McDonnell Douglas F-101 Voodoo: books - history

Voodoo Warriors : The Story of the McDonnell Voodoo Fast-Jets

During the mid-1950s the United States Air Force was given its most powerful single-seat, two-engine fighter to date. The Voodoo would be deployed before the end of that decade in the tactical nuclear bomber and tactical reconnaissance roles world-wide, and in homeland defence with the two-seat, all-weather variant.
In December 1957 it took the World Air Speed Record to Mach 1.6 - over one and a half times faster than the sound barrier.

This book looks at the evolution of the original design and its introduction into service. Chapters cover operations in Korea, Vietnam, the Cuban Crisis and in Europe during the Cold War years. Many first-hand accounts from pilots are included and the author's own experiences with the aircraft are relayed with fascinating insight.
The Voodoo was an elegant, mean-looking fighting machine that epitomised fast flying in the fifties and sixties. It continues to be a revered aeroplane.

The F-101 Voodoo - An Illustrated History of McDonnell's Heavyweight Fighter

Conceived in the waning days of World War II as an escort for the mammoth Convair B-36 bomber, the McDonnell Model 36 "Voodoo" first took to the air in 1948.
With advances in turbojet technology, aerial refueling, and miniaturized nuclear weapons, the Model 36 was recast as a fighter-bomber of unimaginable firepower: the F-101A Strategic Fighter.

Overcoming tremendous developmental challenges, the Voodoo served into the late-1980s, nearly forty years after its maiden flight. As a nuclear strike aircraft, reconnaissance platform, and reliable high-performance interceptor, the McDonnell F-101 Voodoo carries the sole distinction among the famed "Century Series" fighters of serving in the most trouble spots, from the era of Eisenhower and Khrushchev through that of Reagan and Gorbachev, in the waning days of the Cold War.

Based on hundreds of pages of recently declassified documents, this work brings the Voodoo into its long-denied place in the limelight.

RF-101 Voodoo Units in Combat

McDonnell's F-101 Voodoo series was in many ways the most interesting of the 'Century Series' fighter programmes of the 1950s, partly because the type's design and intended mission changed radically during a 40-year career.
Originally designed as a fighter-bomber, it was converted to be a reconnaissance aircraft, serving alongside the U-2 and RF-8 Crusaders during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War. Although it gained a reputation as a difficult aircraft to handle, the jet's supersonic speed and newly-developed camera suite enabled it to conduct vital low-altitude photo-reconnaissance missions over heavily-defended target areas.

In combat, the RF 101 was usually 'first in-last out' for strike missions. This made it a ready target, with a solo aircraft flying straight and level to gather target photo evidence at low-altitude offering enemy gunners plenty of opportunity to shoot the Voodoo down.
This study tells the combat stories of this extraordinary aircraft, highlighting the difficulty of the missions on which it was sent and the courage of its pilots.