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What would become arguably the most successful fighter aircraft since World War II started modestly, and like many late 20th-Century fighter designs, as a result of lessons learned in the Vietnam War. Among those lessons was that large, heavy fighters were not always the answer: the F-4 Phantom II, while a superlative aircraft, had often found itself outclassed by smaller, more nimble North Vietnamese MiG-17s and MiG-21s.
The call for the US Air Force to develop its own lightweight fighter was spearheaded by fighter pilot and air combat theorist John Boyd. At first, Boyd’s proposals were dismissed by the USAF, who feared losing funding for the F-15 Eagle then in development. Boyd and others were able to convince the USAF of the usefulness of a light, cheap fighter as a complement to the heavy, expensive F-15, and finally the USAF agreed to issue a requirement for a Lightweight Fighter (LWF)—though with no guarantee that it would actually buy it.
Both General Dynamics and Northrop responded with designs, which would become the YF-16 and YF-17 Cobra. The first YF-16 was rolled out in December 1973, and first flew in January of the next year—accidentally, as the prototype veered off the runway and the test pilot felt it safer to takeoff rather than try to steer it back. The YF-16 won the flyoff against the YF-17, and the USAF selected it to go into service as the F-16 Fighting Falcon. (The name was disliked by its pilots, who preferred, and still prefer, the nickname Viper—based on the F-16’s shape, its competitor, and the popularity of the science fiction show Battlestar Galactica at the time.)
Simutaneously, the YF-16 won a flyoff for the Multinational Fighter; the MNF was planned to be the successor to a number of aircraft in NATO service, and the competition between the YF-16, YF-17, France’s Mirage F.1M, and the SEPECAT Jaguar was fierce. Once selected, production of the F-16 would be vastly expanded, with it not only being produced in the United States, but also in the Netherlands and Belgium as well (to be followed later by Turkey and South Korea). In a short time, the F-16 had come a long way.
Production F-16s differed from the prototype by being slightly larger and heavier, though the initial production batch retained the “small tail” tailplanes of the prototype. Though heftier than the prototype, the F-16 retained the basis of Boyd’s ideal lightweight fighter: it was extremely maneuverable, to the point that a number of early F-16s crashed as the aircraft could take more than the pilot. Its maneuverability is due both to a favorable thrust-weight ratio and its deliberately unstable design: the F-16 was one of the first fighters to employ a wholly-fly-by-wire control system, with the hydraulic controls of older fighters being replaced by microprocessors controlled by a central computer. The microprocessors are able to make the dozens of decisions per second required by the design. For this reason, the F-16 is also known as the “Electric Jet.” General Dynamics had attempted to mitigate these effects on the pilot by reclining the ejection seat backwards and moving the control stick to the side. The pilot also has superb visibility due to the F-16’s bubble canopy.
The Fighting Falcon’s baptism of fire would not take long. Israel, which had been among the first to purchase the F-16, scored the type’s first air-to-air kill over Lebanon in 1981, as well as its first significant strike mission, the raid on Iraq’s Osirak reactor. In the following year, Israeli F-16s scored possibly as many as 30 victories over Syrian MiGs during the 1982 Lebanon War. Pakistani F-16s were to see limited action during the Soviet-Afghan War, shooting down 10 Afghani and Soviet aircraft that strayed into Pakistan’s airspace. For the United States, the F-16 would see its first action in the First Gulf War, though here the USAF used the Falcon’s large payload in strike missions; USAF F-16s saw no aerial action during this conflict. By the early 1990s, the USAF relegated its F-16A models to the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, reequipping its units with later mark F-16Cs. Many of the ANG’s F-16As were upgraded to ADF standard. The last USAF F-16A left service around 2000; aircraft not placed in storage at AMARC in Arizona have been sold to other nations, while some are scheduled for conversion to QF-16 drones.
F-16As are among the most prolific fighters in the world, in service worldwide, flown by ten nations, three of which are in NATO. These aircraft (save those flown by Venezuela) have been significantly upgraded to F-16 MLU (Mid-Life Upgrade) standard, making them equivalent to F-16Cs. Besides Israeli and Pakistani kills in the type, a Dutch F-16AM shot down a Serbian MiG-29 during the Kosovo War in 1999. Other NATO F-16AMs have seen service over Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. These older models of F-16s will remain in service until probably 2020 at least, to be replaced by the F-35A Lightning II.
This aircraft is in the colors of the 50th TFW based at Hahn AB in the 1980s, before its inactivation in 1991. This is an upgraded Block 15 F-16A, as it is equipped with AIM-120 AMRAAMs as well as AIM-9L Sidewinders and two external fuel tanks, in the air superiority role.
Piction ID: 83794842 Programmable warhead detonation--Please tag these photos so information can be recorded.---Note: This material may be protected by Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.)--Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
What would become arguably the most successful fighter aircraft since World War II started modestly, and like many late 20th-Century fighter designs, as a result of lessons learned in the Vietnam War. Among those lessons was that large, heavy fighters were not always the answer: the F-4 Phantom II, while a superlative aircraft, had often found itself outclassed by smaller, more nimble North Vietnamese MiG-17s and MiG-21s. The call for the US Air Force to develop its own lightweight fighter was spearheaded by fighter pilot and air combat theorist John Boyd. At first, Boyd’s proposals were dismissed by the USAF, who feared losing funding for the F-15 Eagle then in development. Boyd and others were able to convince the USAF of the usefulness of a light, cheap fighter as a complement to the heavy, expensive F-15, and finally the USAF agreed to issue a requirement for a Lightweight Fighter (LWF)—though with no guarantee that it would actually buy it.
