The Pogo (above) stands in its conventional take-off position at Moffat Field, California, pointing its bullet-shape nose skyward before trying to zoom straight up.
(note that the date frame of this article is march 1954)
The F-102 (below) rests as Edawrds Air Force Base in California as the test pilot of the new jet interceptor recieves his last minute instructions from a flight technician.
In building airplanes that can travel nearly twice as fast as sound, designers of military aircraft have reduced wing areas so greatly that some experimental planes need runways miles long to get off the ground. This makes it impossible for them to take off or land on any but a few existing runways.
The new U.S. fighter planes shown here reflect an effort top meet this problem. A revolutionary attempt at solution has produced the Navy's to Pogo planes built by Convair and by Lockheed.
The Pogos were supposed to land as they take off - on their tails, their descent braked by their propellers and the landing cushioned by hydraulic shock absorbers in the tail.
Meanwhile the Air Force was ready to put into production a tested plane, the F-102, an all-weather, day-night interceptor which is slated to ne one of the nation's prime defenders. Built by Convair, the F-102 has a 39-foot delta wing, which sweeps back sharply enough to allow supersonic speeds, yet has enough area to lift the plane into the air within the limits of all military runways. It is pwoered by two J-57 jet engines and after being directed to within range of its target by ground radar, it fires a guided aircraft rocket which travels a half mile a second.
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images and info provided by the LIFE Magazine / LIFE Magazine International / LIFE Magazine Atlantic ARCHIVE from the Zetu Harrys Collection
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