Colors & Markings of the F-106 Delta Dart

The Convair F-106 Delta Dart has been known by several titles, including “The Ultimate Interceptor” and “The World’s Fastest Single-Engine Jet Aircraft.”  It arrived on the scene at an incredible point in military aviation history when advances in aircraft design and engine technology were coming together to field a new generation of combat aircraft with performance capabilities that were almost impossible to imagine just a few years earlier.  The SIX was the last of the true Century Series fighters to be produced and fielded by the United States Air Force.  

Colors & Markings of the F-106 Delta Dart provides a historical perspective on the paint schemes and colorful markings used on this fascinating aircraft, the only Century Series fighter that operated throughout its career in the same functional and highly visible paint scheme.  No operational F-106 with the U. S. Air Force or Air National Guard ever featured a bare metal finish nor was one ever painted in a multi-hued camouflage scheme, making it truly unique.  The coverage begins by providing a study of the standard paint scheme applied to the SIX: an overall gray scheme using FS 16473, Aircraft Gray, which would also come to be referred to as ADC Gray, as well as the standard informational markings applied to the aircraft.  

The next chapter takes a general look at the squadron markings applied to the Delta Dart.  Air Defense Command (ADC) encouraged colorful unit markings for the most part, though there was a two-year period when low color restrictions were in place.  Fighter-interceptor squadrons took great pride in their heritage and their aircraft, and they created markings that distinctly identified their units at a glance.  The general markings guidelines published by ADC are discussed, and examples of standards directed by higher-headquarters are also covered.  

The F-106 was flown by twenty-one active-duty and six Air National Guard (ANG) squadrons, beginning in 1959 with the active squadrons and ending in 1988 with the Guard units.  The active-duty units are covered in the next chapter in the order in which they transitioned to the SIX, with photo galleries following short unit histories.  These galleries document the markings applied to each unit’s aircraft and illustrate how they evolved during the years each squadron flew the SIX.  Fourteen “original” F-106 squadrons in ADC took possession of the new interceptor in 1959 and 1960.  However, many of these units were later redesignated due to reorganizations or force structure changes, and these redesignations and the resulting markings are documented fully before the next original squadron is taken up.

The six ANG squadrons, each of which had their own unique squadron liveries, are covered in the next chapter.  As with the active-duty units, these are covered with brief squadron histories followed by photo galleries that document the evolution of each unit’s markings while flying the SIX.  The F-106 squadrons assigned to the Montana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Michigan, California, and Florida Air National Guard are all featured in the order in which they received the aircraft.

A final chapter follows these operational units and covers the miscellaneous organizations that flew the F-106 for various purposes.  These included training, test, and support operators, as well as NASA and the final SIXES expended as aerial targets under the QF-106 Pacer Six Drone Program.

Colors & Markings of the F-106 Delta Dart is the most complete and comprehensive book ever published about the markings used on this incredible aircraft, with 350 high-resolution photographs, illustrations, and aircraft profiles, all in full color.