My role was low-level nuclear strike in the Canadian Starfighter

Yes, Canada had nukes

It may surprise some readers to know that from 1963 to 1984, Canada had nukes. During the Cold War, RCAF pilot Hugh Bacon was tasked with nuclear strike from the cockpit of the sleek CF-104 Starfighter. We caught up with him to find out more.

This is me taking another pilot in the back seat flying in the CF-104D.

Describe the CF-104 in three words
Speed, altitude, sound.

Was anything equipment peculiar to Canadian Starfighters?
We had the Lockheed C2 ejection seat vs the Martin-Baker ejection seat in the '104G.

What was your most memorable experience?
There were many, but one comes to mind. During a test flight of a clean/clean bird at Mach 2 plus at 35000 feet, full burner was putting me beyond Mach 2, so I decided to climb using excess thrust while maintaining Mach 2. The climb rate was around 5000 feet per minute. I levelled at 53, 000 feet and was able to reduce afterburner by one stage while still maintaining Mach 2. OK, time to RTB*!

*return to base

Did you fly DACT - if so, against which types?