The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was a US interceptor aircraft built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s. Entering service in 1956, its main purpose was to intercept invading Soviet bomber fleets.

The F-102 was the first operational supersonic interceptor and delta-wing fighter of the USAF. It used an internal weapons bay to carry both guided missiles and rockets. As originally designed, it could not achieve Mach 1 supersonic flight until redesigned with area ruling. The F-102 replaced subsonic types such as the F-89 Scorpion, and by the 1960s, it saw limited service in Vietnam in bomber escort and ground attack roles. It was supplemented by F-101 Voodoos and, later, by F-4 Phantom IIs. Many of the F-102s were transferred to United States Air National Guard duty by the mid-to-late 1960s, and the type was retired from operational service in 1976. The follow-on replacement was the Mach 2 class F-106 Delta Dart which was an extensive redesign of the F-102.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale rendition of a Convair F-102A Delta Dagger interceptor that was attached to the 57th Fighter Interceptor Squadron "Black Knights", then deployed to Keflavik, Iceland, during1963. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 6-1/4-inches
Length: 11-1/4-inches

Release Date: February 2012

Historical Account: "The Black Knights of Keflavik" - The 57th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, also known as "The Black Knights of Keflavik", is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The 57 FIS was last stationed at Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland. It was inactivated on March 1st, 1995.

The 57th was reactivated as an active squadron at Presque Isle AFB, Maine, on March 20th, 1953 under Air Defense Command and designated the 57th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. It was equipped with Northrop F-89C Scorpion interceptor, and assigned to the 528th Air Defense Group. It maintained a 24 hour alert at Presque Isle.

On November 12th, 1954, the 57th FIS was moved to Keflavik Airport, Iceland, replacing the 82d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron which was temporarily assigned from Larson AFB, Washington. At Keflavik, ADC was a tenant unit under the Military Air Transport Service Iceland Air Defense Force (IADF).

The mission of the 57th FIS at Keflavik was a interceptor squadron charged with the monitoring of the Greenland, Iceland, United Kingdom (GIUK gap) in the North Atlantic that formed a naval warfare choke point during the Cold War. The 57th would respond alerts from ADC Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning stations established on Iceland; the GCI stations guiding its interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the radar scopes. Over 1,000 intercepts of Soviet aircraft took place inside Iceland's Military Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).