What engine did the F-111 have?
The F-111B’s swing-wing, TF-30 engine, and AWG-9 radar became the basis of the Navy F-14 interceptor. The F-111 exceeded twice the speed of sound (Mach 2) by sweeping its wings rearward while in flight. The wings were swept forward for takeoffs, landings or slow speed flight. Following the F-111s’ retirement, 13 of the surviving aircraft (12 F-111Cs and a single F-111G) were preserved in aviation museums and RAAF air bases. The remaining aircraft were buried at the Swanbank landfill site outside of Ipswich, Queensland, between 21 and 23 November 2011.The F-111 suffered problems during initial development, largely related to the engines. A multirole carrier-based fighter/long-range interception variant intended for the United States Navy, the F-111B, was canceled before production.The operational career of the F-111 came to an end on Dec. RAAF Amberley, near Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, as a crew in an F-111C (serial number A8-125) of the Royal Australian Air Force touched down for the aircraft’s last landing.On 17 January 1991, a USAF EF-111 crew of Captain James Denton and Captain Brent Brandon achieved an unofficial kill against an Iraqi Dassault Mirage F1, which they managed to maneuver into the ground, making it the only member of the F-111/FB-111/EF-111 family to achieve an aerial victory over another aircraft.
What made the F-111 so special?
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) also ordered the type and began operating F-111Cs in 1973. The F-111 pioneered several technologies for production aircraft, including variable-sweep wings, afterburning turbofan engines, and automated terrain-following radar for low-level, high-speed flight. The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force decided to keep the classic F-111 Aardvark all the way until 2010, yet the US Air Force retired the aircraft in the 1990s, a nearly 20-year disparity which raises questions about the long-term value and viability of the Vietnam-era plane.Designed in parallel with the F-111 Aardvark, which was adopted by the Air Force as a strike aircraft, the F-111B suffered development issues and changing Navy requirements for an aircraft with maneuverability for dogfighting.In Australian military and aviation circles, the F-111 Aardvark was affectionately known as the Pig, due to its long snout and terrain-following ability. The F-111Cs gave the RAAF a powerful strike capability but were never used in combat.
How many F-111 are left?
Following the F-111s’ retirement, 13 of the surviving aircraft (12 F-111Cs and a single F-111G) were preserved in aviation museums and RAAF air bases. The F-111A and its crews performed brilliantly and with great success during Operations Linebacker and Linebacker II. They struck heavily-defended enemy airfields and SAM sites. Between October 1972 and March 1973, F-111A crews flew over 4,000 combat sorties but lost only six aircraft in combat.The 1969 in-flight failure of an F-111 wing due to the presence of a rogue manufacturing flaw precipitated the adoption of the damage tolerance aircraft design philosophy by the United States Air Force.