A familiar cockpit view of the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger flown by the 199th Fighter Squadron.
On 1 December 1960, the 199th was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 154th Fighter-Interceptor Group was established by the National Guard Bureau. The 199th FIS becoming the group’s flying squadron. Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 154th Headquarters, 154th Material Squadron (Maintenance), 154th Combat Support Squadron, and the 154th USAF Dispensary.
Along with the change to Group status, on 7 December the Hawaiian Air National Guard began receiving Mach-1 F-102 Delta Dagger interceptors eventually 29 F-102s were received. This was in line with the policy of equipping ANG units with one generation of aircraft behind the active-duty Air Defense Command forces. For the next sixteen years, the 154th FIG operated the Delta Daggers establishing an excellent safety record. In December 1961, The new Hawaii Air National Guard (HANG) complex was completed and consisted of 60 acres. The land was originally part of Fort Kamehameha and had been acquired in 1960 by permit from the U.S. Army to the Hawaii ANG.
The 154th flew the Delta Dagger throughout the 1960s, and although the Hawaii ANG was not activated during the Vietnam War, several of its pilots volunteered for combat duty in Southeast Asia. The group was the longest user of the interceptor, being equipped with the F-102 long after most of its Air National Guard counterparts were upgraded to the F-106. (Wikipedia)
