Developed from the XF-88 interceptor, the F-101 was originally conceived as a long- range escort fighter for Strategic Air Command B-36s but went on to a lengthy career as an interceptor and the Air Force's first supersonic reconnaissance aircraft. After entering service in 1957, the F-101 was used in a number of speed and point-to-point record runs. On November 27, 1957, four RF-101A pilots took off from March AFB, Calif., as part of Operation Sun-Run. Refueled in flight, two of the crews landed at McGuire AFB, N. J., and two turned around and landed back at March. Lt. Gustav Klatt set an eastbound coast-to-coast record of three hours, seven minutes, 43 seconds, while Capt. Robert Sweet set a westbound coast-to-coast record (3:36:33) and a Los Angeles–New York–Los Angeles record (6:46:36). On December 12, 1957, Maj. Adrian Drew, flying an F-101A at Edwards AFB, Calif., set a new absolute speed record of 1,207.34 mph. The last record-breaking flight of this rush of records came on April 15, 1959, when Capt. George A. Edwards set a 500-km closed-course record of 816.28 mph, also at Edwards. The Voodoo picked up the nickname "One-Oh-Wonder." The F/RF-101 series achieved a record for the lowest first-year accident rate of any Air Force fighter in history to that point. F/RF-101 production ran until 1961. RF-101 crews flew their first missions in Vietnam in 1961 as part of Operation Pipe Stem and the later Operation Able Mable. Pilots from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Shaw AFB, S. C., flew the RF- 101's first operational low-level missions on October 23, 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. RF-101 crews provided a majority of tactical reconnaissance in Southeast Asia until 1965, then shared duties with RF-4 crews. Most of the RF-101s ended up with the Air National Guard, and a number of F-101 interceptors were later converted to RF- 101G/Hs. Roughly 70 surplus Voodoos were transferred to the Royal Canadian and Nationalist Chinese Air Forces. The last Air Force F-101 and the last Guard RF-101 were both retired in 1982.
| Contractors: | McDonnell Aircraft Co. |
| Locations Built: | St. Louis, Mo. |
| Number Built: (USAF) | 807 (807) |
| First Flight: | September 29, 1954 |
| First Flight Model: | F-101A |
| First Flight Location: | Edwards AFB, Calif. |
| First Flight Pilot: | Robert Little |
| Models/Variants: | F-101A, B, C, F. RF-101A, B, C, G, H. TF-101B, F |
| Powerplant: | Two Pratt & Whitney J57-P-53 or -55 turbojets of 16,900 lb of thrust each in afterburner. |
| Wingspan: | 39 ft 8 in. |
| Length: | 71 ft 1 in (incl pitot boom) |
| Height: | 18 ft 0 in. |
| Weight: | 52,400 lb gross |
| Armament: | Two AIR-2A Genie rockets in an internal bay and two AIM-4 Falcon missiles under the fuselage |
| Accommodation: | Two (pilot and radar intercept officer in tandem) |
| Cost: | $1.82 million |
| Max. Speed: | 1,134 mph |
| Range: | 1,550 mi. |
| Ceiling: | 52,100 ft. |
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