Convair F-102 Delta Dagger

The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was an US interceptor aircraft built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s. Entering service in 1956, its main purpose was to intercept invading Soviet bomber fleets.

The aircraft's development was long and troubled, and, by the early 1960s, it was being supplemented by F-101 Voodoos, replaced by F-106 Delta Darts, and, later, by F-4 Phantom IIs. Many of the F-102s were transferred to United States Air National Guard duty by the mid-to-late 1960s, and the plane left service altogether in 1976.