F-106 vs BOMARC & MACE Missiles | Bruce Gordon

Former F-106 pilot, Bruce Gordon, talks us through how he was involved in a live weapons exercise to take down a BOMARC and MACE Missile!
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[@colderwar]

More Bruce Gordon. Deep joy. I clicked so fast on this my finger passed Mach 2 even without the benefit of area ruling

[@magoid]

I hope the shock wave didn't damaged your monitor.

[@colderwar]

@@magoid It did, but I'm a steely eyed missile man, so I swapped a few tubes, pressed the correct buttons and had her working again in time for Bruce... :))

[@matthayward7889]

Those 1960s Cold War paint schemes were gorgeous & Bruce Gordon had an amazing career!

[@jebediahgentry7029]

Man you are spoiling us with all the Bruce Gordon stuff. I love it! A very different time if in aviation history. These guys truly were on the limit.

[@VikingTeddy]

I haven't watched them all, but from the interviews I've seen, Bruce absolutely comes out on top. He always has me on the edge of my seat.

[@dustinmccrindle343]

I just followed his Facebook page...way more stories on there as well. The Spirit of Attack. 👌

[@n7565j]

What an incredible career!!! Thank you for your service Mr Gordon and Mr A.I.!!! :-) I hope the good folks over at The Fighter Pilot Podcast can schedule some time with Mr Gordon as well... Fingers crossed ;-)

[@christosvoskresye]

I'm pretty sure my dad was watching this as it happened. He was an electronic technician at radar site D-3 on Cape San Blas for many years, and he likes to tell a story about how the Navy shot down a BOMARC from ~70 miles out after the Air Force had all kinds of trouble taking down BOMARCs. (My dad was in the Navy and is somewhat biased.)

[@puremaga17]

Great info on the Falcon.. I find it amazing that that heat seeker started it's development in 1946 and went operational in the mid 50's Great story from Mr Gordon, I could listen to him all day! Also very interesting that the MACE AP was sophisticated enough to recover it after it departed controlled flight. Thank the creator of the universe and or "MAD" that we did not wipe out most of the human race during the Cold War. Thank you Aircrew Interview for this great video . Ordering Bruce Gordon's book right now as well 👏🇺🇸💯

[@jomartin3850]

Absolutely love Bruce! Excellent to see him again.

[@vickydroid]

Wow, just put this on as background while so was doing chores , had to sit down and watch, what a valuable job you're doing recording his remarkable stories, I regret making derogatory comments about the AIM-4 on the Draken some months ago, Bruce Gordon is a fantastic story teller and what brilliant insights he's bringing to us via your podcasts. Definitely more

[@KRGruner]

Confirms my thought that the 50s, 60s, and maybe early 70s were the golden age of jet aviation. Fantastic story.

[@lancerevell5979]

Great history stories! I was an avionics tech at the Air Defense Weapon Center, Tyndall AFB from July 1976 to Jan. 1980. I worked the F-106 in addition to the F-101B Voodoo and T-33A trainer. We were under ADC until October 1977, then wete taken under TAC, with ADC disbanded. We began keeping two Sixes on Alert after TAC took over.

[@macbomb]

FYI BOMAC: BOeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center

[@michaelgowen2242]

One of the Boeing buildings in Everett is named for the BOMARC missile. It's on Airport Road just up the way from Minuteman Drive, also named for a Boeing missile.

[@ditzydoo4378]

I dearly love to hear Bruce's stories. His mind is so sharp and he retells each with such detail. We definitely need more Bruce stories.

[@Aircrewinterview]

We will be hosting a live Q&A on Wednesday with Bruce at 1900 U.K. time so you will be able to have a chance to ask him a question.

[@ditzydoo4378]

@@Aircrewinterview thank you, I do hope to attend. ^_^

[@davidcritchley5993]

Great story telling...feels like I am having beers with my old shipmates telling sea stories.

[@thefrecklepuny]

You know what Bruce's story about chasing down the Bomarc reminds me of? The movie "Fail Safe" where half a dozen B-58 "Vindicators" (as called in the movie) go rogue and attack the Soviet Union. The USAF send up a group of fighters to chase and shoot the bombers down over the Arctic. They fail. In reality Bruce was more sucessful!

[@puremaga17]

Well they did not "Go Rogue" but due to soviet jamming (Or something similar, been a long time since I saw that move last) they were unable to get the recall order.. to the point of the president and even one of the pilots wives, pleading with them that it was a mistake.. followed their orders to not deviate after passing the Fail Safe point.. hence the movie title.. good movie, but as a child of that age I find a bit depressing. Now Dr. Strangelove is a movie I can watch over and over and walked away from FS at the box office. ✌

[@alistairgraham8073]

great - ' let Bruce Loose'

[@jeffbrunelle919]

My dad also flew the f102, f106, and f104, he said f104 was his favorite.

[@davidwright1605]

FWIW the F4 didn't use the AIM-4G referred to in this interview, but used the AIM-4D. I'm sure the AIM-4 worked better with the F106 as it was designed around this weapon, but the tests talked about are against non-maneuvering drones at high altitudes - not the heat of a dogfight. The focus of US air-to-air missiles during the 50s and early 60s was shooting down bombers. The F106 was intended to be US based and highly unlikely to face fighters. The F4 was also designed to protect US carriers from Soviet bombers. Of course this was not how they were actually used in Vietnam.

