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1994-09-26
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The General Dynamics F-111 began flight test in 1964, when Defense De-
partment Secretary Robert McNamara conceived the idea that the Air Force
and the Navy could both use a tactical fighter-bomber. By time the prototype
made its debut, the two services had grown so far apart that the aircraft was
not able to meet the requirements of both. In 1968, the Navy dropped out of
the project, and the Air Force ordered 141 F-111As. These were followed by
296 F-111D, E, and F aircraft, all with improved systems.
The two-seat strategic bomber derivative of the F-111, the FB-111, was first
flown on July 30, 1967. The FB-111 was given longer-span wings and a
strengthened undercarriage. Seventy six of the aircraft were built for the
Strategic Air Command.
When the FB-111s entered combat in Southeast Asia in 1967, many struc-
tual defects were found. There were also problems with the then, experi-
mental terrain-following radar. The F-111 was withdrawn and re-introduced
in 1972. It was a changed aircraft and came in so fast and so low that the
Viet Cong called the FB-111 "whispering death" because the first sounds
that could be heard from the aircraft were exploding bombs. Having proved
itself in the last year of the United States involvement in Vietnam, the FB-
111 went on to become the airplane of choice for the Tactical Air Command
unit. The FB-111 gradually earned the respect of its aircrew and won the
nickname "Aardvark".
Described as the "workhorse" of the Persian Gulf War, the Aardvark flew
over 4,000 sorties against armored formations, bridges, aircraft shelters,
and weapons production facilities, achieving a mission capable rate of
eighty-five percent. With a Mach 2 speed, the Aardvark is faster than other
American bombers, and when combined with a range exceeding that of
American fighters, makes it a unique and valuable airplane. Its bomber-like
cock-pit features side-by-side seating for the pilot and weapons systems
operator. The FB-111 can carry a 16-ton nuclear or conventional bomb or
13 tons of bombs and four short range attack missiles carried on pylons
located beneath the wings. The wings can be changed in flight from nearly
straight for a slow level cruise to a delta configuration for high-speed flight.
In addition to its nuclear and conventional bombing capability, the FB-111
can carry up to twelve parachute-retarded rocket-boosted, runway attack
bombs for low-altitude high-speed delivery, and Gator, the United States
Air Force's first air-delivered mine system.