CENTURY SERIES FIGHTERS.pdf

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LOCKHEED SR-71
BLACKBIRD
- Origins and Evolution
One of the world’s most extreme
and enigmatic aircraft, the Lockheed
SR-71 Blackbird, is the ultimate
evolution of a long line of top secret
projects which first coalesced in the
form of the CIA’s A-12 reconnaissance
platform. American aircraft develop-
ment specialist Scott Lowther looks
in detail at the vast range of different
variants and configurations proposed
for this remarkable family of high-
speed high-altitude jets.
Author: Scott Lowther
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Introduction
he USAF’s front line fighters during the Korean War were the F-86 Sabre, F-84 Thunderjet, P-82 Twin Mustang and F-80 Shooting
Star – yet all but the F-86 were eclipsed when Soviet MiG-15s appeared over the battlefield.
Even as the conflict on the Korean peninsula died down, the danger of the ongoing cold war turning into a hot war
continued to grow and the USAF understood that bold new fighter designs would be needed if it was to remain the most
powerful air force in the world. Meanwhile, American designers had developed a better understanding of aerodynamics, new and
more powerful engine designs were in the works and aviation technology was advancing in leaps and bounds. An entirely new
generation of fighters was about to be born, all of which would be given three-digit designations: the Century Series fighters.
Although most were designed with a single purpose in mind, and prioritising speed and payload over stealth and manoeuvrability,
as time passed the Century Series fighters would evolve to fulfil a wealth of different roles, some never even considered when they
were designed.
Furthermore, technology continued to advance and evolve – as did the perceived threat from the East. Missile capability took
priority over cannon; drop tanks and in-flight refuelling probes came to be more important than blistering acceleration; and fire
control systems added new abilities at the expense of complexity and cost.
The Century Series fighters became an important stepping stone in postwar military aircraft design – spanning the period
between the simple short-living designs of the late 1940s/early 1950s and the incredibly durable ‘legacy’ designs of the 1970s.
The central unifying characteristic of the Century Series fighters was the ability to fly faster than the speed of sound in level flight.
Other than that, the aircraft can be divided into two groups: The fighter-bombers (F-100, F-101A and F-105) and the interceptors
(F-101B, F-102, F-104, F-106). During the first flight of the first of the Century Series fighter, the F-100 Super Sabre, it was already
evident that fighter design had entered a new era. The F-100 prototype broke the sound barrier straight away and many of the
subsequent century series fighters went on to set both speed and altitude records.
It was, however, in front line service the Century Series fighters made a name for themselves – even if the type of warfare they
encountered was very different from the theoretical combat scenarios they had been designed for. The F-100 became the close
air support aircraft of choice in the Vietnam War. The F-101 Voodoo, originally designed as a long-range bomber escort, ended as
both an interceptor and a photo reconnaissance aircraft. The F-105 Thunderchief began as a nuclear penetration fighter-bomber
but ended up as a conventional bomber and a Wild Weasel aircraft. The F-104 became a frontline fighter in many of the world’s air
forces, where it assumed roles ranging from interceptor to ground attack aircraft. The two ‘Deadly Deltas’, the F-102 and F-106,
remained Interceptors throughout their service. Arguably, the F-106 was the finest interceptor ever conceived.
The Century Series fighters had their heyday in the 1960s and 1970s, with the Vietnam War demonstrating that multirole aircraft
were the future of military aircraft design. The aircraft that would replace the Century Series fighters were the Teen Series fighters,
which would become the mainstay of the USAF as well as many other air forces around the world. These aircraft – the F-14, F-15,
F-16 and F-18 – were being developed as technological advancement was entering a slower phase of maturity. The limits of what
could be readily achieved had been reached and refinement with reliability was the name of the game.
Yet Teen Series fighters would never have been possible without the valuable lessons learned from the mighty Century Series
fighters and their remarkable history in both development and in combat.
T
ABOUT MADS
BANGSØ
For as long as I can remember I’ve been drawing aircraft, the goal has always
been to create illustrations that were as authentic and as realistic as possible.
Over the years I’ve been experimenting with a wide variety of different media
ranging from colour pencils to airbrushes. I’ve settled on 3D computer graphics,
and take great pride in creating each aircraft profile from the ground up.
My main focus when illustrating an aircraft is not only to represent its colours
and markings, but also to tell its story in peeling paint, wear and tear, bleached
patches, reflections, dirt and grime. My hope is that a front line USAF F-100 with
many CAS missions under its belt looks very different from a well-maintained
Belgian F-104 despite both being painted using the same colours. The same
goes for the drone aircraft which show signs of severe neglect when compared
to the sleek and clean aircraft that were used in the ADC squadrons.
Working on this Century Series Fighters book proved a great challenge, but also
immensely rewarding knowing that this book may remind you, the reader, of these
amazing looking aircraft and the people who maintained and flew them.
This book is dedicated to Ib Kyhl
Thanks:
Scott Brown, Wit Raymond, Rock Roszak, The Scanmasters, Steven O´Hara and
Dan Sharp
USAF FIGHTERS
003
USAF FIGHTERS
004
CENTURY SERIES FIGHTERS
CONTENTS
006
026
046
067
068
088
108
128
129
130
NORTH AMERICAN
F-100 SUPER SABRE
MCDONNELL
F-101 VOODOO
CONVAIR F-102
DELTA DAGGER
REPUBLIC XF-103
‘THUNDERWARRIOR’
LOCKHEED F-104
STARFIGHTER
REPUBLIC F-105
THUNDERCHIEF
CONVAIR F-106
DELTA DART
NORTH AMERICAN
F-107 ‘ULTRA SABRE’
NORTH AMERICAN
XF-108 RAPIER
BELL ‘XF-109’
Published by:
MORTONS MEDIA
GROUP LTD,
MEDIA CENTRE,
MORTON WAY,
HORNCASTLE,
LINCOLNSHIRE
LN9 6JR.
Tel.
01507 529529
Printed by:
WILLIAM GIBBONS
AND SONS,
WOLVERHAMPTON
ISBN: 978-1-911639-70-1
© 2021 MORTONS MEDIA GROUP LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS
PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED OR TRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY
MEANS, ELECTRONIC OR MECHANICAL, INCLUDING PHOTOCOPYING, RECORDING,
OR ANY INFORMATION STORAGE RETRIEVAL SYSTEM WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION
IN WRITING FROM THE PUBLISHER.
All illustrations:
MADS BANGSØ
Design:
BURDA
Publisher:
STEVE O’HARA
Editor:
DAN SHARP
CENTURY SERIES FIGHTERS
005

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