Convair F-106A Delta Dart serial number 56-0459 was the primary aircraft flown during the U.S.A.F.'s World Speed Record operation, Project Firewall. While piloting another F-106, Captain Joe Rogers set a world speed record of 1595.95 miles per hour on December 15, 1959, a record that stands today for a single-engine aircraft. In the 1960s and 1970s, the 318th Fighter Interceptor Squadron was the first F-106 unit to deploy to reinforce Alaskan and Korean airspace, with the 498th Fighter Interceptor Squadron also involved in Alaska. In 1974, the Green Dragons were named the U.S.A.F.'s best interceptor squadron. F-106s flew from McChord with the 318th Fighter Interceptor Squadron from 1960 to 1983 and with the 498th Fighter Interceptor Squadron from 1963 to 1967.