Thank You RScott
Some information and history. The F-15 does have a control augmentation system that was designed to reconfigure control response (differential stabilators for example) for controlled flight after airframe damage. Even more specifically as to manufacture, the F-15 was designed and built by the McDonnell Aircraft Company in St. Louis, MO. I don't remember any components being built by Douglas. The two companies merged in 1967 but the heated high end, low end Navy and Air Force competitions that produced the F-14, F-15, F-16 and F-18 (derived from the F-17 developed by Northrop which lost out to the F-16 in the Air Force low end competition) were churning mightily in that period. I went to work there on the F-101 in March of 1958 and saw the very first flight of the F-4 (F4H) which was made at Lambert Field. The first F-15 flight was at Edwards AFB in California. The first use of the use of the battle damage survivability capability that I heard of was in the early 70's when an F-15 from Hill AFB in Utah was reported in our company paper to have hit a hill (ironically) and returned base with a similar but not so severe a wing loss. It must have been a low flight since the wing is at the top of the fuselage. The first F-15 I saw was one of the test aircraft (I believe there were 12 of them) painted "Air Superiority Blue" and "Day Glow Orange" in 1972. I had just transfered from the Electronics part of the company in St. Charles to Building 105 in St. Louis to work on the Harpoon development project. I believe the F-15 is the highest performing airplane MAC ever made but the F-18 seems mighty good as well. I went to work on the F-15 in 1973, shortly after finishing an assignment in Joplin, Missouri for the development, fabrication and test of the large batteries for the Skylab. The F-15 was well into production by that time. McDonnell Aircraft Company was founded on July 6, 1939 by James S. McDonnell and one employee, the secretary. Old Uncle Mac, as he sometimes called himself when he addressed us over the public address system, was an inspired and inspiring leader.
Bob Axsom