 William Tell, symbol of man's freedom, of man's resistance to a tyrant's oppression. The free man's homeland threatened he prepares to defend it. Councils of war assemble. Battle plans are drawn. First line defenses are ready. Command takes hold. Commanding our first line of continental defense is the North American Air Defense Command, NORAD, which combines the aerospace forces of the United States with those of our neighbor, Canada. A key component of this joint military operation is the United States Air Force's Air Defense Command, ADC. ADC contributes more than 70% of NORAD's manpower and weapon support. It maintains defense bastions within and at the outer fringes of North America. The Air Defense mission demands the services of more than 100,000 military and civilian personnel. It is this command, ADC, which controls the USAF fighter interceptor units that form the main line of Air Defense for the North American continent. Hosted by ADC, the United States Air Force's William Tell competition is held every two years at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. It is designed as part of ADC's training to defend our country against enemy attack. William Tell displays the talents of air ground interceptor teams under simulated combat conditions. It evaluates the ability of United States and Canadian air crews to cooperate in maintaining training capabilities at the peak of proficiency. The free man displays the emblems of his country, symbols of the freedom of his native land. Free men are proud of the forces which guard their freedom. The ADC man is proud of his command and of his squadron. It's an honor to be selected for William Tell. From all over the United States come teams to represent their ADC squadron. For the 1965 meet, the Air National Guard representative was a team from Eastover, South Carolina. The United States Air Force in Europe nominates a team from its air defense squadrons to represent, you say. Also at the 1965 meet for the first time was an F-101 team representing our ally, the Royal Canadian Air Force. Typical of the high-caliber team selected for William Tell, are these men from Selfridge Air Force Base in Michigan. They fly the F-106 Delta Dark, one of the mainstays of their defense. Lieutenant Colonel Dunaway is team captain. Captain Hal Klinger flies foot slap and is team weapons officer. And Sergeant Bill Cummings, veteran crew chief, is chief airplane doctor. Colonel Michigan Colonel Dunaway is commander of the 71st Fighter Interceptor Squadron. Daily, he and the pilots join together for reviews of training and emergency procedures. This briefing has been called by Captain Klinger. To keep always combat ready, each pilot tries to fly as many missions a week as he can, often as many as five or six. It's no mean job as being a professional interceptor pilot. Recreation, alone and with his family is part of the military man's life. But for the ADC man, there is no guaranteed holiday. 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, he is on call. He can be summoned to work at any time. But men who actually fly are only a small percentage of the personnel needed to keep our air defenses up. Air police, for example, are charged with the security of sensitive areas. The line chief in charge of crew chiefs is always on call in emergency situations. And then there are the crew chiefs themselves. Very special breed. Any crew chief worth his salt feels his airplane belongs to him. And in a sense it does, for though many pilots fly it, it is upon him that there rests the responsibility for its care. Maintenance men sometimes must tear an airplane completely apart and put it back together again, tending the ills of machines that are often more delicate than people. Trained personnel maintain and issue flying gear. And a flight surgeon, one of the Air Force's flying doctors, is assigned to each squadron to ensure that no pilot goes off in less than perfect physical condition. And there are other areas of support needed to keep our air defenses up. Specialists in refueling, armaments, electronics, not to forget the tower controllers who get flight missions safely off the ground and into the air. These are the kind of men representing their outfits in the William Tell meet. Among the most dedicated men of all are members of the Air National Guard. Busy at civilian jobs on weekdays, willingly these men sacrifice their free time to pull alert duty. Participating in events such as William Tell keeps the Guard checked out and ready for active duty when and if needed. Throughout history, the quality of weapons has made the difference between winning and losing battles. Keep fighting tools on hand at the peak of effectiveness, but never let up on the search for newer, better weapons. This is the constant challenge, and the need for weapons superiority grows more critical day by day. In the supersonic nuclear era, for the defenders, there may be no second chance. Defenders experiencing simulated but realistic combat operations during William Tell are century series supersonic interceptors of proven capabilities. With its crew of pilot and radar observer, the McDonnell F-101 Voodoo can attain speeds up to 1,200 miles per hour. But all the pilot of this aircraft has to do is take it up, fire the weapons and bring