Both General Dynamics and Northrop responded with designs, which would become the YF-16 and YF-17 Cobra. The first YF-16 was rolled out in December 1973, and first flew in January of the next year—accidentally, as the prototype veered off the runway and the test pilot felt it safer to takeoff rather than try to steer it back. The YF-16 won the flyoff against the YF-17, and the USAF selected it to go into service as the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Simultaneously, the YF-16 won a flyoff for the Multinational Fighter; the MNF was planned to be the successor to a number of aircraft in NATO service, and the competition between the YF-16, YF-17, France’s Mirage F.1M, and the SEPECAT Jaguar was fierce. Once selected, production of the F-16 would be vastly expanded, with it not only being produced in the United States, but also in the Netherlands and Belgium as well (to be followed later by Turkey and South Korea). In a short time, the F-16 had come a long way.
Production F-16s differed from the prototype by being slightly larger and heavier, though the initial production batch retained the “small tail” tailplanes of the prototype. Though heftier than the prototype, the F-16 retained the basis of Boyd’s ideal lightweight fighter: it was extremely maneuverable, to the point that a number of early F-16s crashed as the aircraft could take more than the pilot. Its maneuverability is due both to a favorable thrust-weight ratio and its deliberately unstable design: the F-16 was one of the first fighters to employ a wholly-fly-by-wire control system, with the hydraulic controls of older fighters being replaced by microprocessors controlled by a central computer. The microprocessors are able to make the dozens of decisions per second required by the design. For this reason, the F-16 is also known as the “Electric Jet.” General Dynamics had attempted to mitigate these effects on the pilot by reclining the ejection seat backwards and moving the control stick to the side. The pilot also has superb visibility due to the F-16’s bubble canopy.
The Fighting Falcon’s baptism of fire would not take long. Israel, which had been among the first to purchase the F-16, scored the type’s first air-to-air kill over Lebanon in 1981, as well as its first significant strike mission, the raid on Iraq’s Osirak reactor. In the following year, Israeli F-16s scored possibly as many as 30 victories over Syrian MiGs during the 1982 Lebanon War. Pakistani F-16s were to see limited action during the Soviet-Afghan War, shooting down 10 Afghani and Soviet aircraft that strayed into Pakistan’s airspace. For the United States, the F-16 would see its first action in the First Gulf War, though here the USAF used the Falcon’s large payload in strike missions; USAF F-16s saw no aerial action during this conflict.
By the early 1990s, the USAF relegated its F-16A models to the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, reequipping its units with later mark F-16Cs. Many of the ANG’s F-16As were upgraded to ADF standard. The last USAF F-16A left service around 2000; aircraft not placed in storage at AMARC in Arizona have been sold to other nations, while some are scheduled for conversion to QF-16 drones.
F-16As are among the most prolific fighters in the world, in service worldwide, flown by ten nations, three of which are in NATO. These aircraft (save those flown by Venezuela) have been significantly upgraded to F-16 MLU (Mid-Life Upgrade) standard, making them equivalent to F-16Cs. Besides Israeli and Pakistani kills in the type, a Dutch F-16AM shot down a Serbian MiG-29 during the Kosovo War in 1999. Other NATO F-16AMs have seen service over Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. These older models of F-16s will remain in service until probably 2020 at least, to be replaced by the F-35A Lightning II.
Dad built this early F-16A for his boss in the USAF while we were in then-West Germany during the 1970s. They were good friends, so Dad built this as a surprise for her birthday. He added a lot of detail to the kit, positioning the refueling plug open, the speedbrakes deployed, and the canopy open to see the detail in the cockpit. The camouflage of gunship gray over light gray, with a black nose, seems unusual now, but at the time--1978--this was one scheme that was being considered for the F-16 fleet before the USAF settled on the standard used today. The weapons configuration of two AIM-7 Sparrows and four AIM-9 Sidewinders was also considered for the F-16, but the USAF dropped the requirement, though prototype F-16s were "wired" to fire the Sparrow. (Sparrow capability would be returned to the F-16 with the F-16A(ADF) version.) Dad mounted the whole thing on a mirror, added USAF pilot wings, painted her name on the canopy frame (and his own as the crew chief), and the name "Silver Fox" behind the canopy.
She really liked the model, and to the best of my knowledge still has it. The real 75-0747 was one of the F-16 prototypes, and was later converted to a F-16XL with a cranked-arrow delta wing. It still exists and is on display at the Air Force Flight Center Museum at Edwards AFB, California. It's an old slide and it was exposed to too much light in storage, which accounts for why it has faded.
PictionID:53815302 - Catalog:14_031441 - Title:GD/Astronautics Details: Rosenbaum and Germerad at MOL Mock Up Date: 01/29/1964 - Filename:14_031441.tif - - Images from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection. The processing, cataloging and digitization of these images has been made possible by a generous National Historical Publications and Records grant from the National Archives and Records Administration---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
The FB-111A was intended as an interim aircraft between the B-52 and the Advanced Manned Bomber (which turned out to be the B-1B), and a replacement for the B-58 Hustler. It was something of a Frankenstein's monster, in that it used the airframe of the F-111A, the longer wings of the cancelled F-111B, and the newer Triple Plow II intakes, engines, and avionics suite of the F-111D. This suite was in turn even further upgraded with improved radar, navigation systems (including a primitive GPS), and bomb delivery system that allowed for fully automatic bomb runs even in poor weather. The landing gear was also strengthened to allow for a much higher maximum weight and warload; though the FB-111A could carry even more bombs than the tactical F-111 models, it carried AGM-69 SRAM standoff nuclear missiles in SAC service.
