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General Dynamics F-111E Aardvark
Beginning in the early 1960s, the USAF was looking for a replacement for the F-105 Thunderchief. While the F-105 was a suitable aircraft, it needed longer runways that would be vulnerable in wartime and was not as long-ranged as the USAF would have liked. At the same time, the U.S. Navy noticed that Soviet antiship missiles were becoming more advanced and longer-ranged, which would put their current fleet defense aircraft, the F-4 Phantom II, at a significant disadvantage.
The Navy was especially interested in the AIM-54 Phoenix, which provided long-range capabilities. Though the two services wanted vastly different aircraft, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered both to seek a standard design to save money and development times, as had been done with the F-4s; McNamara’s orders came over the objections of the USAF and Navy researchers. Nevertheless, the Tactical Fighter Experimental (TFX) project began in 1961.
Almost immediately, the TFX program ran into problems. The Navy wanted side-by-side seating with a maximum speed of Mach 2 and a fuselage length adequate for carrier operations; the USAF wanted tandem seating with a top speed of Mach 2.5 and a longer fuselage for better performance. The only thing the two services could agree on was the need for two engines and variable sweep wings, which would satisfy both services’ need for shorter-distance takeoffs and landings. Only Boeing and General Dynamics’ proposals reached the mockup stage. McNamara personally ordered the General Dynamics design based on its better commonality of parts, despite the service preference for the Boeing version and the fact that General Dynamics had never built a naval fighter before. This new aircraft was designated as the F-111, in theory making it the last of the famous Century Series fighters.
The problems with the F-111s were now compounded. The F-111B carrier defense fighter was inadequate in every way, lacked the performance the Navy wanted, and was too heavy for carrier operations. The F-111B was canceled in 1967—though its AWG-9 fire control system and the Phoenix missile would live on in the F-14 Tomcat. The USAF’s F-111A developed somewhat easier, first flying in December of 1964. Wing cracks and intake issues were addressed, and the F-111A entered USAF service in July of 1967, then deployed to Vietnam under Project Combat Lancer in 1968.
Combat Lancer was a miserable failure: Three of the six F-111As sent to Vietnam were lost in less than a month. The F-111s were grounded and in danger of cancellation until the USAF discovered the problem: the “box” that contained the wing sweep mechanism was flawed, as were the tailplanes, which could lock downwards without warning. The latter was traced to a glitch in the terrain-following computer, but the wing box problems were known by General Dynamics before delivery—and ignored to meet contract requirements. The troubles of the F-111s led to derisive nicknames from its crews, such as the “Supersonic Edsel,” “McNamara’s Folly,” and “Aardvark,” due to its long nose and propensity to stick it into the ground. The latter nickname stuck and became the informal name for the aircraft, though it would not be until 1995 that the USAF officially named it the F-111 Aardvark.
Following personnel changes at General Dynamics and yet more rework to the design, the F-111s returned to Vietnam in September of 1972 with some trepidation. This time, however, the F-111 finally proved itself: operating without tanker or jamming support, F-111s would attack North Vietnamese targets alone, at night and often in bad weather, moving so quickly and so low that North Vietnamese air defenses could not react in time. Though the Aardvark was no fighter, as a strike aircraft, it had few peers. Its terrain-following radar was the best in the world, and it combined high-speed penetration with a reasonable payload.
The USAF began subsequent improvement of the design. The F-111Ds had an even more advanced fire control system, the first USAF aircraft to use a microprocessor computer, and better Triple Plow II intakes, which spared the Aardvark the catastrophic engine failures that plagued the other user of the TF30 engine, the F-14 Tomcat. The F-111D’s computer was beset with trouble, so the USAF then fielded the F-111E/F variants, which had simpler fire controls but better avionics; the F-111F was optimized for precision attack, equipped with the radar of the FB-111 and the AVQ-26 Pave Tack laser designator.
While the early F-111As were converted to EF-111A Raven ECM aircraft and the F-111Ds ended up being retired rather than fixed, the “simple” F-111E/Fs proved superb in USAF service. Australia was the only export customer for the Aardvark, flying F-111Cs from 1973; the United Kingdom canceled its order of F-111Ks in 1968.
In 1986, the F-111s spearheaded Operation Eldorado Canyon, which crippled the regime of Moammar Qaddafi in Libya, while during the First Gulf War of 1991, Aardvarks destroyed oil facilities at Kirkuk, used laser-guided bombs to destroy over 1,500 Iraqi tanks, and completed nearly 80% of all precision attack sorties of the war—ahead of the newer and more advanced F-15E Strike Eagle and Tornado IDS.
This impressive effort was to be the Aardvark’s last. Though it remained in service until 1996, when it was retired from the USAF, it did not participate in any further combat operations. Replaced by the F-15E Strike Eagles, the F-111 left its mark on history and the USAF. A few ex-USAF F-111Gs were passed on to Australia, who continued to operate the Aardvark until it was finally retired in 2010. In all, 563 aircraft were built, and of those, 57 have been preserved in museums.
BuNo 68-0033 was delivered to the USAF in 1970. It spent the first eight years of its career with the 57th Tactical Fighter Weapons Wing at Nellis AFB, Nevada, training F-111 crews and participating in Red Flag exercises. Like the rest of the F-111E fleet, it was sent to the 20th TFW at RAF Upper Heyford in 1980. In the buildup to Operation Desert Storm, 68-0033 was sent to Incirlik, Turkey, and flew 27 combat missions against targets in northern Iraq. It was retired in 1993 and donated to PASM in 1994.
68-0033 is painted as it would've appeared during the Gulf War, in the USAF Southeast Asia camouflage with black undersurfaces for nighttime operations. Its mission markers are carried on the nose.
