Through the 1970s, air shows in the Northwest U.S. and across the border in British Columbia could count on a roaring, rousing opener performed by four McDonnell F-101 Voodoo interceptors or their Canadian CF-101 counterparts.
The F-101 Voodoo was an elegantly massive twin-engine jet fighter that served with units arrayed to challenge potential trans-polar or trans-oceanic attacks by bomber formations.
Capable of flight faster than 1,100 mph, even the subsonic afterburner-boosted pass of an F-101 at an air show was a sensory thrill to behold.
In trail from the left, four Voodoos approached, lighting their afterburners at midfield and rocketing away in a sensational climb. There always seemed to be a split-second delay in the boom from the second afterburner as the twin-engine F-101s reacted to the introduction of unburned fuel to each J57 turbojet’s exhaust, giving the afterburner light-off a characteristic and dramatic buh-boom!
The effect was a chest-thumper when performed by standard Voodoos painted in the overall American gray or Canadian aluminum color of the era.
What could make it even better?
In 1977 the folks at Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) 409 Squadron in Comox, British Columbia, figured an impending official ceremony was just cause to create a commemorative paint job on one of their routine CF-101s.
Gone was the utility aluminum silver paint. Gone was the almost understated red-and-white lightning bolt flash that coursed forward on most CAF aircraft for years.
In place of these institutional colors was a robin’s egg blue nose, on which the challenging head and beak of a fierce blackhawk blended into a glossy black aft fuselage.
The jet chosen for this treatment carried Canadian Forces serial number 101012. Emblazoned with Hawk One Canada lettering, the blackhawk Voodoo stood out in a formation of its dulled silver companions.
After its panache as a commemoratively painted warplane, the first Hawk One Canada Voodoo slipped out of the limelight. The detailed Canadian militaria website Walker Military Insights says Voodoo 101012 became an instructional airframe in September 1987, often the last role before salvage. In December 1993, this CF-101 was struck off as a Canadian Air Force asset.
But earlier, in 1984, 409 Squadron had another brief and bright flirtation with the colorful Hawk One Canada paint scheme, applying the colors to CF-101 number 101057 during the 60th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
Distinguishable from its older sibling, Voodoo 101057 added blue horizontal bands to the rudder. This Hawk One made its final flight on July 10, 1984.
Canada was embarking on the era of the CF-18 Hornet, and the final Hawk One Canada Voodoo was preserved on a concrete pedestal at Canadian Forces Base Comox where it had served.
Long gone are the days of Voodoo air show fly-bys. But it is not difficult to stand near a displayed Voodoo, or leaf through grainy old 35-millimeter negatives, and conjure that rapid double-boom afterburner light-off.
This was a good read! My Father(Don Middleton) was with the 409’s,in the 70’s when we were in CFB Comox. Those are some nice photos. Thanks 🙂
You are welcome! I had a lot of fun scanning the old photos for this. Good memories from the Abbotsford Air Show.
🙂
I still enjoy going past the 1 01 B at Abbotsford, Airport. I had an old friend ex USN through them and I always took him past it when he was visiting. Great memories thanks for this article.
You’re welcome!
Fred; Thank you for this TBT (Throw Back Tuesday). I was a pilot on the Voodoo at that time in Comox; in fact I am flying the #2 position (right wing) in the Nighthawk formation with Capt. ‘Swede’ Hallstrom in the back seat. Lead was Maj. Dave Koski with Maj. Russ Hellberg in the back seat, #3 was Capt. Kent Smerdon and Capt. Tom Watt riding shotgun and #4, flying the Hawk One bird was Maj. Ron Coleman with backseater Capt. Charlie Gladders. We flew airshows at Cold Lake, Abbotsford and at Colorado Springs (NORAD Headquarters). The Nighthawk bird turned heads wherever it went. In the air, the ducks-egg blue merged with the sky so that it really did look like a huge hawk from a distance.
Jim, So good to hear from a CF-101 pilot with details about the crews who flew the air shows of that era. Thanks!
I remember well, the F-101s on alert at Loring in ’79 when flying the T-37 with the ACE detachment. Then back in ’83 flying B-52Gs and seeing the F-106 on alert. The 3rd and final tour at Loring culminating with flying the last B-52G off the runway, F-15s were the NORAD alert bird. Always like hearing the afterburners in all three interceptors.
Thanks for your message. Yes, I’m sure the alert fighters made their presence known at Loring AFB. I always thought the B-52G was an elegant variant of the line. I had an opportunity as a young writer to participate in a 10-hour B-52G mission out of Fairchild AFB. I may dust off my notes and film and make a new article about that one of these days.