Convair F-102 Delta Dagger (USAF 509th FIS Da Nang AFB)

Product Description

Convair F-102 Delta Dagger (USAF 509th FIS Da Nang AFB) (1:72 scale)
- General Background The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was designed to be an interceptor aircraft & act as the core of USAF air defenses in the late 1950s. The F-102 first appeared in service in 1956 with the task to intercept Soviet bombers. The official name for the F-102 was “ Delta Dagger” but the most common term used was “ Deuce”. There was 889 F-102 As manufactured when production ended in September 1958. The Deuce served in Vietnam on fighter patrols & bomber escort. 15 F-102s were lost while in Vietnam. The Aircraft On March 21, 1962 under Project “ Water Glass” the first operational deployment to Vietnam of F-102"s took place & remained there under Project “ Candy Machine”. In March of 1962 F-102’ s of the 509th FIS were sent on Temporary Duty (TDY) to Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon as well as from Da Nang, South Vietnam (at the time) & Don Muang (Thailand). In 1968 Da Nang was the busiest airport in the world with just under 2, 600 daily air traffic operations. The Deuces (F-102) were used as interceptors, some escort duty, & even ground attack. In December of 1969 the F-102’s were withdrawn from Vietnam & at that time had lost 15 aircraft to AAA, destroyed on the ground by the Viet Cong, small arms fire & operational accidents.