Black Magic Downunder In 1954, the first Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) Sabres entered Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) service. These were a Rolls-Royce Avon powered development of the North American F-86F Sabre and provided significant improvement in capability over both this and more so, the Gloster Meteor, de Havilland Vampire and indeed P-51 Mustangs in service. However, while providing a big improvement in capability, there were still some concerns held withing the RAAF that this would not be enough. The prime concern centred upon the range factor. Australia was a big country and it was felt that the RAAF needed a platform able to operate at far greater ranges than the Sabre. This was especially felt with growing concerns about instability and other developments in Malaya, Indonesia and French Indochina north of Australia. While the French had recently signed a ceasefire that had resulted in the portioning of the country into two zones, communist North Vietnam and pro-Western South Vietnam, there was a concern that this would not be a permanent solution and thus something that could require further western intervention in the future – indeed, as early as 1955,President Eisenhower would deploy US forces to train the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Australia was itself already directly involved in the Malayan Emergency and had been since 1950. This included the deployment of combat aircraft such as AVRO Lincoln bombers in operations. Although there bases in the region such as RAAF Butterworth in Malaysia and RAF Tengah in nearby Singapore, a concern did exist that future instabilities could result in these being in accessible to the Australian Defence Force, thus necessitating an ability to project power from afar.
Options for addressing these concerns would come in a number of forms. First and foremost was the Royal Australian Navy’s (RANs) aircraft carriers – first with the in service HMAS Sydney and soon to enter service HMAS Melbourne. That said, these did have limitations as to the size and composition of their air wings, with the most potent platforms being the Hawker Sea Fury fighters, Fairey Firefly attack aircraft and soon to be acquired de Havilland Sea Venoms, all of which were already a generation behind the RAAF’s new Sabres and indeed many potential opposing land based aircraft foreseen to enter the region. Almost just as great a concern for the RAAF was the fact that these were Navy assets. A RAAF solution independent of the Navy was sought.
Initially, one option considered was to modify the new Sabres with the ability to be refuelled in the air. This option was pushed by CAC and would be based upon a new drogue refuelling system then in development by the US Navy for their new North American FJ-3 Fury fighters (roughly equivalent to the RAAF’s own Sabres). While such a modification was very enticing, it also necessitated the acquisition of tanker aircraft able to perform the refuelling. In 1956 the RAAF did decide to go ahead with this modification for 2 squadrons of Sabres, thus creating the CAC Sabre Mk.32 variant. To refuel these initially 4 RAAF Avro Lincolns were modified into tankers with hose units operating from the former tail turret and additional fuel tanks in the bomb bay. These were an interim measure though and soon they were supplemented by 8 KB-50 tankers acquired from the US and offering more capability.
Despite these developments, many within the RAAF thought this was still an interim solution with many believing a whole new fighter, with longer unrefuelled range was needed. Responding to this desire, and wanting a new platform to keep production lines going in the future, CAC soon proposed a locally produced development of the North American F-100. This would be powered by a Avon RA-19R instead of the J57 and would change the armament to twin 30mm cannon rather than the existing 4 20mm cannon of the existing design. Offering a leap in capability and also capable of aerial refuelling, CAC were certain this offer would be accepted. Also under consideration was a fighter version of the English Electric Lightning then entering service with the RAAF. This was proposed by the Government Aircraft Factory (GAF) management and would be based upon a proposed English Electric development called the P.12. Neither would be chosen though.
Rather, given the perceived need for getting something into service relatively quickly and not wishing to disrupt production underway at either CAC or GAF, the Government announced in late 1957 that 3 squadrons of the new McDonnell F-101C Voodoo would be acquired. These were seen as offering a substantial leap in capability over the Sabres and even the proposed Super Sabre, an impressive range and would be available far quicker than any local production solution. The first aircraft would arrive in early 1959 and equip No.s 5, 7 and 8 squadrons. Originally developed as a “Strategic Fighter” the Voodoo was designed to have a long range right from the start. Equipped with 2 J57 engines it was capable of Mach 1.6 and was armed with 4 20mm cannon (no change was made to 30mm cannon in the interest of speeding up deliveries) as well as 3 AIM-4 missiles or bombs.
Over the coming years, the RAAF’s high-low mix of CAC Sabres and F-101 Voodoos would provide a impressive capability. In 1960 the fleet was expanded with the acquisition of 8 RF-101Cs to provide a highly capable tactical reconnaissance capability. These would serve in No. 4 squadron. In 1965 the Government made the decision to deploy the Voodoos of 5 Squadron to Ubon Air Base in Thailand as part of Australia's SEATO commitments. The Voodoos flew multiple escort missions for allied nations against North Vietnam, but saw no direct combat against North Vietnamese Air Force counterparts. They were withdrawn ~3 years later in 1968.
