Background General Dynamics F-111C




two raaf f-111 aircraft during exercise kangaroo 81


in june 1960, united states air force issued requirement f-105 thunderchief replacement. u.s. navy began program develop new air defence fighter use on large aircraft carriers. on 14 february 1961, newly appointed united states secretary of defense robert mcnamara formally directed services study development of single aircraft satisfy both requirements. tactical fighter experimental (tfx) requirements based largely on air force s needs. request proposals (rfp) tfx provided industry in october 1961. after 4 rounds of proposals, general dynamics (gd) selected on boeing; gd signed tfx contract in december 1962.


the usaf f-111a , navy f-111b variants used same airframe structural components , tf30-p-1 turbofan engines. featured side-by-side crew seating in escape capsule, required navy. because of conflict between air force , navy on requirements had precedence, mcnamara intervened in 1961, declaring air force desires override suggestions navy. f-111a variant first flew on 21 december 1964 carswell afb, texas. followed f-111b, first flew on 18 may 1965.


as f-111 development continued, stall issues arose in parts of flight regime; these addressed modifying engine inlet in 1965–66, ending triple plow , triple plow ii designs. f-111b cancelled navy in 1968 due weight , performance deficiencies. improved f-111e, f-111d, f-111f models subsequently developed usaf. fb-111a strategic bomber , ef-111 electronic warfare versions later developed usaf. production ended in 1976, total of 563 f-111s of variants built, below prediction of 1,500.








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