Once the B-1B Lancer was fully mission-capable, the FB-111s were no longer needed by SAC, and in 1989 they were redesignated F-111G and handed over to Tactical Air Command. There they served until sold to the Royal Australian Air Force in 1996 as attrition replacements for the RAAF's F-111K fleet; as such, they were among the last Aardvark variants retired, beginning in 2009.
69-6507 is somewhat rare in that it spent its entire USAF career with a single unit--the 380th Bomb Wing at Plattsburgh AFB, New York. (This was not rare for FB-111s, it should be noted.) As nose art made a return in the 1980s, it got the name "Madame Queen," with the art carried on the right side of the fuselage; the name is repeated on the nose gear door. When the 380th was deactivated in 1988 as the FB-111 force was converted to F-111Gs, "Madame Queen" was slated for preservation and flown to the Castle Air Museum.
For some time, 69-6507 was inaccurately displayed in a tigerstripe camouflage (which admittedly did look good, anyway), but by 2013, it had been accurately returned to SIOP camouflage. It's starting to look a bit worn--California sunshine is great for humans, but hard on aircraft--but the "Queen" still looks quite stately.
For a look at the excellent nose art on this aircraft, I have a better picture: www.flickr.com/photos/31469080@N07/51202560239/in/datepos...
What would become arguably the most successful fighter aircraft since World War II started modestly, and like many late 20th-Century fighter designs, as a result of lessons learned in the Vietnam War. Among those lessons was that large, heavy fighters were not always the answer: the F-4 Phantom II, while a superlative aircraft, had often found itself outclassed by smaller, more nimble North Vietnamese MiG-17s and MiG-21s. The call for the US Air Force to develop its own lightweight fighter was spearheaded by fighter pilot and air combat theorist John Boyd. At first, Boyd’s proposals were dismissed by the USAF, who feared losing funding for the F-15 Eagle then in development. Boyd and others were able to convince the USAF of the usefulness of a light, cheap fighter as a complement to the heavy, expensive F-15, and finally the USAF agreed to issue a requirement for a Lightweight Fighter (LWF)—though with no guarantee that it would actually buy it.
Both General Dynamics and Northrop responded with designs, which would become the YF-16 and YF-17 Cobra. The first YF-16 was rolled out in December 1973, and first flew in January of the next year—accidentally, as the prototype veered off the runway and the test pilot felt it safer to takeoff rather than try to steer it back. The YF-16 won the flyoff against the YF-17, and the USAF selected it to go into service as the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Simultaneously, the YF-16 won a flyoff for the Multinational Fighter; the MNF was planned to be the successor to a number of aircraft in NATO service, and the competition between the YF-16, YF-17, France’s Mirage F.1M, and the SEPECAT Jaguar was fierce. Once selected, production of the F-16 would be vastly expanded, with it not only being produced in the United States, but also in the Netherlands and Belgium as well (to be followed later by Turkey and South Korea). In a short time, the F-16 had come a long way.
Production F-16s differed from the prototype by being slightly larger and heavier, though the initial production batch retained the “small tail” tailplanes of the prototype. Though heftier than the prototype, the F-16 retained the basis of Boyd’s ideal lightweight fighter: it was extremely maneuverable, to the point that a number of early F-16s crashed as the aircraft could take more than the pilot. Its maneuverability is due both to a favorable thrust-weight ratio and its deliberately unstable design: the F-16 was one of the first fighters to employ a wholly-fly-by-wire control system, with the hydraulic controls of older fighters being replaced by microprocessors controlled by a central computer. The microprocessors are able to make the dozens of decisions per second required by the design. For this reason, the F-16 is also known as the “Electric Jet.” General Dynamics had attempted to mitigate these effects on the pilot by reclining the ejection seat backwards and moving the control stick to the side. The pilot also has superb visibility due to the F-16’s bubble canopy.
The Fighting Falcon’s baptism of fire would not take long. Israel, which had been among the first to purchase the F-16, scored the type’s first air-to-air kill over Lebanon in 1981, as well as its first significant strike mission, the raid on Iraq’s Osirak reactor. In the following year, Israeli F-16s scored possibly as many as 30 victories over Syrian MiGs during the 1982 Lebanon War. Pakistani F-16s were to see limited action during the Soviet-Afghan War, shooting down 10 Afghani and Soviet aircraft that strayed into Pakistan’s airspace. For the United States, the F-16 would see its first action in the First Gulf War, though here the USAF used the Falcon’s large payload in strike missions; USAF F-16s saw no aerial action during this conflict.
By the early 1990s, the USAF relegated its F-16A models to the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, reequipping its units with later mark F-16Cs. Many of the ANG’s F-16As were upgraded to ADF standard. The last USAF F-16A left service around 2000; aircraft not placed in storage at AMARC in Arizona have been sold to other nations, while some are scheduled for conversion to QF-16 drones.
F-16As are among the most prolific fighters in the world, in service worldwide, flown by ten nations, three of which are in NATO. These aircraft (save those flown by Venezuela) have been significantly upgraded to F-16 MLU (Mid-Life Upgrade) standard, making them equivalent to F-16Cs. Besides Israeli and Pakistani kills in the type, a Dutch F-16AM shot down a Serbian MiG-29 during the Kosovo War in 1999. Other NATO F-16AMs have seen service over Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. These older models of F-16s will remain in service until probably 2020 at least, to be replaced by the F-35A Lightning II.
