February 2, 2002 at 6:26 pm
Most of us know the F-102 has seen combat with the USAF during the Vietnam War and later with Greece and Turkey during the 1974 war (?). I suppose you could say it had mixed results. One F-102 was shot down by a MiG-21 during the Vietnam War, while Turkish F-102’s accounted for one or maybe two Greek F-5’s. Also, F-102’s used their load of 24 Mighty Mouse 70-mm (2.75-inch) rockets in attacks on ground targets during Vietnam. I think they used their IRST systems to detect things like campfires and then attacked. Mostly nuisance raids I’d guess, but interesting nonetheless. Anybody else have anything interesting on the F-102 in combat. The F-102 is my favorite Century Series fighter, and I always like to learn more about it. I’ve read it was quite a sight to see an F-102 on take-off role with burner blazing, especially when it climbed into the air in a seemingly effortless manner. Okay, a bit dramatic, but that was how I read it. Anyway, thanks for any future input I get.