In 1955, McDonnell was awarded a contract for a two-seat, missile-armed, all-weather bomber interceptor Voodoo. The prototype F-101B flew in March 1957 and, after exhaustive trials, initial deliveries to USAF Air Defense Command began in January 1959. Although the basic configuration remained the same, the aircraft could be identified by a long pitot head on the nose of a conical radome housing the radar, and a single 'clamshell' canopy covering a cockpit for the pilot and a weapons system operator in tandem. It was heavierthan earlier variants, and the undercarriage had been strengthened, but it was powered by more powerful Pratt WhitneyJ57-P-53 engines, making it the fastest of the Voodoo family. A Hughes MG-13 fire control system governed the delivery of the MB-1 Genie air-to-air missile and two Falcon heat-seeking or semi-active radar homing missiles, all housed in an internal weapons bay below the nose, while the cockpit layout was a pilot's delight in its relative simplicity.
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