McDonnell F-15B Eagle

Last revised February 20, 2000


The F-15B was the two-seat training version of the F-15A. It retained the basic airframe of the F-15A without extensive structural alterations and without any changes in the overall dimensions. Initially designated TF-15A, the F-15Bs differed from the F-15A primarily in having a second seat underneath a larger canopy. In order to accommodate the second seat, the Internal Countermeasure Set (ICS) was removed and the fuel capacity was decreased slightly. The F-15A and F-15B are in other respects completely identical and carry the same armament and have essentially the same performance characteristics.

There were 2 two-seat Eagles included in the initial Category I test batch.

	Serial		First Flight		Role

	71-0290 	July 7, 1973 		First two-seater.  

	71-0291 	October 18, 1973 	Last category I test ship.  

The first TF-15A (71-0290) was slotted between the seventh and eighth aircraft. The designation TF-15A was shortly changed to F-15B. Since then, every seventh F-15 was built in the two-seat configuration.

TF-15A 71-0291 was given a red-white-and-blue Bicentennial color scheme in 1976 and undertook a long round-the-world sales tour. One of the stops was at the Farnborough air show in Britain. In later years, 71-0291 served as the F-15E Strike Eagle demonstrator and was used to test the Eagle's proposed FAST conformal fuel tanks.

Production of an initial batch of 30 F-15A/B fighters was announced on March 1973. The first Eagle to be delivered to an operational USAF unit was TF-15A 73-0108, formally accepted by the 555th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron of the 58th Tactical Training Wing at Luke AFB, Arizona on November 4, 1974 in a ceremony presided over by President Gerald Ford. This wing served as the Replacement Training Unit (RTU) for F-15 operations during the initial phases of the introduction of the Eagle into service. A total of 58 F-15Bs were built.

Serials of F-15B

71-0290		McDonnell Douglas F-15B-3-MC Eagle
				Later modified as part of STOL and Maneuver
				Technology Demonstrator program (Agile Eagle)
71-0291		McDonnell Douglas F-15B-4-MC Eagle
				Used for evaluation of FAST Pack conformal
				fuel tanks and LANTIRN pod.  Also became
				development aircraft for F-15E Strike Eagle
73-108/110		McDonnell Douglas F-15B-7-MC Eagle
73-111/112		McDonnell Douglas F-15B-8-MC Eagle
73-113/114		McDonnell Douglas F-15B-9-MC Eagle
74-137/138		McDonnell Douglas F-15B-10-MC Eagle
74-139/140		McDonnell Douglas F-15B-11-MC Eagle
74-141/142		McDonnell Douglas F-15B-12-MC Eagle
74-143/157		cancelled contract for McDonnell Douglas F-15A/B Eagle
75-080/084		McDonnell Douglas F-15B-13-MC Eagle
75-085/089		McDonnell Douglas F-15B-14-MC Eagle
75-090/124		cancelled contract for McDonnell Douglas F-15A/B Eagle
76-124/129		McDonnell Douglas F-15B-15-MC Eagle
76-130/135		McDonnell Douglas F-15B-16-MC Eagle
76-136/140		McDonnell Douglas F-15B-17-MC Eagle
76-141/142		McDonnell Douglas F-15B-18-MC Eagle
76-1524/1525		McDonnell Douglas F-15B-16-MC Eagle 
				For Israel, Peace Fox II
77-154/156 		McDonnell Douglas F-15B-18-MC Eagle
77-157/162 		McDonnell Douglas F-15B-19-MC Eagle
77-163/168 		McDonnell Douglas F-15B-20-MC Eagle
				0166 used as test vehicle for Integrated
				Flight Control/Firefly III program

Sources:


  1. McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Since 1920, Volume II, Rene J. Francillon, Naval Institute Press, 1990.

  2. Combat Aircraft F-15, Michael J. Gething and Paul Crickmore, Crescent Books, 1992.

  3. The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and Peter Bowers, Orion, 1987.

  4. The World's Great Interceptor Aircraft, Gallery Books, 1989.

  5. F-15 Eagle, Robert F. Dorr, World Airpower Journal, Volume 9, Summer 1992.