet, its reign at the top was brief, as the Lockheed
F-104 Starfighter snatched the crown in May 1958. Out of 77 F-101As built, only 50
saw the rigors of operational duty, with the remainder dedicated to the
pursuit of advancing aviation science. Despite its early teething problems,
including a maneuverability ceiling of 6.33 Gs, the F-101A Voodoo was embraced by the
Tactical Air Command with open arms. By 1957, the Voodoo underwent a transformation, emerging as
the F-101C. This variant could pull 7.33 Gs in a dogfight and boasted several upgrades, including
a beefier structure and a revamped fuel system. Initially taking to the skies with the
27th Tactical Fighter Wing in Texas, these birds of prey soon found a new roost
with the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing across the pond in Europe by 1958, standing
sentinel as a strategic nuclear spear poised to pierce the heart of the Soviet
Union if the Cold War ever heated up. These pilots, the elite of TAC, were schooled in
the art of high-speed, nap-of-the-earth flying, threading their Voodoos through enemy defenses
to deliver their nuclear payloads. But as the wheels of progress turned, the Voodoo's reign
in this role was sunsetted in the 1960s and replaced by the indomitable F-4C Phantom
II, with some of the Voodoos being reborn as the unarmed reconnaissance variant, the
RF-101H, serving until the dawning of 1972. The RF-101C, leveraging the rugged backbone
of the F-101C, first cut the skies on July 12, 1957. Stepping into the light in 1958,
this super spy plane swapped radar and cannons for a suite of up to six
cameras in its streamlined nose. Designed to slip through the skies unarmed,
it was cloaked in a layer of passive defenses, including the AN/APS-54 radar warning receiver,
though it sacrificed true all-weather capability when plans for the AN/APN-82 electronic
navigation system were scrapped. A fleet of 166 RF-101Cs was built, including 96 that were
originally destined to be F-101C fighter-bombers. The Voodoo's legacy wasn't just
built on its nuclear deterrent role; it was also meant for speed. On November
27, 1957, Operation Sun Run saw an RF-101C, piloted by Captain Robert Sweet, smash
coast-to-coast records, blitzing from Los Angeles to New York City and back in six hours
and 46 minutes and setting a blistering pace from New York to Los Angeles in three hours and
36 minutes. Not to be outdone, another RF-101C, with Lieutenant Gustav Klatt at the helm,
tore from Los Angeles to New York in just three hours and seven minutes, showcasing
the raw, unbridled power of the Voodoo. But where the RF-101C would show
their true capabilities would be during the harrowing weeks
of the Cuban Missile Crisis. On October 14, 1962, a U-2 spy plane's chilling
revelation of Soviet R-12 theater ballistic missile sites in Cuba set the stage for what
would become the most harrowing standoff of the Cold War. The post-mission analysis uncovered
these missile sites and the menacing silhouette of SA-2 surface-to-air missiles guarding them.
As the crisis unfolded, both the fighter/bomber and reconnaissance variants of the Voodoo
were thrust into the eye of the storm. Surrounded by a network of SAM sites, the Cuban
missile locations necessitated a new approach: swift, low-altitude reconnaissance missions
executed by Tactical Air Command's RF-101A and C Voodoos. These aircraft were charged
with the monumental task of spying on Soviet activities and meticulously mapping
out the Kremlin's chessboard in Cuba. The situation escalated when President Kennedy
publicly disclosed the existence of Soviet nuclear missile facilities in Cuba, putting
U.S. air defense forces on a razor's edge, bracing for a confrontation
that could ignite nuclear war. F-101B pilot Jonathan Myer recalled the fever
pitch of readiness: (QUOTE) “In the Air Force, while our bombers reinforced their
around-the-clock airborne alert flights, fighters deployed to and near Florida,
in preparation for tactical strikes, while our air defense units sent
interceptors to emergency fields, for both survival and readiness
should Soviet bombers attack,” The F-101Bs were armed to the teeth, bearing
AIR-2A Genie nuclear rockets and AIM-4C Falcon missiles, nestled within the rotodoor of
their weapons bay, primed for the unthinkable. Myer further detailed the intense state of
readiness: (QUOTE) “We flew there fully loaded, in pairs and with our AIR-2A nukes
and IR missiles ready for war, while maintenance and supplies followed
by truck. Landing on Billings' unprepared runway incurred a few cut tires, while our
makeshift alert area was cordoned off and a 24-hour phone alert set up in a hangar.
[…] Fortunately, no Soviet escalation ensued and a couple of weeks later we returned to
Glasgow to resume regular alert and training,” Bon Hanson, piloting an F-101C from the 81st
TFW, shared his experience of the nuclear brinkmanship from RAF Bentwaters: (QUOTE) “I
was on alert the day the Cuban Missile Crisis balloon went up. It was around 0900, and we
went to RED cockpit alert until nightfall, and then reverted to 15 min. But, initially we
really thought we were going! And for the next week or more the whole wing was loaded
and ready to launch! It was serious!” The crisis de-escalated when the Soviets agreed
to withdraw their missiles from Cuba in exchange for the U.S. pulling Jupiter missiles from
Turkey and Italy, narrowly averting a cataclysm. Throughout this tense period, RF-101C Voodoos
played a pivotal role, flying the critical reconnaissance missions that ultimately
provided the evidence needed to confirm the dismantling of the Soviet missile sites in
Cuba, defusing a potentially apocalyptic showdown.
