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(O-) ‘56-1027’  is

seen here just after

landing  at Soester-

berg  A.B.  on  Thu.,

April 25, 1969.

View from underneath the F-102.

Note the smoke-trail, left  by  it’s

powerful Pratt & Whitney

J-57 P-23/25 engine.  Note there

are no droptanks underneath the

wings.                                     

On the left, F-102A (O-) 56-1130

with opened bay-doors.

The “Delta Dagger” could carry

six  -air to air-  GAR-1D ‘Falcon’  missiles  in it’s bayroom.

In total almost nine hundred “Delta Daggers” were built, from which more than sixty were TF-102’s (more than one hundred were ordered).

The “Delta Dagger” was actually called “Deuce” by it’s crew.

The last two “T-Birds” of 32nd. F.I.S. (70539 and 70544) left Soesterberg A.B. for good on September 8, 1967.

Because the  32nd Fighter Interceptor Squadron  was to receive new aircraft again by the end of 1969, the name was changed once more in

32nd Tactical Fighter Squadron on July 1st of that year. On Thursday, July 3, 1969 at 13.15 hours, the last F-102A “Delta Dagger” O-61032,

took off from Soesterberg A.B. for good. Now the Base waited for a brandnew jet-fighter: the F-4E “Phantom II”.

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Clearly visible in this picture, is the  ‘wasp-waist’ of the F-102:

the Coca Cola bottle shaped fuselage, which enabled the plane

to go through the sound-barrier.

When   the  speed-

brake  flaps  of the

F-102 opened, the

drag- chute   could

come out.

F-4E “Phantom II” of the 32nd T.F.S.  on it’s way to the runway, in the early morning of a nice Summer’s

day in 1970. We didn’t see often an F-4E without external fueltanks, so it seemingly went up for a rather

short mission.                                                                                                   Soesterberg, Wednesday August 12, 1970.

On August 6, 1969 the first F-4E’s were delivered at the flightline of Camp New Amsterdam. They were flown over from Robins A.F. Base

via Torrejon in Spain. The F-4E was the latest “Phantom”-version in the U.S. Air Force.   Underneath it’s lengthened nose, there was room

for a rotating 20 mm. ‘Vulcan’ cannon, which fired at a speed of 3600 shots a minute.

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By the end of that year, the total strength had gone up to 19 machines. In 1970 the

machines received a tail-code (CR) and an orange tailfin-tip.

On the left we’re looking at the taxi

track to the West, that was  leading

towards  the  American Base Camp.

The picture  was  taken on June 13, 2010, a year and a half after the clo

sure of S’berg A.B. on December 31,

2008.

It’s a pity, the  track  navigation-

lights  and  the G.C.A. Centre and

so on, already had been removed

by then...

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Soesterberg, April 30 1968.                                        Photo: D. Heinen, coll. C. Vermolen.