In 1969, after 10 yrs of service, the RAAF decided to update the Voodoos. The update, which became known as the Australian Voodoo Update (AVU) programs, was undertaken by GAF and involved the replacement of the four 20mm cannon with twin 30mm ADEN cannon thus simplifying the RAAF's logistics through use of common weapon with the Sabres. The additional space freed up was used to house more fuel. Probably a bigger change was the replacement of the AIM-4 Falcon missiles with new missiles. These involved a pair of AIM-9 sidewinders under the fuselage (where the AIM-4s were normally carried) and a pair of AIM-7 Sparrow missiles under the inner wing/air intakes. GAF/RAAF did investigate the replacement of the J57 engines with RR Avons but eventually decided against this. Other improvements involved various avionics systems as well as some reliability improvements.
Finally, in 1976 following 15yrs of stellar service it was announced that the RAAF would retire the Voodoos. Their replacement would be the new McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle then entering service with the USAF. The F-15 being selected to replace both the Voodoo and the CAC Sabres. The first 2 would be acquired from the US while the remaining 88 aircraft would be produced by GAF in Australia. The first of these entered RAAF service in 1979 with the last Voodoo, a RC-101C of 4 Squadron retiring in 1983.
Above early scheme Voodoos
Top: F-101C Voodoo, No. 5 Squadron, RAAF Ubon (Ubon Air Base), Thailand, Jan 1968
The F-101Cs of newly stood-up No. 5 Squadron were dispatch to Ubon AB in 1965 to relieve No. 79 Squadron Sabres. Like the CAC Sabres, the F-101Cs had an all-over silver finish (polished metal in the case of the Voodoos) but this was overpainted in Thailand - finishes applied courtesy of the USAF's 8th Tactical Fighter Wing. A variation on this South-East Asia tactical camouflage later became standard finish for RAAF Voodoos.
A99-082 bears no unit identifiers other than the emblem behind the fin flash on the vertical tail (taken from the No. 5 Squadron crest).
Bottom: F-101C Voodoo, No. 5 Squadron display aircraft, RAAF Base Darwin, August 1975.
'Sinbad III' is a special airshow scheme marking the 30th anniversary of the end of WW2 Boomerang operations in September of 1945. As BF+S, A99-103 commemorated a Boomerang flown by in action by FLt Adrian W.B. Clare of No. 5 Squadron over New Guinea.
No. 5 Squadron is identified by the white 'lightning flash' on the forward fin (for the airshow scheme, white trim has also been added to the intake splitters (a nod to the white ID paint used by the RAAF during WW2). One of the last F-101Cs delivered, A99-103 retained this commemorative scheme until its retirement in mid-1979.
'Sinbad III' has previously been through the F-101C AVU (Australian Voodoo Update) programme. It is fitted with twin 30 mm ADEN cannons but carries no missile armament (with the AIM-9 mounts removed for the airshow season). Unusually, both the inlet-edge and centreline tanks are McDonnell 370 US gallon units (308 Imperial gallons/1,400 litres). In this long-range configuration, the centre tank mounted was usually of the later, Sargent Fletcher type.
Top: An updated F-101C (AVU) of No. 7 Squadron based at RAAF Broome in late November 1974. This aircraft wears the standard SEA camouflage for RAAF Voodoo fighters. The red-orange squadron band reflects the colour of rocks of the Kimberleys. No. 7's 3-toed theropod footprint motif worn on the fin is canted forward on either side.
This aircraft carries the full armament of an operational F-101C (AVU) - twin 30 mm ADEN guns, 2 x AIM-7F Sparrows on the 'cheek' pylons, and a pair of AIM-9G Sidewinder IR missiles on their dedicated, forward-fuselage 'inverted-T' mount. Also note the 600 US gallon (499 Imp gallon/2,270 L) belly tank.
Bottom: RF-101C 'Recce-Voodoo' of No. 4 Squadron from RAAF Broome (based alongside No. 7's fighters). RF-101Cs came finished in all-over ADC Grey (FS16473) as opposed to tactical camouflage. To match the ADC Grey, the RF-101Cs were unique in featuring 'faded' RAAF roundels and fin flashes. This was an early attempt to reduce visibility with 'low-viz' markings and paint.
RAAF RF-101C Voodoos received US DOD admin designation RF-101C-62-MC (although this nomenclature was never used by Australia). All 18 x RAAF RF-101Cs were issued to No. 4 Squadron. As a rule, half of the squadron was deployed at TUDM Butterworth in Malaysia while the other half rotated back to Broome.
