McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle
Not long after the F-4C Phantom II entered USAF service in the early 1960s, the service issued a requirement for a heavy, all-missile equipped interceptor with variable-sweep wings and a top speed of nearly Mach 3. This requirement was soon cancelled, however, due to two events: the Vietnam War and the flight of the Soviet MiG-25 Foxbat. Over North Vietnam, the heavy, all-missile F-4 had found itself at a disadvantage against smaller, lighter, gun-equipped MiG-17s, while the new Foxbat was erroneously thought to be a generation ahead of anything then in American service, both agile and capable of Mach 3 performance.
The USAF changed its requirement to a lighter aircraft that would include an internal gun, with an emphasis on performance; it rejected a Grumman proposal for a land-based version of the F-14 Tomcat as being too heavy. The new F-X proposal did away with maintenance-intensive swing wings in favor of a more conventional, easier to repair and produce fighter with a high thrust-to-weight ratio and superb performance in the vertical, once more drawing on the Vietnam experience, where North Vietnamese fighters had performed poorly in vertical maneuvers. Almost as much emphasis was given to the F-X’s radar, which had to have look-down, shoot-down capability—another failure of American technology over Vietnam. McDonnell Douglas’ twin-tailed proposal won the F-X competition, despite being roughly the same weight as a F-4E Phantom II, and more expensive; demands for lighter and less expensive fighters as an alternative to this new YF-15 Eagle led to the development of the F-16 Fighting Falcon and F/A-18 Hornet.
The first F-15 flew in July 1972 and immediately exhibited superb flight characteristics: for its size, which was slightly larger than a F-4, it was very agile. The combination of powerful turbofan engines and thrust-to-weight ratio made the F-15 one of the first fighters to be able to accelerate in a climb, rather than lose speed. Like the F-4, it used a mix of conformal-fuselage mounted AIM-7 Sparrows and wing rail-mounted AIM-9 Sidewinders, but unlike the F-4, the F-15 was built from the start with an internal 20mm gatling cannon. From a fighter pilot’s standpoint, the best part of the F-15, aside from its phenomenal performance, was the bubbletop canopy, set forward from the wide fuselage, giving superb all-around visibility.
The cost of the F-15 was brought into question, especially after the defection of a MiG-25 pilot in 1975 revealed that the Foxbat was nowhere near as capable as originally thought, but this only led the USAF to go with a mix of the F-15 and the less expensive F-16, which would prove to be superb “stablemates” in the decades to come. F-15As entered USAF service in 1976. Almost immediately, the F-15A was supplemented and supplanted by the F-15C, which introduced improved avionics, engines, and radar; F-15As underwent the Multi-Stage Improvement Program (MSIP) beginning in 1983, which rendered them basically identical to F-15Cs, and the two types are indistinguishable externally. The F-15 was also developed into the F-15E Strike Eagle attack aircraft, described separately.
Though the F-15 was costly, the F-14 Tomcat was even more expensive, and so Israel chose the Eagle as the replacement for the Mirage III in 1978. Not long after the first Israel F-15As became operational, the Eagle scored its first kills over Syrian MiG-21s in 1979. This was to begin the F-15’s excellent combat record: during the 1982 Lebanon War, Israeli F-15s added 40 more kills over MiG-21s, MiG-23 Floggers, and MiG-25s; Saudi Arabia, which had received F-15s in 1981, added two Iranian F-4Es in 1984.
The F-15’s shining moment was during the First Gulf War with Iraq in 1991. Eagles had been among the first aircraft deployed to the Gulf region in what was, at the time, the longest deployment ever undertaken by fighters—a grueling 14-hour flight from Langely AFB, Virginia, to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, soon after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990. The Eagle fleet, which included Saudi F-15Cs, was added to during Operation Desert Shield; when Desert Storm was unleashed in January 1991, F-15s were in the vanguard, their target the Iraqi Air Force. Over the next six weeks, F-15s achieved air supremacy over Iraq, scoring 34 kills over mostly MiG-23s and MiG-29s, while the Saudis added two Mirage F.1s to the total. Four Yugoslavian MiG-29s fell to F-15 missiles in 1999, bringing the F-15’s tally to 105 kills to date during its career: in return, no F-15s have been lost in aerial combat.
The F-15 Eagle remains the backbone of the USAF’s fighter community, despite suffering from a shortage of parts in the late 1990s and increasing age. F-15s have been updated to carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9X, while Israeli F-15s carry a mix of the AMRAAM and the deadly Python IV helmet-guided missile. The F-22 Raptor was meant to wholly replace the F-15, but the cancellation of further F-22 production in 2010 has, as of this writing, left a gap between F-22s in service and F-15s needing to be replaced. As a result, the F-15C may remain in service as late as 2025, with about 70 being updated as “Legacy Eagles”—these aircraft are receiving the same AESA advanced radar as the F-22. Boeing (which absorbed McDonnell Douglas) has also offered an advanced variant of the F-15, the so-called “Silent Eagle” that incorporates features of the F-22 into the F-15E airframe, which is still in production. F-15s also continue to serve with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Japan. Though getting aged by fighter standards, F-15s will be around for a long time to come.