Here the whole team of Thunderbirds come over the crowd at the Air Force Academy's graduation ceremony in 1981. The team had just converted to the F-16 not long before, and this was one of their first shows in the type. They opened the show by rocketing over just as the graduates pitched their hats in the air (and scaring the hell out of the crowd, which included me). Still a great show, and the first time I got to see the team in the F-16--I had only seen them in the T-38 Talon to this point.
88-0417 - General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon - US Air Force - Arizona Air National Guard
152FS
at London/ON International Airport (YXU)
c/n 1C-19
Arizona Air National Guard "Los Vagueros"
152nd Fighter Squadron (152 FS) is a unit of the Arizona Air National Guard 162nd Fighter Wing located at Tucson Air National Guard Base, Arizona, United States.
What would become arguably the most successful fighter aircraft since World War II started modestly, and like many late 20th-Century fighter designs, as a result of lessons learned in the Vietnam War. Among those lessons was that large, heavy fighters were not always the answer: the F-4 Phantom II, while a superlative aircraft, had often found itself outclassed by smaller, more nimble North Vietnamese MiG-17s and MiG-21s. The call for the US Air Force to develop its own lightweight fighter was spearheaded by fighter pilot and air combat theorist John Boyd. At first, Boyd’s proposals were dismissed by the USAF, who feared losing funding for the F-15 Eagle then in development. Boyd and others were able to convince the USAF of the usefulness of a light, cheap fighter as a complement to the heavy, expensive F-15, and finally the USAF agreed to issue a requirement for a Lightweight Fighter (LWF)—though with no guarantee that it would actually buy it.
Both General Dynamics and Northrop responded with designs, which would become the YF-16 and YF-17 Cobra. The first YF-16 was rolled out in December 1973, and first flew in January of the next year—accidentally, as the prototype veered off the runway and the test pilot felt it safer to takeoff rather than try to steer it back. The YF-16 won the flyoff against the YF-17, and the USAF selected it to go into service as the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Simultaneously, the YF-16 won a flyoff for the Multinational Fighter; the MNF was planned to be the successor to a number of aircraft in NATO service, and the competition between the YF-16, YF-17, France’s Mirage F.1M, and the SEPECAT Jaguar was fierce. Once selected, production of the F-16 would be vastly expanded, with it not only being produced in the United States, but also in the Netherlands and Belgium as well (to be followed later by Turkey and South Korea). In a short time, the F-16 had come a long way.
Production F-16s differed from the prototype by being slightly larger and heavier, though the initial production batch retained the “small tail” tailplanes of the prototype. Though heftier than the prototype, the F-16 retained the basis of Boyd’s ideal lightweight fighter: it was extremely maneuverable, to the point that a number of early F-16s crashed as the aircraft could take more than the pilot. Its maneuverability is due both to a favorable thrust-weight ratio and its deliberately unstable design: the F-16 was one of the first fighters to employ a wholly-fly-by-wire control system, with the hydraulic controls of older fighters being replaced by microprocessors controlled by a central computer. The microprocessors are able to make the dozens of decisions per second required by the design. For this reason, the F-16 is also known as the “Electric Jet.” General Dynamics had attempted to mitigate these effects on the pilot by reclining the ejection seat backwards and moving the control stick to the side. The pilot also has superb visibility due to the F-16’s bubble canopy.
The Fighting Falcon’s baptism of fire would not take long. Israel, which had been among the first to purchase the F-16, scored the type’s first air-to-air kill over Lebanon in 1981, as well as its first significant strike mission, the raid on Iraq’s Osirak reactor. In the following year, Israeli F-16s scored possibly as many as 30 victories over Syrian MiGs during the 1982 Lebanon War. Pakistani F-16s were to see limited action during the Soviet-Afghan War, shooting down 10 Afghani and Soviet aircraft that strayed into Pakistan’s airspace. For the United States, the F-16 would see its first action in the First Gulf War, though here the USAF used the Falcon’s large payload in strike missions; USAF F-16s saw no aerial action during this conflict.
By the early 1990s, the USAF relegated its F-16A models to the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, reequipping its units with later mark F-16Cs. Many of the ANG’s F-16As were upgraded to ADF standard. The last USAF F-16A left service around 2000; aircraft not placed in storage at AMARC in Arizona have been sold to other nations, while some are scheduled for conversion to QF-16 drones.
F-16As are among the most prolific fighters in the world, in service worldwide, flown by ten nations, three of which are in NATO. These aircraft (save those flown by Venezuela) have been significantly upgraded to F-16 MLU (Mid-Life Upgrade) standard, making them equivalent to F-16Cs. Besides Israeli and Pakistani kills in the type, a Dutch F-16AM shot down a Serbian MiG-29 during the Kosovo War in 1999. Other NATO F-16AMs have seen service over Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. These older models of F-16s will remain in service until probably 2020 at least, to be replaced by the F-35A Lightning II.
Known as 93-0705 to the USAF and 6604 to the Republic of China Air Force, this F-16A is a Block 20 aircraft, one of the final A models to be produced out of 150 aircraft ordered for the ROCAF in 1992. Though it carries USAF markings and the "LF" tailcode of Luke AFB, Arizona, the ROCAF actually owns these aircraft--they are used for training new F-16 pilots for the latter, due to airspace restrictions over Taiwan. This aircraft belongs to the 21st Fighter Squadron of the 56th Operations Group, whose patch appears on the intake.
