A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CONVAIR F-106 DELTA DART INTERCEPTOR: THE ‘ULTIMATE INTERCEPTOR’
By Christopher T. Carey (Life Support Historian, McClellan Aviation Museum)
FOREWORD: The period of American aeronautical engineering innovation which characterised the two decades following the end of the Second World War was one of great significance to the history of American military aviation. From 1945 through 1965 many notable aircraft designs emerged from the project rooms of the major US aviation firms of the Lockheed, North American, Republic, Bell, and Convair (ConsolidatedVultee) companies. The advanced fighter aircraft that ultimately took shape and were flight tested during these years at the Edwards Flight Test Center in California’s Mojave Desert were in many cases considerably influenced by exhaustive evaluation of captured German aeronautical research performed both before and during the war years (1939 – 1945). Today, many knowledgeable individuals and aeronautical historians consider these two decades of American aviation development as the modern Golden Age of US aeronautical design. Chief among the machines produced in this era were the so-called Century Series fighter aircraft. These were fighter aircraft with designations in the 100 series, and included the North American F100 Super Sabre, the McDonnell