79-0022 would become a famous F-15. Delivered to the USAF's 36th Tactical Fighter Wing at Bitburg in 1979, it flew with the 36th throughout most of the remaining years of the Cold War before being transferred to the 32nd TFS at Sosterberg, Netherlands sometime in the late 1980s. It was still with the 32nd when the squadron was deployed to Incirlik, Turkey as part of the buildup for Operation Desert Storm.
On January 28, 1991, Captain Donald Watrous was flying 79-0022 when two Iraqi MiG-23s made a run for Iran; Watrous was out of position, and the MiGs had a head start for the border. He could not catch up even at full speed, so he dropped his external tanks--a terrible idea at that speed! Both tanks dropped off the wings, then were caught in the slipstream. They were sent back up into the wings, puncturing one wing and tearing three feet off the wingtip of the other. Watrous had no idea the damage had occurred, and closed the distance. He then fired three AIM-7 Sparrows, none of which guided. With the MiG-23 at the Iranian border, he fired his fourth, which hit; the wreckage actually fell within Iran. Watrous returned to Incirlik, where he discovered the damage to his aircraft. 79-0022 was now a MiG killer, but the damage was such that it did not fly for the rest of the war.
79-0022 did return to the 32nd TFS, and when that squadron was deactivated with the end of the Cold War, it was reassigned to the 173rd Fighter Wing (Oregon ANG) at Klamath Falls. After 9/11, it received a "Let's Roll" badge. Retired in 2010, it was placed on display at AMARG's "Celebrity Row" as a MiG killer, where it would remain for seven years, awaiting its fate.
In 2017, General Bill "Tunes" Looney learned that 79-0022 was still in the Arizona desert, looking for a home. He was able to secure the aircraft for the Pueblo Weisbrod Museum, and it was trucked from Davis-Monthan to Pueblo a year later. It was completely restored to the way it looked when Looney flew the aircraft with the 36th TFW at Bitburg, and was dedicated later in 2018.
Pueblo Weisbrod has really come on strong with its restorations, and 79-0022 shows their work. It is camouflaged in "Mod Eagle"--slightly darker than the earlier Compass Ghost scheme--and configured with four AIM-9L Sidewinders, four AIM-7M Sparrows, and three external tanks (this would have been the same configuration Watrous was flying with in 1991). With intake covers and remove before flight tags on the missiles, 79-0022 looks the same as it would've on alert at Bitburg during the 1980s.
McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle
Not long after the F-4C Phantom II entered USAF service in the early 1960s, the service issued a requirement for a heavy, all-missile equipped interceptor with variable-sweep wings and a top speed of nearly Mach 3. This requirement was soon cancelled, however, due to two events: the Vietnam War and the flight of the Soviet MiG-25 Foxbat. Over North Vietnam, the heavy, all-missile F-4 had found itself at a disadvantage against smaller, lighter, gun-equipped MiG-17s, while the new Foxbat was erroneously thought to be a generation ahead of anything then in American service, both agile and capable of Mach 3 performance.
The USAF changed its requirement to a lighter aircraft that would include an internal gun, with an emphasis on performance; it rejected a Grumman proposal for a land-based version of the F-14 Tomcat as being too heavy. The new F-X proposal did away with maintenance-intensive swing wings in favor of a more conventional, easier to repair and produce fighter with a high thrust-to-weight ratio and superb performance in the vertical, once more drawing on the Vietnam experience, where North Vietnamese fighters had performed poorly in vertical maneuvers. Almost as much emphasis was given to the F-X’s radar, which had to have look-down, shoot-down capability—another failure of American technology over Vietnam. McDonnell Douglas’ twin-tailed proposal won the F-X competition, despite being roughly the same weight as a F-4E Phantom II, and more expensive; demands for lighter and less expensive fighters as an alternative to this new YF-15 Eagle led to the development of the F-16 Fighting Falcon and F/A-18 Hornet.
The first F-15 flew in July 1972 and immediately exhibited superb flight characteristics: for its size, which was slightly larger than a F-4, it was very agile. The combination of powerful turbofan engines and thrust-to-weight ratio made the F-15 one of the first fighters to be able to accelerate in a climb, rather than lose speed. Like the F-4, it used a mix of conformal-fuselage mounted AIM-7 Sparrows and wing rail-mounted AIM-9 Sidewinders, but unlike the F-4, the F-15 was built from the start with an internal 20mm gatling cannon. From a fighter pilot’s standpoint, the best part of the F-15, aside from its phenomenal performance, was the bubbletop canopy, set forward from the wide fuselage, giving superb all-around visibility.
The cost of the F-15 was brought into question, especially after the defection of a MiG-25 pilot in 1975 revealed that the Foxbat was nowhere near as capable as originally thought, but this only led the USAF to go with a mix of the F-15 and the less expensive F-16, which would prove to be superb “stablemates” in the decades to come. F-15As entered USAF service in 1976. Almost immediately, the F-15A was supplemented and supplanted by the F-15C, which introduced improved avionics, engines, and radar; F-15As underwent the Multi-Stage Improvement Program (MSIP) beginning in 1983, which rendered them basically identical to F-15Cs, and the two types are indistinguishable externally. The F-15 was also developed into the F-15E Strike Eagle attack aircraft, described separately.