Four F-16s of the 21st made their way to the Wings Over the Falls airshow at Great Falls, Montana in July 2017, where I got this picture.
What would become arguably the most successful fighter aircraft since World War II started modestly, and like many late 20th-Century fighter designs, as a result of lessons learned in the Vietnam War. Among those lessons was that large, heavy fighters were not always the answer: the F-4 Phantom II, while a superlative aircraft, had often found itself outclassed by smaller, more nimble North Vietnamese MiG-17s and MiG-21s. The call for the US Air Force to develop its own lightweight fighter was spearheaded by fighter pilot and air combat theorist John Boyd. At first, Boyd’s proposals were dismissed by the USAF, who feared losing funding for the F-15 Eagle then in development. Boyd and others were able to convince the USAF of the usefulness of a light, cheap fighter as a complement to the heavy, expensive F-15, and finally the USAF agreed to issue a requirement for a Lightweight Fighter (LWF)—though with no guarantee that it would actually buy it.
Both General Dynamics and Northrop responded with designs, which would become the YF-16 and YF-17 Cobra. The first YF-16 was rolled out in December 1973, and first flew in January of the next year—accidentally, as the prototype veered off the runway and the test pilot felt it safer to takeoff rather than try to steer it back. The YF-16 won the flyoff against the YF-17, and the USAF selected it to go into service as the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Simultaneously, the YF-16 won a flyoff for the Multinational Fighter; the MNF was planned to be the successor to a number of aircraft in NATO service, and the competition between the YF-16, YF-17, France’s Mirage F.1M, and the SEPECAT Jaguar was fierce. Once selected, production of the F-16 would be vastly expanded, with it not only being produced in the United States, but also in the Netherlands and Belgium as well (to be followed later by Turkey and South Korea). In a short time, the F-16 had come a long way.
Production F-16s differed from the prototype by being slightly larger and heavier, though the initial production batch retained the “small tail” tailplanes of the prototype. Though heftier than the prototype, the F-16 retained the basis of Boyd’s ideal lightweight fighter: it was extremely maneuverable, to the point that a number of early F-16s crashed as the aircraft could take more than the pilot. Its maneuverability is due both to a favorable thrust-weight ratio and its deliberately unstable design: the F-16 was one of the first fighters to employ a wholly-fly-by-wire control system, with the hydraulic controls of older fighters being replaced by microprocessors controlled by a central computer. The microprocessors are able to make the dozens of decisions per second required by the design. For this reason, the F-16 is also known as the “Electric Jet.” General Dynamics had attempted to mitigate these effects on the pilot by reclining the ejection seat backwards and moving the control stick to the side. The pilot also has superb visibility due to the F-16’s bubble canopy.
The Fighting Falcon’s baptism of fire would not take long. Israel, which had been among the first to purchase the F-16, scored the type’s first air-to-air kill over Lebanon in 1981, as well as its first significant strike mission, the raid on Iraq’s Osirak reactor. In the following year, Israeli F-16s scored possibly as many as 30 victories over Syrian MiGs during the 1982 Lebanon War. Pakistani F-16s were to see limited action during the Soviet-Afghan War, shooting down 10 Afghani and Soviet aircraft that strayed into Pakistan’s airspace. For the United States, the F-16 would see its first action in the First Gulf War, though here the USAF used the Falcon’s large payload in strike missions; USAF F-16s saw no aerial action during this conflict.
By the early 1990s, the USAF relegated its F-16A models to the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, reequipping its units with later mark F-16Cs. Many of the ANG’s F-16As were upgraded to ADF standard. The last USAF F-16A left service around 2000; aircraft not placed in storage at AMARC in Arizona have been sold to other nations, while some are scheduled for conversion to QF-16 drones.
F-16As are among the most prolific fighters in the world, in service worldwide, flown by ten nations, three of which are in NATO. These aircraft (save those flown by Venezuela) have been significantly upgraded to F-16 MLU (Mid-Life Upgrade) standard, making them equivalent to F-16Cs. Besides Israeli and Pakistani kills in the type, a Dutch F-16AM shot down a Serbian MiG-29 during the Kosovo War in 1999. Other NATO F-16AMs have seen service over Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. These older models of F-16s will remain in service until probably 2020 at least, to be replaced by the F-35A Lightning II.
Built as 81-0687, this F-16A was built specifically for the Thunderbirds, when the team converted from the T-38A Talon in 1982. It served as Thunderbird 6, one of the solo aircraft, and flew with the team until 1992, when the team transitioned to the F-16C. It was transferred to the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB, Arizona, serving with the 425th Fighter Squadron, training pilots for Singapore. It was found to have extensive cracks in the fuselage, and was retired in 1996. After being used briefly as a recruitment tool at fairs in Arizona, it was retired to permanent display in front of the 56th's headquarters at Luke.
I spotted 81-0687 when some friends and I went to Luke's airpark, and made sure I got a quick picture before we left the base. It carries "wing king" markings on the tail, and the patches of all the units assigned to Luke on the intake. When I photographed this aircraft in August 2020, I had no idea this was our second meeting: I saw this aircraft at the Air Force Academy and Peterson AFB, Colorado in 1983 when it was Thunderbird 6.
Here it is bringing up the rear over the Air Force Academy: www.flickr.com/photos/31469080@N07/23879717969/in/photoli...