General Dynamics F-111E Aardvark
Beginning in the early 1960s, the USAF was looking for a replacement for the F-105 Thunderchief. While the F-105 was a suitable aircraft, it needed longer runways that would be vulnerable in wartime and was not as long-ranged as the USAF would have liked. At the same time, the U.S. Navy noticed that Soviet antiship missiles were becoming more advanced and longer-ranged, which would put their current fleet defense aircraft, the F-4 Phantom II, at a significant disadvantage.
The Navy was especially interested in the AIM-54 Phoenix, which provided long-range capabilities. Though the two services wanted vastly different aircraft, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered both to seek a standard design to save money and development times, as had been done with the F-4s; McNamara’s orders came over the objections of the USAF and Navy researchers. Nevertheless, the Tactical Fighter Experimental (TFX) project began in 1961.
Almost immediately, the TFX program ran into problems. The Navy wanted side-by-side seating with a maximum speed of Mach 2 and a fuselage length adequate for carrier operations; the USAF wanted tandem seating with a top speed of Mach 2.5 and a longer fuselage for better performance. The only thing the two services could agree on was the need for two engines and variable sweep wings, which would satisfy both services’ need for shorter-distance takeoffs and landings. Only Boeing and General Dynamics’ proposals reached the mockup stage. McNamara personally ordered the General Dynamics design based on its better commonality of parts, despite the service preference for the Boeing version and the fact that General Dynamics had never built a naval fighter before. This new aircraft was designated as the F-111, in theory making it the last of the famous Century Series fighters.
The problems with the F-111s were now compounded. The F-111B carrier defense fighter was inadequate in every way, lacked the performance the Navy wanted, and was too heavy for carrier operations. The F-111B was canceled in 1967—though its AWG-9 fire control system and the Phoenix missile would live on in the F-14 Tomcat. The USAF’s F-111A developed somewhat easier, first flying in December of 1964. Wing cracks and intake issues were addressed, and the F-111A entered USAF service in July of 1967, then deployed to Vietnam under Project Combat Lancer in 1968.
Combat Lancer was a miserable failure: Three of the six F-111As sent to Vietnam were lost in less than a month. The F-111s were grounded and in danger of cancellation until the USAF discovered the problem: the “box” that contained the wing sweep mechanism was flawed, as were the tailplanes, which could lock downwards without warning. The latter was traced to a glitch in the terrain-following computer, but the wing box problems were known by General Dynamics before delivery—and ignored to meet contract requirements. The troubles of the F-111s led to derisive nicknames from its crews, such as the “Supersonic Edsel,” “McNamara’s Folly,” and “Aardvark,” due to its long nose and propensity to stick it into the ground. The latter nickname stuck and became the informal name for the aircraft, though it would not be until 1995 that the USAF officially named it the F-111 Aardvark.
Following personnel changes at General Dynamics and yet more rework to the design, the F-111s returned to Vietnam in September of 1972 with some trepidation. This time, however, the F-111 finally proved itself: operating without tanker or jamming support, F-111s would attack North Vietnamese targets alone, at night and often in bad weather, moving so quickly and so low that North Vietnamese air defenses could not react in time. Though the Aardvark was no fighter, as a strike aircraft, it had few peers. Its terrain-following radar was the best in the world, and it combined high-speed penetration with a reasonable payload.
The USAF began subsequent improvement of the design. The F-111Ds had an even more advanced fire control system, the first USAF aircraft to use a microprocessor computer, and better Triple Plow II intakes, which spared the Aardvark the catastrophic engine failures that plagued the other user of the TF30 engine, the F-14 Tomcat. The F-111D’s computer was beset with trouble, so the USAF then fielded the F-111E/F variants, which had simpler fire controls but better avionics; the F-111F was optimized for precision attack, equipped with the radar of the FB-111 and the AVQ-26 Pave Tack laser designator.
While the early F-111As were converted to EF-111A Raven ECM aircraft and the F-111Ds ended up being retired rather than fixed, the “simple” F-111E/Fs proved superb in USAF service. Australia was the only export customer for the Aardvark, flying F-111Cs from 1973; the United Kingdom canceled its order of F-111Ks in 1968.
In 1986, the F-111s spearheaded Operation Eldorado Canyon, which crippled the regime of Moammar Qaddafi in Libya, while during the First Gulf War of 1991, Aardvarks destroyed oil facilities at Kirkuk, used laser-guided bombs to destroy over 1,500 Iraqi tanks, and completed nearly 80% of all precision attack sorties of the war—ahead of the newer and more advanced F-15E Strike Eagle and Tornado IDS.
This impressive effort was to be the Aardvark’s last. Though it remained in service until 1996, when it was retired from the USAF, it did not participate in any further combat operations. Replaced by the F-15E Strike Eagles, the F-111 left its mark on history and the USAF. A few ex-USAF F-111Gs were passed on to Australia, who continued to operate the Aardvark until it was finally retired in 2010. In all, 563 aircraft were built, and of those, 57 have been preserved in museums.
BuNo 68-0033 was delivered to the USAF in 1970. It spent the first eight years of its career with the 57th Tactical Fighter Weapons Wing at Nellis AFB, Nevada, training F-111 crews and participating in Red Flag exercises. Like the rest of the F-111E fleet, it was sent to the 20th TFW at RAF Upper Heyford in 1980. In the buildup to Operation Desert Storm, 68-0033 was sent to Incirlik, Turkey, and flew 27 combat missions against targets in northern Iraq. It was retired in 1993 and donated to PASM in 1994.
68-0033 is painted as it would've appeared during the Gulf War, in the USAF Southeast Asia camouflage with black undersurfaces for nighttime operations. Its mission markers are carried on the nose.