Though the F-15 was costly, the F-14 Tomcat was even more expensive, and so Israel chose the Eagle as the replacement for the Mirage III in 1978. Not long after the first Israel F-15As became operational, the Eagle scored its first kills over Syrian MiG-21s in 1979. This was to begin the F-15’s excellent combat record: during the 1982 Lebanon War, Israeli F-15s added 40 more kills over MiG-21s, MiG-23 Floggers, and MiG-25s; Saudi Arabia, which had received F-15s in 1981, added two Iranian F-4Es in 1984.
The F-15’s shining moment was during the First Gulf War with Iraq in 1991. Eagles had been among the first aircraft deployed to the Gulf region in what was, at the time, the longest deployment ever undertaken by fighters—a grueling 14-hour flight from Langely AFB, Virginia, to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, soon after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990. The Eagle fleet, which included Saudi F-15Cs, was added to during Operation Desert Shield; when Desert Storm was unleashed in January 1991, F-15s were in the vanguard, their target the Iraqi Air Force. Over the next six weeks, F-15s achieved air supremacy over Iraq, scoring 34 kills over mostly MiG-23s and MiG-29s, while the Saudis added two Mirage F.1s to the total. Four Yugoslavian MiG-29s fell to F-15 missiles in 1999, bringing the F-15’s tally to 105 kills to date during its career: in return, no F-15s have been lost in aerial combat.
The F-15 Eagle remains the backbone of the USAF’s fighter community, despite suffering from a shortage of parts in the late 1990s and increasing age. F-15s have been updated to carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9X, while Israeli F-15s carry a mix of the AMRAAM and the deadly Python IV helmet-guided missile. The F-22 Raptor was meant to wholly replace the F-15, but the cancellation of further F-22 production in 2010 has, as of this writing, left a gap between F-22s in service and F-15s needing to be replaced. As a result, the F-15C may remain in service as late as 2025, with about 70 being updated as “Legacy Eagles”—these aircraft are receiving the same AESA advanced radar as the F-22. Boeing (which absorbed McDonnell Douglas) has also offered an advanced variant of the F-15, the so-called “Silent Eagle” that incorporates features of the F-22 into the F-15E airframe, which is still in production. F-15s also continue to serve with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Japan. Though getting aged by fighter standards, F-15s will be around for a long time to come.
79-0022 would become a famous F-15. Delivered to the USAF's 36th Tactical Fighter Wing at Bitburg in 1979, it flew with the 36th throughout most of the remaining years of the Cold War before being transferred to the 32nd TFS at Sosterberg, Netherlands sometime in the late 1980s. It was still with the 32nd when the squadron was deployed to Incirlik, Turkey as part of the buildup for Operation Desert Storm.
On January 28, 1991, Captain Donald Watrous was flying 79-0022 when two Iraqi MiG-23s made a run for Iran; Watrous was out of position, and the MiGs had a head start for the border. He could not catch up even at full speed, so he dropped his external tanks--a terrible idea at that speed! Both tanks dropped off the wings, then were caught in the slipstream. They were sent back up into the wings, puncturing one wing and tearing three feet off the wingtip of the other. Watrous had no idea the damage had occurred, and closed the distance. He then fired three AIM-7 Sparrows, none of which guided. With the MiG-23 at the Iranian border, he fired his fourth, which hit; the wreckage actually fell within Iran. Watrous returned to Incirlik, where he discovered the damage to his aircraft. 79-0022 was now a MiG killer, but the damage was such that it did not fly for the rest of the war.
79-0022 did return to the 32nd TFS, and when that squadron was deactivated with the end of the Cold War, it was reassigned to the 173rd Fighter Wing (Oregon ANG) at Klamath Falls. After 9/11, it received a "Let's Roll" badge. Retired in 2010, it was placed on display at AMARG's "Celebrity Row" as a MiG killer, where it would remain for seven years, awaiting its fate.
In 2017, General Bill "Tunes" Looney learned that 79-0022 was still in the Arizona desert, looking for a home. He was able to secure the aircraft for the Pueblo Weisbrod Museum, and it was trucked from Davis-Monthan to Pueblo a year later. It was completely restored to the way it looked when Looney flew the aircraft with the 36th TFW at Bitburg, and was dedicated later in 2018.
Pueblo Weisbrod has really come on strong with its restorations, and 79-0022 shows their work. It is camouflaged in "Mod Eagle"--slightly darker than the earlier Compass Ghost scheme--and configured with four AIM-9L Sidewinders, four AIM-7M Sparrows, and three external tanks (this would have been the same configuration Watrous was flying with in 1991). With intake covers and remove before flight tags on the missiles, 79-0022 looks the same as it would've on alert at Bitburg during the 1980s.