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In
the early 1960's the Air Force was looking for a tactical
fighter-bomber and the Navy a new air-defense fighter.
Secretary of Defense McNamara combined the two requirements in one
set of specifications. Eventually, the Navy bowed out going
with the F-14 Tomcat instead.
The first flight of the F-111A was in 1964
with production aircraft entering service in 1967. This
swing-wing aircraft was capable of exceeding Mach 2. It's
typical mission was low-level penetration to bomb tactical targets.
Over 560 were built for the U.S. Air Force, Royal
Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force. The F-111 was
unofficially nicknamed the "Aardvark". |
