F.I.S. Unit Histories

The first F-106As were delivered on May 30, 1959 to the 539th FIS at McGuire AFB New Jersey. The first operational unit however, was the 498th FIS at Geiger AFB in Washington.  The Delta Dart was not declared fully operational, however until October 31, 1959 due to numerous problems.  The remaining 13 squadrons were re-equipped with the F-106A by the end of 1960.

The F-106 served mainly in the continental United States, in Alaska, Iceland, and in Canada, but it did serve for short spells in Germany and South Korea.  Although the F-106 was briefly deployed to Osan AFB in Korea in February of 1968 to provide air defense during the 'Pueblo' incident, the Delta Dart never saw any combat.

The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle began replacing the Delta Dart beginning in 1972.  As they were removed from Air Force active duty service they were passed on to the Air National Guard (ANG).  The first ANG unit to receive the F-106 was the 186th FIS of the Montana ANG Great Falls MT.  Six ANG units flew the F-106 on Air Defense Command missions.  The last Delta Dart-equipped Air Force squadron, the 119th FIS Atlantic City, New Jersey flew its final alert duty on July 7, 1988.  The ANG units continued to fly the last few Delta Darts for only a few months longer.  The last ANG to relinquish its F-106s was the 119th FIS of the New Jersey ANG, which sent its last plane to AMARC in August of 1988.