The Voodoo’s career as a fighter-bomber was relatively brief, but the reconnaissance versions served for some time. Air Force technicians prepare a McDonnell RF-101 Voodoo for a photo reconnaissance mission Canadian examples remained in service until 1984. US examples were handed off to the Air National Guard where they served until 1982. The F-101B entered service with Air Defense Command in 1959 and the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1961. This required extensive modifications to add a large radar to the nose of the aircraft, a second crewmember to operate it, and a new weapons bay using a rotating door that kept its four AIM-4 Falcon missiles or two AIR-2 Genie rockets hidden within the airframe until it was time to be fired. They operated in the reconnaissance role until 1979.ĭelays in the 1954 interceptor project led to demands for an interim interceptor aircraft design, a role that was eventually won by the B model of the Voodoo. An F-101A set a number of world speed records for jet powered aircraft, including fastest airspeed, attaining 1,207.6 miles (1,943.4 km) per hour on December 12th, 1957. Initially designed by McDonnell Aircraft as a long-range bomber escort (known as a penetration fighter) for the Strategic Air Command (SAC), the Voodoo was instead developed as a nuclear-armed fighter-bomber for the Tactical Air Command (TAC), and as a photo reconnaissance aircraft based on the same airframe. The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was a supersonic jet fighter which served the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

Rf 101 voodoo avionics bay