Saab F-112 Dragon

In 1955 the US Air force was looking for a solution to the disappointing performance of the Convair F-102 Delta Dart. The top speed of this design fell far short of the expectations despite having more than enough thrust and Convair appeared unable to solve the problem. The USAF decided to look abroad for a solution and bought 644 examples of the Saab Draken which was just entering flight testing that year.

The type received the USAF designation F-112 and was named Dragon, a direct translation of the Swedish Draken. The Dragon remained in US service until the late 60s when it was replaced by the Convair F-106, who had finally solved the problems with the F-102.  

In real life there were six Drakens in the USA, flying for the National Test Pilot School.

Kit: 1/72 Hasegawa