What would become arguably the most successful fighter aircraft since World War II started modestly, and like many late 20th-Century fighter designs, as a result of lessons learned in the Vietnam War. Among those lessons was that large, heavy fighters were not always the answer: the F-4 Phantom II, while a superlative aircraft, had often found itself outclassed by smaller, more nimble North Vietnamese MiG-17s and MiG-21s. The call for the US Air Force to develop its own lightweight fighter was spearheaded by fighter pilot and air combat theorist John Boyd. At first, Boyd’s proposals were dismissed by the USAF, who feared losing funding for the F-15 Eagle then in development. Boyd and others were able to convince the USAF of the usefulness of a light, cheap fighter as a complement to the heavy, expensive F-15, and finally the USAF agreed to issue a requirement for a Lightweight Fighter (LWF)—though with no guarantee that it would actually buy it.
Both General Dynamics and Northrop responded with designs, which would become the YF-16 and YF-17 Cobra. The first YF-16 was rolled out in December 1973, and first flew in January of the next year—accidentally, as the prototype veered off the runway and the test pilot felt it safer to takeoff rather than try to steer it back. The YF-16 won the flyoff against the YF-17, and the USAF selected it to go into service as the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Simultaneously, the YF-16 won a flyoff for the Multinational Fighter; the MNF was planned to be the successor to a number of aircraft in NATO service, and the competition between the YF-16, YF-17, France’s Mirage F.1M, and the SEPECAT Jaguar was fierce. Once selected, production of the F-16 would be vastly expanded, with it not only being produced in the United States, but also in the Netherlands and Belgium as well (to be followed later by Turkey and South Korea). In a short time, the F-16 had come a long way.
Production F-16s differed from the prototype by being slightly larger and heavier, though the initial production batch retained the “small tail” tailplanes of the prototype. Though heftier than the prototype, the F-16 retained the basis of Boyd’s ideal lightweight fighter: it was extremely maneuverable, to the point that a number of early F-16s crashed as the aircraft could take more than the pilot. Its maneuverability is due both to a favorable thrust-weight ratio and its deliberately unstable design: the F-16 was one of the first fighters to employ a wholly-fly-by-wire control system, with the hydraulic controls of older fighters being replaced by microprocessors controlled by a central computer. The microprocessors are able to make the dozens of decisions per second required by the design. For this reason, the F-16 is also known as the “Electric Jet.” General Dynamics had attempted to mitigate these effects on the pilot by reclining the ejection seat backwards and moving the control stick to the side. The pilot also has superb visibility due to the F-16’s bubble canopy.
The Fighting Falcon’s baptism of fire would not take long. Israel, which had been among the first to purchase the F-16, scored the type’s first air-to-air kill over Lebanon in 1981, as well as its first significant strike mission, the raid on Iraq’s Osirak reactor. In the following year, Israeli F-16s scored possibly as many as 30 victories over Syrian MiGs during the 1982 Lebanon War. Pakistani F-16s were to see limited action during the Soviet-Afghan War, shooting down 10 Afghani and Soviet aircraft that strayed into Pakistan’s airspace. For the United States, the F-16 would see its first action in the First Gulf War, though here the USAF used the Falcon’s large payload in strike missions; USAF F-16s saw no aerial action during this conflict.
By the early 1990s, the USAF relegated its F-16A models to the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, reequipping its units with later mark F-16Cs. Many of the ANG’s F-16As were upgraded to ADF standard. The last USAF F-16A left service around 2000; aircraft not placed in storage at AMARC in Arizona have been sold to other nations, while some are scheduled for conversion to QF-16 drones.
F-16As are among the most prolific fighters in the world, in service worldwide, flown by ten nations, three of which are in NATO. These aircraft (save those flown by Venezuela) have been significantly upgraded to F-16 MLU (Mid-Life Upgrade) standard, making them equivalent to F-16Cs. Besides Israeli and Pakistani kills in the type, a Dutch F-16AM shot down a Serbian MiG-29 during the Kosovo War in 1999. Other NATO F-16AMs have seen service over Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. These older models of F-16s will remain in service until probably 2020 at least, to be replaced by the F-35A Lightning II.
Four F-16As from the 21st Fighter Squadron of the 56th Operations Group came to the Wings Over the Falls airshow at Great Falls, Montana in July 2017. Though three of these aircraft carry the "LF" tailcode of Luke AFB, Arizona (the fourth is a "boss bird" with special markings), and all of them wear USAF insignia, all of them actually belong to the Republic of China Air Force.
Under Project Peace Fenghuang (Phoenix), the ROCAF ordered 150 F-16A/B Block 20 aircraft in 1992, among the last to order A model F-16s. The Block 20 upgrade brings them nearly to F-16C standard, however. One of the ways to identify a Block 20 F-16A is the lack of an antenna on the forward tail fillet, and the extended housing at the rear of the tail. This extension can be used for additional electronics or, in this case, a dragchute housing for landing on short runways. The three aircraft in the foreground all carry Air Education and Training Command (AETC) patches on the tail, as these aircraft are primarily used for training new pilots on the F-16.
The codes on the first three F-16s are 93-0708, 93-0704, 93-0705, and 93-0721. It's very unusual to see aircraft produced so close together in one spot.
