BRIEF

The 76th FIS was assigned to Westover AFB, MA., on 1 February 1961. Early on the local media never failed to mention the big F-102 Delta Daggers flown by the unit had a top speed of only half that of the F-104A they replaced. To this youthful civilian observer/enthusiast, the squadron seemed troubled. Losing a half-dozen
F-102s from bad crashes in the 25 months it was stationed at Westover, surely this was a tough time in the squadron's history. I recall clearly seeing wooden dowels inserted into the 2.75" rocket tubes that were in the armament bay doors. They were crudely snapped off and painted green. Questions to aircrew drew a guarded response and evasive answers. 1 July 1963 was the last day the squadron was operational at the Western Massachusetts base. I have no knowledge of which, if any, Air Defence Wing they operated under.

Interesting to watch, the Deuces often proved an overpowering distraction at school, at least for me. Occasionally there would be a sonic boom, and often the contrails would suddenly thicken into bright white as the aircraft went into afterburner. The unit operated an unknown quantity of chaff-dispensing T-33s, though I never saw one up close. One common landing approach technique was interesting. At 40,000 ft. the pilot banked the aircraft over and pulled the throttle back. The big delta would spiral down steeply for thousands of feet. If timed right, the aircraft seemed to complete the last spiral just as it assumed the aircraft's trademark flare prior to touchdown.

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