The 318th vs. 498th Compass Rose “Northstar” Tail Flash Saga [by Ernie White (Updated by Pat McGee)]
There has been a lot of talk over the years about the 318th FIS Compass Rose aka Northstar tail flash and whether it was ever also on 498th jets after moving to McChord. Initially many believed that during the time the 498th was co-located with the 318th FIS at McChord they had no tail flash. As such, any F-106 found with either an early version or later version of the 318th style tail flash, was in fact a 318th jet. This does not seem to be the case. During the transition from Geiger Field to McChord AFB, the 498th swapped out their "1957" model F-106 jets with the 456th FIS, gaining a majority of "1959" models. This was accomplished to ensure the 325th FW, the host wing at McChord AFB, had a more common fleet to assist in maintenance, training, and etc. After things "settled" down following the move, the fleet was, once again, (slightly) reshuffled with the 318th and 498th, swapping tails [aircraft] between the squadrons with a majority of the ex 456 FIS fleet being assigned to the 498 FIS. With this transition, some of the jets with the 318th Compass Rose tail flash ended up serving with the 498th, and some of the "new" Sixes served with the 318th. I would consider the tail flash one that was approved for both F-106 units as a Wing tail flash, although haven't seen the design used for the 325th’s T-33's. During this time, the 325 FW ‘shield’ was applied to the left side of the aircraft (replacing the 318ths Green Dragon emblem on their jets). I would consider this another indication that the Compass Rose was truly a Wing tail flash during this era. From what I understand, no squadron insignias were applied to any McChord jets, except for the Sixes from the 318th that participated in William Tell. They were the only F-106's that wore squadron emblems during that period.
-
*Osan Korea 1968 318 FIS
34 photos
-
560464 Crash
1964 Capt Huss
51 photos
-
590144 Crash
1978 Capt Miller
14 photos
-
Patch 318th Patch
- 3114 visits
, Rating: 4.30
-
560457 590110
- 3612 visits
, Rating: 4.30
-
Gene Johnson T-33
- 2048 visits
-
580776 Centennial Bird
- 3526 visits
, Rating: 4.30
-
Gene Johnson T-33
- 2125 visits
, Rating: 4.30
-
Patch 318th Patch Centential
- 2810 visits
-
Patch 318th Patch Sub Det 1
- 2890 visits
-
Patch 318th Patch T-33 Sub
- 2660 visits
-
Patch 318th Patch Sub
- 2612 visits
-
560457 590110
- 2498 visits
, Rating: 4.30
-
580776 Centennial Bird
- 3410 visits
, Rating: 3.89
-
Flight Line of 318th Sixes
- 2279 visits
, Rating: 4.30
-
580776 Centennial Bird
- 3291 visits
-
560457 580776 590058 590108 590110
- 3117 visits
, Rating: 4.51
-
560457 580776 590058 590108 590110
- 2814 visits
, Rating: 4.30
-
Engine Shop 318th FIS
- 1543 visits
-
J75 Turbojet Engine
- 2607 visits
-
J75 Turbojet Engine
- 2629 visits
-
J75 Turbojet Engine
- 2614 visits
-
J75 Turbojet Engine and Crate
- 2006 visits
-
5-Ship Formation Mt Rainer
- 2396 visits
-
J75 Turbojet Engine
- 2697 visits
-
J75 Turbojet Engine
- 3005 visits
, Rating: 2.63
-
5-Ship Formation Mt Rainer
- 2314 visits
-
Over Mt Rainier
- 1964 visits
-
590004 WT74 Demo
- 3315 visits
-
J75 Turbojet Engine
- 3234 visits
, Rating: 2.63
-
590004 WT74 Demo
- 2950 visits
-
590004 WT74 Demo
- 2870 visits
-
590004 WT74 Demo
- 3178 visits
-
590004 WT74 Demo
- 2835 visits
-
590004 WT74 Demo
- 4433 visits
-
590004 WT74 Demo
- 3382 visits
-
560457
- 2425 visits
-
560459
- 2739 visits
-
560459 Painting
- 2337 visits
-
570243 Openhouse '82
- 2522 visits
-
Flight Line
- 2093 visits
-
590058
- 2054 visits
-
560466 590141 590057
- 2279 visits
-
580776 Centenial Bird
- 2869 visits
-
580776 Centennial Bird
- 3142 visits
, Rating: 1.86
-
590059
- 2475 visits
-
580767
- 2299 visits
-
590058
- 2208 visits
-
590058 AB Blow-Out 1977
- 3436 visits
-
590058 AB Blow-Out 1977
- 3384 visits
-
Det-1 318th FIS Castle AFB
- 2087 visits
-
Det-1 318th FIS Castle AFB
- 2644 visits
-
318 Det 1 Castle AFB Alert Close-Out 580783
- 3345 visits
-
590054 Mid-Air No-Nose
- 6432 visits
-
590054 Mid-Air No-Nose
- 6722 visits
-
590143 318th No-star
- 2036 visits
-
590152 318th No-star Tail
- 2465 visits
-
590144 Crash 1978
- 3738 visits
-
590144 Crash 1978
- 2971 visits
-
590144 Crash 1978
- 3507 visits
-
590144 Crash 1978
- 2940 visits
-
590144 Crash 1978
- 2977 visits
-
590144 Crash 1978
- 3326 visits
-
Bulletin Cover
- 2284 visits
-
590059 by Don Ward
- 2864 visits
-
Maj Peterson's Crash by Don Ward
- 1859 visits
-
590059 by Don Ward
- 2263 visits
-
560464 Takeoff (1)
- 2691 visits
-
560464 Takeoff (3)
- 2481 visits
-
560464 Takeoff (2)
- 2573 visits
-
560464 Takeoff (4)
- 2355 visits
-
560464 Takeoff (5)
- 2285 visits
-
590054
- 2434 visits
-
560464 Takeoff (0)
- 2056 visits
-
560457
- 3194 visits
-
590057
- 2536 visits
-
Osan AB 318 FIS 1968
- 7249 visits
-
Osan AB 318 FIS 1968
- 7295 visits
-
Osan AB 318 FIS 1968
- 7448 visits
-
Osan AB 318 FIS 1968
- 8991 visits
-
Osan AB 318 FIS 1968
- 7053 visits
-
Osan AB 318 FIS 1968
- 7083 visits
-
560457 Load Team (2)
- 5193 visits