What would become arguably the most successful fighter aircraft since World War II started modestly, and like many late 20th-Century fighter designs, as a result of lessons learned in the Vietnam War. Among those lessons was that large, heavy fighters were not always the answer: the F-4 Phantom II, while a superlative aircraft, had often found itself outclassed by smaller, more nimble North Vietnamese MiG-17s and MiG-21s. The call for the US Air Force to develop its own lightweight fighter was spearheaded by fighter pilot and air combat theorist John Boyd. At first, Boyd’s proposals were dismissed by the USAF, who feared losing funding for the F-15 Eagle then in development. Boyd and others were able to convince the USAF of the usefulness of a light, cheap fighter as a complement to the heavy, expensive F-15, and finally the USAF agreed to issue a requirement for a Lightweight Fighter (LWF)—though with no guarantee that it would actually buy it.
Both General Dynamics and Northrop responded with designs, which would become the YF-16 and YF-17 Cobra. The first YF-16 was rolled out in December 1973, and first flew in January of the next year—accidentally, as the prototype veered off the runway and the test pilot felt it safer to takeoff rather than try to steer it back. The YF-16 won the flyoff against the YF-17, and the USAF selected it to go into service as the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Simultaneously, the YF-16 won a flyoff for the Multinational Fighter; the MNF was planned to be the successor to a number of aircraft in NATO service, and the competition between the YF-16, YF-17, France’s Mirage F.1M, and the SEPECAT Jaguar was fierce. Once selected, production of the F-16 would be vastly expanded, with it not only being produced in the United States, but also in the Netherlands and Belgium as well (to be followed later by Turkey and South Korea). In a short time, the F-16 had come a long way.
Production F-16s differed from the prototype by being slightly larger and heavier, though the initial production batch retained the “small tail” tailplanes of the prototype. Though heftier than the prototype, the F-16 retained the basis of Boyd’s ideal lightweight fighter: it was extremely maneuverable, to the point that a number of early F-16s crashed as the aircraft could take more than the pilot. Its maneuverability is due both to a favorable thrust-weight ratio and its deliberately unstable design: the F-16 was one of the first fighters to employ a wholly-fly-by-wire control system, with the hydraulic controls of older fighters being replaced by microprocessors controlled by a central computer. The microprocessors are able to make the dozens of decisions per second required by the design. For this reason, the F-16 is also known as the “Electric Jet.” General Dynamics had attempted to mitigate these effects on the pilot by reclining the ejection seat backwards and moving the control stick to the side. The pilot also has superb visibility due to the F-16’s bubble canopy.
The Fighting Falcon’s baptism of fire would not take long. Israel, which had been among the first to purchase the F-16, scored the type’s first air-to-air kill over Lebanon in 1981, as well as its first significant strike mission, the raid on Iraq’s Osirak reactor. In the following year, Israeli F-16s scored possibly as many as 30 victories over Syrian MiGs during the 1982 Lebanon War. Pakistani F-16s were to see limited action during the Soviet-Afghan War, shooting down 10 Afghani and Soviet aircraft that strayed into Pakistan’s airspace. For the United States, the F-16 would see its first action in the First Gulf War, though here the USAF used the Falcon’s large payload in strike missions; USAF F-16s saw no aerial action during this conflict.
By the early 1990s, the USAF relegated its F-16A models to the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, reequipping its units with later mark F-16Cs. Many of the ANG’s F-16As were upgraded to ADF standard. The last USAF F-16A left service around 2000; aircraft not placed in storage at AMARC in Arizona have been sold to other nations, while some are scheduled for conversion to QF-16 drones.
F-16As are among the most prolific fighters in the world, in service worldwide, flown by ten nations, three of which are in NATO. These aircraft (save those flown by Venezuela) have been significantly upgraded to F-16 MLU (Mid-Life Upgrade) standard, making them equivalent to F-16Cs. Besides Israeli and Pakistani kills in the type, a Dutch F-16AM shot down a Serbian MiG-29 during the Kosovo War in 1999. Other NATO F-16AMs have seen service over Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. These older models of F-16s will remain in service until probably 2020 at least, to be replaced by the F-35A Lightning II.
Though maybe not the best picture (as it cuts off part of the nose and the tail), Dad got this shot of Thunderbird 4 at Peterson AFB, Colorado not long after the Thunderbirds landed after their first show at the Air Force Academy. This was the Thunderbirds' first season in the F-16.
Note the "dirty" tail. Because Thunderbird 4 flies the slot position, the tail would get scorched by the exhaust of Thunderbird 1, the lead aircraft, in the diamond formation. Before the T-38 era, the Thunderbirds would traditionally let the tail stay that way to show how close the aircraft flew in formation. It had gotten away from the practice in the T-38, but revived it in the F-16. Sadly, this practice came to an end, as the modern USAF wasn't too crazy about its best recruiting tool looking dirty.
This is probably 81-0670, delivered new to the Thunderbirds. It stayed with the team until 1992, when it was reassigned to the 425th Fighter Squadron at Luke AFB, Arizona, training Royal Singaporean Air Force pilots. It was retired in 1996, and is currently in storage at AMARG, though it is slated to be transferred to the March ARB Museum in California for preservation. The pilot, Major Larry Stellmon, enjoyed a very long career, and didn't retire until 2016.
This also shows how easy it was to photograph aircraft back in the 80s. Not only is my Dad this close to an aircraft, I was standing right next to him!
