Convair F-102 Delta Dagger

The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was the U.S. Air Force's first operational supersonic interceptor and its first delta-wing fighter. Designed to climb fast and destroy incoming Soviet bombers, it carried its Falcon air-to-air missiles and folding-fin rockets entirely in an internal weapons bay and relied on its onboard radar and the automated SAGE air-defense network for guidance to its targets. Early prototypes could not exceed the speed of sound until Convair reshaped the fuselage according to the "area rule," a breakthrough that let the redesigned aircraft go supersonic.

Powered by a single Pratt & Whitney J57 afterburning turbojet, the "Deuce" entered service in 1956 and equipped Air Defense Command squadrons across the United States and overseas. About 1,000 were built, along with the two-seat TF-102 trainer. The F-102 was a major step toward the dedicated, missile-armed, radar-directed interceptors that defined Cold War continental air defense.