Capable of speeds in excess of 1400 MPH, two Convair F-106A Delta Darts and two subsonic Lockheed T-33 T-Birds of The 49th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, then based at Griffiss AFB, New York, meet in a 1986 training intercept high in the cloudscape above upstate New York. The 49th FIS was proud to have been the last active duty Air Force squadron to fly " The Six ." First flown on December 26, 1956, the F-106 served for three decades as one of America's most important manned interceptors. The 49th FIS's 60453 shown was the third F-106 built and had been flying for thirty years at the time of the painting. The T-33s were developed as jet trainers from the nation's first operational jet fighter, the F-80. T-33s served Air Defense Command squadrons faithfully as target and support aircraft long after their replacement by the T-38 in training command. Both T-33 and F-106 faced retirement at the time of the painting. They served well and are missed by those who flew them.
