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318th FIS

"Dragons"
McChord AFB, Tacoma WA

Aircraft Assignment

70 F-106s were assigned the 318th FIS McChord AFB, Tacoma WA from 21 Mar 60 to 02 Nov 83.

The 318th FIS was activated in May 1947 at Mitchell Field. In December 1947 it was transferred to Hamilton Field where it received its first aircraft, P-61s. In the spring of 1948 the squadron received P-82s and in November 1948 moved to McChord AFB. In the fall of 1950 the squadron transitioned into F-94As. In June 1953 the squadron moved to Thule Air Base, Greenland; under control of the North East Air Command. The squadron came back under ADC in August 1954 when it was moved from Thule to Presque Isle AFB with F89D's. In August 1955 the squadron moved to McChord AFB and transitioned into F-86D's. In March 1957 the squadron began a transition into F-102A's and three years later in March 1960 into F-106A's. The 318th converted to F-15's in 1983.

F-106's pull Alert Duty at Osan AB, Korea during the USS Pueblo seizure by North Korea. As far as I know there were at least Four 106 FIS's involved at Osan, the 318th, 48th, 71st and 95th. 318th FIS Osan AB Korea 1968

580776, 1776 Centennial Bird

570243, Fairchild AFB WA, Armed Forces Day Open House, May, 1982

318th FIS Detachment 1, Castle AFB, Atwater CA, 1982-1984

McChord Flightline photo submitted (not taken) by Jason Denny

Afterburner Blowout... A Near Disaster, Gary H. Price, MSgt, USAF (Ret) and Timothy Shannon, CMSgt, USAF (Ret)

During a evening takeoff this aircraft had an exit guide vane break off, which lodged in the AB spray bars redirecting the AB flame thru the side of the AB and the jet. The tower alerted the pilot who aborted the takeoff and dropped the arresting hook. The hook caught the cable and stopped the aircraft. Additional damage was suffered by the nose wheel & strut.

Mid-air with an A-7 over Dugway Proving Grounds, UT.
Info provided by Bill Hall.

"No star" tails weren't painted after returning from depot before F-15 conversion

Cover of the base educational center's bulletin and recovered from the mess hall in the "Castle"

F-106A 59-0144 Crash 112th St Apartments, 29 May 1978 (Gary H. Price MSgt Ret collection)

This F-106A crashed on takeoff on 29 May 1978 [Tacoma News Tribune, 30 May 1978] into a pond that was located in the middle of an apartment complex . The engine stayed together fairly well which aided in identifying the depot as responsible for the crash. The engine failure and crash was do to a main engine bearing installed wrong. The aircraft had previous flown an FCF flight and was leaving for Tyndall AFB and William Tell Meet. Pilot ejected safely and no people on the ground were injured [Capt Miller's heroic flying saved no less than 300 people who lived at the complex]. More about the 112th St Apts Crash by Robert Livingston: The 318th FIS F-106 that crashed in the pond in the middle of an apartment complex, was piloted by Air Force Academy graduate Captain Bruce Miller. He was enroute to Tyndall AFB when his engine disintegrated on take off, and he was attempting to maneuver the stricken aircraft to an open field just east of McChord AFB. He stayed with the aircraft as long as he could control it, and ejected only seconds before it pancaked into the pond. Capt Miller landed in the middle of 112th street, only about 150 to 200 feet from where the aircraft impacted. Amazingly no one was injured, nor was any property destroyed other than a few alder trees and a pond. Bruce finished his flying career with the Oregon ANG, and is alive and well in Portland, Or. YouTube slide show by "topgun660" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjilK6QJBU0

(Kim O'Haver collection) Taken at McChord AFB in Washington. The black & white photos were shot in either 1964 or 1965. The color shot was from a commercial pamphlet made available to airmen at the time. Kimbrough O'Haver / http://www.pipeline.com/~kohaver

Speed Record
The Published story: Aircraft 56-0459 set, and still holds, the Single Engine Speed Record at 40,000 feet.

The first photo above is a copy of a painting of 0459 done by Richard Bloom in 1984 flying over Mt Saint Hellens, WA. It's signed in the lower left corner by Joe Rogers, the pilot who flew and set that speed record. It was painted at the request of one of our 318th pilots... I think his name was Capt McGuire, or maybe Mcintire. I can't remember for sure. If you see this sir, please let me know. There were 350 copies made, some went to members of the 318th FIS, and the rest to the Smithsonian for selling. This copy... my copy (thanks captain) is copy number 80. The B&W photo beside it is Maj Joe Rogers.

The Real Story: I received this e-mail from Mr Harlin on 19 Jan 1999. Thanks Mark!
Dear Pat:

Your F-106 coverage is fantastic. I have never flown, but always loved the F-106. I am also privileged to visit frequently with Col. Joe Rogers, who set the still standing single engine speed record.

There is an interesting historical matter that I was for a long time a believer in, and others in a different way. Until a year or so ago there were two F-106s that were credited with setting that speed record, 459 which we still have an affection for, and another somewhere back East. This came to Joe's attention somehow, and he set the record straight by pointing out that he set the speed record in 56-0467, which was unfortunately destroyed years later at EDW when the brakes caught fire.

Interesting aspects of the story are that 459 was to be used for the flight, but the intake ramps weren't working properly the day before, so the switch was made to 467. The switch may have been the source of the mistake in history, or maybe Joe's affiliation with that (wonderful) painting of 459 was more the cause of some misunderstanding. I'll ask him what he thinks of all this.

Have you seen the magazine Wings of Fame? The most recent issue (#12) has an excellent article on the Dart by Bob Dorr. See http://www.wingsoffame.com if you're interested.

If Mr Dorr is correct and the last Dart (59-0130) flew to Davis Monthan on May 1 last year, I was a witness to the last flight. I can report that the airplane in flight commanded attention and was beautiful beyond compare to the end. Someone put an F-16 on it's wing so that this would be clear to all.

Best wishes. thanks for sharing your F-106 experiences.

Mark D. Harlin

(Don Ward collection, Feb 2002) Two photo's of Don Ward and Lt Brown in the alert barns at McChord AFB winter 67-68. Taken when 318th FIS was TDY to Osan AB Korea. Don Ward was exempt from the deployment because he had only been in the US a short time. Also here is a newspaper clip of Maj Peterson's crash and death.