[@Daddybill777]

True words. The Migs weren't flying straight and level......

[@ricardojano3716]

74th Air Defense Missile Squadron Moto "Say When" out of Duluth Minnesota we sent our Bomarc to Eglin AFB for a test flight it did well The Bomarc warhead was designed to take out a group of enemy aircraft at once - It was a good looking missile back in the Cuban Crisis days

[@TorToroPorco]

Remarkable stories. I can’t remember missile intercept tests ever being discussed before. I imagine supersonic missile intercept tests were quite rare. The Bomarc missile was deployed in Canada in the 60s and it was a great source of controversy because they had nuclear warheads. The warheads were kept separate under American control and I don’t believe the warheads were ever actually mounted on the Bomarc except perhaps during exercises.

[@kevintaylor791]

Also controversial due to the bomarc being blamed for the cancellation of the Avro Arrow. To this day, Bomarc is a curse word in Malton, Ontario.

[@Technoid_Mutant]

I loved this. A like is not enough.

[@pearlyamamoto8351]

Great Stuff If I remember correctly one of the issues with the Falcon was there was no proximity fuse. A Sidewinder could get close and take down a target the Falcon had to actually hit the target. The trigger was on the wings of the missile so that the warhead was way inside the target before it exploded. Another issue was the cooling of the seeker head the Falcon did not give enough time to lock in the hot Viet-Nam climate on on the F-106 the planes radar got it lined up. Hughes Aerospace the maker of the Aim-4 got one over on the Air Force by using proprietary fasteners on the missiles. When the maintenance contract was over and the Air Force went to take over it had to go back to Hughes and buy the hand tools in order to do the maintenance.

[@newellfranks9099]

The Bomarc was a little faster and higher flying in later versions. Also longer range. M2.8, 65,000 feet, 250NM range.

[@charlestaylor253]

What's often overlooked is that the late-'50's-era Bomarc AA missile's overall performance was actually very similar to that of the decade-later manned Soviet MiG-25 'Foxbat A' interceptor...🤓

[@michaeldenesyk3195]

What if the targets were maneuvering and pulling a lot of G's?

[@mikewysko2268]

Good stuff😎 Thanks guys! 🇺🇸🇬🇧

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Great video...👍

[@roberthicks1612]

He mentioned the wsm tape. I worked on that system and developed the tape.

[@Aircrewinterview]

Nice one

[@jeffreyplum5259]

My uncle was a mechanic on Air Guard F104 on alert in Bangor Maine. I was riding in a pickup tail gating an F104. Apollo 11 produced many remarkable photos, . Someone had a striking photo of a radar operator in a Voodoo. This fellow was flying inverted, with what would be later called a Wardrobe malfunction. His flight suit was no longer providing its normal coverage over certain vital area. I am certain no streaker ever went as fast as this guy. Usually aircrew show their agility while being solidly strapped into their aircraft. I am being careful with my language, in keeping with the family friendly nature of this channel. Blowing MIGs away is fine,. One must, however, keep their fig leaves in place while doing so. Perhaps the crewman just dropped his pen, among other things. His diligence, such confined quarters, was remarkable. My Uncle, a veteran of the Army Air Corp in WW2, has passed on. I hope he fly still, free of Earthy cares. Thank you gentlemen, and God bless all who served

[@Thompsonje]

Great interview 👍

[@6605eric]

I didn't see where he answered your question. "the Michigan Aeronautical Research Center (MARC) was added to the research project - which was then labeled “Bomarc,” combining the names Boeing and MARC." from the Boeing page.

[@thetreblerebel]

I absolutely love the Delta Dart fighter, America's only pure built interceptor that was effective. If it had modern avionics,and design it'd be an Air Defense Beast! But, fighters have to be versatile in it's roles

[@georgesheffield1580]

What would the f 106 been like with canard.

[@jonniez62]

Robin Olds said the Falcon was crap, in has book, on the F-4D

[@Rampant_Colt]

Bruce has refuted this in another video (can't remember which one) because the 106 computers were optimized around the Falcon. The F-4 Phantom's computers were not

[@jonniez62]

@@Rampant_Colt if you remember it I would love to see that video. 👍

[@Rampant_Colt]

@@jonniez62 I'll see if I can find it and post the link

[@Rampant_Colt]

@@jonniez62 check out what Bruce says around the 14:00 mark regarding the F-4 and the AIM-4 missile. BTW, I read Robin Olds' book too and enjoyed it very much

[@Rampant_Colt]

@@jonniez62 check out the F-106 vs F-4 Bruce Gordon video. Sorry I can't link it

[@briancavanagh7048]

was the F106 ever considered for offensive fighter escort over North Vietnam? It seems in hindsight would have been a good platform, but alas no gun.

[@Rampant_Colt]

It was determined that the 106 would've fared well against the MiG-21 at higher altitudes, however the AIM-4 missiles were detonate on impact weapons and wouldn't have worked against maneuvering fighters, as the Falcon was designed to blow up slow moving Soviet bombers. Lack of an internal gun was another drawback. The 106 was eventually equipped with a modified M61 Vulcan that replaced the Genie

[@justinsmith1828]

The pic shows an AIR2A GENIE rocket launch not an AIM4G FALCON missile. While the AIM4G is a GUIDED missile with a conventional warhead, the GENIE is an unguided ballistic nuclear tipped rocket.

[@mohawksniper79]

👍🏼🤠🇨🇦