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By: 22nd July 2019 at 18:50 Permalink - Edited 22nd July 2019 at 18:51
-Early 50's? According to Wiki it did not enter service in USA until May 1957. The RAF received their first Lightnings in Dec 1959.
Lightning was designed as an interceptor (what the RAF required). Voodoo was not.
F-104 Starfighter entered service in February 1958. Much better suited to RAF requirements than Voodoo.
By: 23rd July 2019 at 04:23 Permalink
-Early 50's? According to Wiki it did not enter service in USA until May 1957. The RAF received their first Lightnings in Dec 1959.Lightning was designed as an interceptor (what the RAF required). Voodoo was not.
F-104 Starfighter entered service in February 1958. Much better suited to RAF requirements than Voodoo.
No I said early 60s in my post
Voodoo cannot function. As an interceptor?
By: 23rd July 2019 at 05:27 Permalink - Edited 23rd July 2019 at 05:31
-F-101s served as interceptors for the Canadians from 1962 until they were replaced by CF-18s in the 1980s.
By: 23rd July 2019 at 11:10 Permalink
-No I said early 60s in my post
Voodoo cannot function. As an interceptor?
My mistake. But in early 60;s RAF was receiving Lightnings which (apart from tiny range) were mucn better interceptors than F-101, so what need F-101?
By: 23rd July 2019 at 14:07 Permalink
-My mistake. But in early 60;s RAF was receiving Lightnings which (apart from tiny range) were mucn better interceptors than F-101, so what need F-101?
But better to standardize with a decent interceptor with the canadians and then maybe more European countries could have adopted f101 too
Was lightning less expensive or maintaince friendly ?
By: 23rd July 2019 at 19:46 Permalink
-The Lightning was a point defense interceptor. The voodoo had the same perf with the range (thanks to have been fathered by a SAC program for an escort fighter). It doesn't make senses to compare both. One had all weather capability and datalink. The other not...
By: 23rd July 2019 at 21:35 Permalink
-Don't know why you want to compare F-101 with Lightning - they have somewhat different roles. The F-101 was a bit slower but had way better range and could carry double the warload. Better to compare the Lightning with the F-106, another single seat mach 2 bomber interceptor.
By: 25th July 2019 at 16:03 Permalink
-In answer to OP:
It's the boring and predictable balance of payments issue.
There are several items bought by the MOD where the obvious answer would instead have been a US system. Traditionally the analysis has been: we needed/had decided to keep a viable UK industry and so paid over the top to retain industrial capability X. Which has some truth (as does simple patriotic chauvinism). But another big worry was how much we still owed the US from WW2 (final payment was 2006 I believe) and anything which added to the flow of cash from UK to US was seen as a very bad thing.
By: 26th July 2019 at 06:13 Permalink
-Don't know why you want to compare F-101 with Lightning - they have somewhat different roles. The F-101 was a bit slower but had way better range and could carry double the warload. Better to compare the Lightning with the F-106, another single seat mach 2 bomber interceptor.
both have their pros and cons
advantage of voodoo is that there is some potential for a secondary strike role
By: 27th July 2019 at 22:41 Permalink
-Who has a copy of the old RAF Flying Review cartoon where two spotters are looking into the sky at two contrails...One comments, Na, its a Lightning flying on its side!:)
Mike
By: 30th July 2019 at 20:56 Permalink
-both have their pros and cons
advantage of voodoo is that there is some potential for a secondary strike role
The F-106 would also have strike "potential". The F-106 could have likely been adopted to a strike role fairly easily. The internal bay could have been for a nuclear strike role like the original F-105 concept, and for a conventional strike role as well with internal bay and hard points.
The F-106 would have made a great interceptor for a many of countries, and perhaps an under rated "fighter" as well.
The Lightning was sold to Saudi and Kuwait with a limited ground attack capability- but its lack of range was always an issue.
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By: nastle - 22nd July 2019 at 01:19
Could the F101 in the early 60s could have entered RAF service as an interceptor? Would it not be a much better option than javelin and lightning?
and f101 with some modifications also carry out air to ground missions replacing Hunter ?