it down. For the Voodoo is equipped with data land, a system that directs the aircrew from takeoff all the way to a radar lock on of the target. For the kill, it is armed with Hughes Falcon air-to-air missiles and the Douglas Genie nuclear rockets. Impressive in both appearance and performance is the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger. Lying in any kind of weather, it attains speeds up to 850 miles per hour at altitudes of 50,000 feet. It too is armed with the death-dealing Falcon. Firepower loaded on the F-106 Delta Dart includes an advanced model of the Falcon missile and the Genie rocket. Product of Convair, this Delta Wing jet interceptor is equipped with data link for automatic control. Capable of speeds up to 1,500 miles per hour. The Delta Dart is the fastest, highest flying, most advanced all-weather interceptor in the air defense inventory. The F-104 Starfighter entering the 1965 competition after an absence of several years is produced by Lucky. Note the odd configuration of this supersonic interceptor. The stubby razor-sharp wings cause it to be dubbed the missile with a man in it. For armament, it carries the sight winder air-to-air heat-seeking rocket and the destructive 20-millimeter Gatling cannon. Yesterday and today, a nation's defense forces must keep alert, ready to counter an invader's approach. That is what military training is all about. Setting up and maintaining defense capable of repelling enemy attack. Principal enemy during William Tell meets is the Ryan Firebee. This drone intruder sets up a realistic target for defending interceptors. It's much, much smaller in size than any potential enemy aircraft. The Firebee target carries electronic equipment which enlarges its radar return. To the interceptor, the target appears of a size comparable to that of a potential enemy bomber. The target drone's flight is guided from the Tyndall control site. From launch to recovery, the controller leaves it in its climb to altitude, keeps it on course, and sets its cruising speed. Sensitive radar tracks the drone and pinpoints position information during flight. The Firebee can log about an hour's flight time. Making their initial appearances during the 1965 competition were two new quarries. This two-engine bomber equipped with electronic countermeasures to foil air defense radars simulated sneak attacks. Coming in unannounced during the meet from the Gulf of Mexico, it attempted to reach a predetermined target in the United States while avoiding detection. Its crew resorted to every known air tactic to evade the defending interceptors, thus inserting a man-to-man element in the contest. This enemy intruder is the new supersonic tow target, only 8 inches in diameter and 12 feet long. It's pulled along by the voodoo at speeds of up to 1,000 miles per hour. To safeguard the tow plane, a stainless steel line plays it out for a distance of several miles. The 1965 competition also introduced a new Doppler radar system for scoring the results of air-to-air Falcon-type missiles. Scoring the genie rocket missions was the target monitoring system called MAPS. UHF transmitters installed in rockets, targets, and interceptors relayed scoring data to equipment in the computer control center for final tabulation. In days of yore, the meet was joined and armor-clad antagonists met face-to-face. The atmosphere around those waiting their turns was filled with tension. And in the waiting areas at William Tell, tension reaches a peak. The men are on edge, when they know only the approximate times their targets will be in the air. Far removed from the alert area at Tyndall is the Montgomery, Alabama, SAID site. Stationed here are personnel who control their team's intercept operations. Judges, weapons directors, and intercept technicians are poised and ready. While the judges observe and score, the weapons director searches his scope, anticipating the appearance of the intruder. When the intercept controller makes positive identification of the target, the pilots are scrambled. As in actual battle, time is of the essence and is a major factor in the scoring. The defender maintains contact with the SAID center and at the right moment the pilot brings his scope into position. After checking his instruments, he takes a quick look around, then gets further instructions on positioning for the attack. The pilot locks his sights on the target, which is now high in the air and still climbing. At SAID's control, the intercept director punches the track number into the computer. When the interceptor is automatically paired with the intruder, the problem belongs to the computer. The geometry of attack is piped directly into the cockpit. The pilot goes over his instruments. The SAID controller guides the interceptor, which begins to close in. Still concentrating on his target, the pilot checks his speed and goes supersonic. The special weapon system is tested, armed, unlocked. Last minute scope adjustments are made. The interceptor moves in for the kill. And so it goes. The competition keen, the pace hectic. In 1965, F-101s, 102s, and 106s, each flew four missions. Two on the FireB, one on the supersonic tow target, and one on the B-57. The other aircraft participating, the F-104 Starfighter, was scored on the basis of two Sidewinder missions