System Operational Data [CONFIDENTIAL]; Missile & Special Weapon Launching Subsystems of F-106A Armament System

1, 178 pages. Three-hole punched. Illustrations. Pages 120 and 121 are fold-outs. RARE SURVIVING COPY. The major Table of Contents sections are Description, Major Assemblies and Components, Related Systems, Rigging and Adjustment, Electrical Checkout, Armament System Operational Checkout, Ground Operations and Loading/Unloading of Armament System; Trouble Shooting, Summary of Safety Precautions, and References. F-106A: Improved version of the F-102. Fitted with the MA-1 Integrated Fire Control System with SAGE datalink, J-75 afterburning turbojet, enlarged intake, variable-geometry inlet ramps and shortened intake ducts, refined fuselage shape, modified wings and tailfin; tailpipe fitted to reduce the tendency of the jet exhaust to blow unsecured objects around while taxiing, yet allowing virtually maximum performance at high thrust/afterburner settings. Performance was deemed unsatisfactory and modifications were made. The aircraft was capable of low supersonic speeds without afterburner and had a maximum altitude at least 57,000 ft. Many were fitted with a conically cambered wing for improved takeoff, supersonic and high-altitude flight. The aircraft was fitted with two streamlined external supersonic tanks that still kept the aircraft capable of sustained roll rates of 100 degrees per second. These tanks produced virtually no significant performance degradation were rarely jettisoned and were routinely carried. After 1972, many F-106s were refitted with a new canopy featuring improved visibility, improved optic sights and provision for a gunpack in the center weapons bay. The Convair F-106 Delta Dart is an all-weather interceptor aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Convair. The F-106 was designed in response to the 1954 interceptor program. Envisioned as an imagined "Ultimate Interceptor", it was a development of the F-102 Delta Dagger, and commenced as the F-102B prior to being redesignated by the United States Air Force (USAF). The F-106 was designed without a gun or provision for carrying bombs, instead carrying its AIM-4 Falcon air-to-air missiles within an internal weapons bay; its clean exterior was beneficial to supersonic flight. Major differences from the F-102 included the adoption of the more powerful Pratt & Whitney J75 turbojet engine, heavily redesigned air inlets along with a variable-geometry inlet duct to suit a wide range of supersonic speeds, and a general increase in size. On 26 December 1956, the first prototype performed its maiden flight. After flight testing demonstrated lesser performance gains than anticipated, the USAF only ordered 350 of the planned 1,000 F-106s. Becoming operational in June 1959, the F-106 was the primary all-weather interceptor aircraft of the USAF through much of the Cold War era; it ended up being the final specialist interceptor to be used by the service to date. It was never used in combat nor were any exported. During the 1960s, a competitive evaluation between the F-106 and the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II determined the latter to be marginally superior, yet the type continued to be operated for a further two decades due to extensive demand for the F-4 in other roles. Convair proposed various improved models of the F-106, typically focused on the radar, communications, and other avionics, but none of these schemes were pursued. In one incident over Montana on 2 February 1970, an unmanned F-106 recovered from a flat spin after its pilot had ejected, belly landing relatively intact in a snow-covered field; it was recovered and continued to be flown for numerous years afterwards. The F-106 was gradually withdrawn from USAF service during the 1980s as the arrival of newer air superiority fighters, particularly the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, had made the role of dedicated interceptors obsolete. Numerous F-106s were operated for a time by the Air National Guard. Many withdrawn aircraft were converted into target drones and redesignated QF.…