against supersonic tow targets and two missions firing the 20mm Gatling cannon at the slower, dark. These aircraft do not fire at the FireB draw. Proficiency and speed in weapon loading for each mission played a major role in determining the winners. William Tell scoring is not based on direct hits which destroy costly intruder equipment. As a mission is completed, ground control skillfully guides the drone to a predetermined pickup area where a helicopter is waiting to recover it for reuse. The result? Great savings in time and money. Some FireBs have survived as many as 15 missions. In fact, William Tell scoring is attuned to the use of today's high-powered nuclear warheads. Exploding these powerful arms within prescribed range of a target destroys either a single aircraft or an entire squadron. As the meet progressed and scores were tabulated, interest mounted at the scoreboard. By the third day, the Fighter Interceptor Squadron from Wortsmouth Air Force Base, Michigan had built up a lead in the F-101 category, but no team could have it all their own way very long in this competition, and soon the 62nd from K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base, also in Michigan, was breeding down their necks. First blood of the meet was drawn by Captain Vic Lucas in an F-102 Delta Dagger. On opening day, he blasted the drone right out of the sky. But by the fourth day, his Interceptor Squadron from Camp New Amsterdam, the Netherlands, was trailing both the 64th and the 326th Squadrons by a thousand points. The F-102 category went right down to the wire. As teams awaited their turns, they kept up to date on scores via closed circuit TV, which piped the word into every lounge and trailer. On the line, ground crews had done all they could. Preparation may have gone on into the night, but once airborne, the beautifully tuned machines were on their own. Crews now only waited. By the fifth day, Colonel Dunaway's Self-Reach team was one mission down on the squadron from Minot, North Dakota. Already, the 106 category lead had changed hands four times. Now, the Minot boys were on top, but more switching was ahead. The sixth day, and torrential downpours. Unexpected realism was added when ADC men and equipment proved themselves ready-enabled to destroy enemy intruders in any weather. Supersonic aircraft splashed down the runways, and the meet went on. F-102s didn't even pause in their chase of the leader in their category, which had already completed all of its action, and now only awaited returns on the others. Among the F-104 starfighters, it was Texas against Florida, and the Texans were starting to pull away. But, sidewinders would fly, and gabbling cannons buzzed before this contest was over. Just one day left. On October 7th, the meet was so tight that of the five category leaders, only two had managed to hang on to their first-place positions and take the winners' trophy. Among the voodoo's, the Canadians gave it a valiant effort, but some bad luck had given them a slow start, and they were never able to regain lost ground and catch up with the leaders. In the 102 category, the Netherlanders were leading, but three other teams were still within striking distance. A starfighter team from Webb Air Force Base, Texas, now had the 104 category nearly in its pocket, but it was the 106s that provided the real storybook ending. Late on the 7th day, the Minot team flew its last mission, racked up the 1175 points, and surged into first place. The 71st, the only team close enough to catch them, had one last shot, a morning mission against the supersonic tow target. On the 8th of October, the last day of the meet, the crew chiefs were out before dawn for a last look at already perfectly prepared equipment. Then, the scramble. Colonel Dunaway took the lead. This slim cylinder towed along at nearly the speed of sound as the margin between victory and defeat. One shot only. To the victors, belong the spoils, as true today as in days of old. And by tradition, William Tell Winners received handsome trophies along with the plaudits of the crowd. The crowd that this day enjoys as well an ADC open house. Acknowledgement of their efforts brings a measure of satisfaction to individual competitors and to the squadrons they represent. But to the air defense command, William Tell means infinitely more than picking a winner. It is the protection of this festive crowd itself that is the real concern. As long as man values his freedom, as long as he cherishes his independence, there will be William Tell. Men ready to stand up and fight when their way of life is done. In World Wars I and II, American men risked their lives in the skies of three continents in a vast ocean. In Korea, they stepped forward again, commanding new jet equipment. But nothing really changes. Though horse and lance are gone, today's supersonic aircraft are flown by brave men who fight because they must. And the armorers of battles past are supplanted by today's highly trained specialists. It is in the spirit of the William Tell of all that we display the capability and readiness of our fighter interceptor units against any type of enemy attack. And it is also in that spirit that they take their placements as part of the deterrent posture of our country in defense of the free world. Thank you.