What would become arguably the most successful fighter aircraft since World War II started modestly, and like many late 20th-Century fighter designs, as a result of lessons learned in the Vietnam War. Among those lessons was that large, heavy fighters were not always the answer: the F-4 Phantom II, while a superlative aircraft, had often found itself outclassed by smaller, more nimble North Vietnamese MiG-17s and MiG-21s. The call for the US Air Force to develop its own lightweight fighter was spearheaded by fighter pilot and air combat theorist John Boyd. At first, Boyd’s proposals were dismissed by the USAF, who feared losing funding for the F-15 Eagle then in development. Boyd and others were able to convince the USAF of the usefulness of a light, cheap fighter as a complement to the heavy, expensive F-15, and finally the USAF agreed to issue a requirement for a Lightweight Fighter (LWF)—though with no guarantee that it would actually buy it.
Both General Dynamics and Northrop responded with designs, which would become the YF-16 and YF-17 Cobra. The first YF-16 was rolled out in December 1973, and first flew in January of the next year—accidentally, as the prototype veered off the runway and the test pilot felt it safer to takeoff rather than try to steer it back. The YF-16 won the flyoff against the YF-17, and the USAF selected it to go into service as the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Simultaneously, the YF-16 won a flyoff for the Multinational Fighter; the MNF was planned to be the successor to a number of aircraft in NATO service, and the competition between the YF-16, YF-17, France’s Mirage F.1M, and the SEPECAT Jaguar was fierce. Once selected, production of the F-16 would be vastly expanded, with it not only being produced in the United States, but also in the Netherlands and Belgium as well (to be followed later by Turkey and South Korea). In a short time, the F-16 had come a long way.
Production F-16s differed from the prototype by being slightly larger and heavier, though the initial production batch retained the “small tail” tailplanes of the prototype. Though heftier than the prototype, the F-16 retained the basis of Boyd’s ideal lightweight fighter: it was extremely maneuverable, to the point that a number of early F-16s crashed as the aircraft could take more than the pilot. Its maneuverability is due both to a favorable thrust-weight ratio and its deliberately unstable design: the F-16 was one of the first fighters to employ a wholly-fly-by-wire control system, with the hydraulic controls of older fighters being replaced by microprocessors controlled by a central computer. The microprocessors are able to make the dozens of decisions per second required by the design. For this reason, the F-16 is also known as the “Electric Jet.” General Dynamics had attempted to mitigate these effects on the pilot by reclining the ejection seat backwards and moving the control stick to the side. The pilot also has superb visibility due to the F-16’s bubble canopy.
The Fighting Falcon’s baptism of fire would not take long. Israel, which had been among the first to purchase the F-16, scored the type’s first air-to-air kill over Lebanon in 1981, as well as its first significant strike mission, the raid on Iraq’s Osirak reactor. In the following year, Israeli F-16s scored possibly as many as 30 victories over Syrian MiGs during the 1982 Lebanon War. Pakistani F-16s were to see limited action during the Soviet-Afghan War, shooting down 10 Afghani and Soviet aircraft that strayed into Pakistan’s airspace. For the United States, the F-16 would see its first action in the First Gulf War, though here the USAF used the Falcon’s large payload in strike missions; USAF F-16s saw no aerial action during this conflict.
By the early 1990s, the USAF relegated its F-16A models to the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, reequipping its units with later mark F-16Cs. Many of the ANG’s F-16As were upgraded to ADF standard. The last USAF F-16A left service around 2000; aircraft not placed in storage at AMARC in Arizona have been sold to other nations, while some are scheduled for conversion to QF-16 drones.
F-16As are among the most prolific fighters in the world, in service worldwide, flown by ten nations, three of which are in NATO. These aircraft (save those flown by Venezuela) have been significantly upgraded to F-16 MLU (Mid-Life Upgrade) standard, making them equivalent to F-16Cs. Besides Israeli and Pakistani kills in the type, a Dutch F-16AM shot down a Serbian MiG-29 during the Kosovo War in 1999. Other NATO F-16AMs have seen service over Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. These older models of F-16s will remain in service until probably 2020 at least, to be replaced by the F-35A Lightning II.
81-0676 was built specifically for the Thunderbirds when the team transitioned out of the T-38 Talon, and was part of the first batch of F-16s to equip the team in 1982. It remained with the team for a decade, but when the Thunderbirds reequipped with F-16Cs in 1992, it was transferred to the 58th Operations Group at Luke AFB, Arizona for a brief time, then grounded as a GF-16A instructional trainer at Sheppard AFB, Texas in 1993. It was donated to the Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB, Georgia in 2008.
Though it took me four attempts to get the picture, I'm glad this one turned out. Thunderbirds F-16s are always great to look at, and it's even better that I saw this one perform as a kid back in the early 80s.
PictionID:54637492 - Catalog:14_035194 - Title:Sycamore Canyon Test Facility Details: Sycamore-Expulsion Test System with SPGG Date: 10/25/1966 - Filename:14_035194.tif - - ---- Images from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection. The processing, cataloging and digitization of these images has been made possible by a generous National Historical Publications and Records grant from the National Archives and Records Administration---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
88482832 :Piction ID--Tomahawk missile near General Dynamics F-16---Please tag these photos so information can be recorded.---- Digitization of this image made possible by a grant from NEH: NEH and the San Diego Air and Space Museum
General Dynamics F-111D, USAF 68-0092. Online sources indicate that this "Aardvark" was withdrawn to storage in 1992, and transferred out in 2001.
This is a view of the right engine bay from the rear, which once enclosed one of the aircraft's two TF30 turbofan engines.
Yanks Air Museum
Chino, California
General Dynamics F-111 (Wikipedia)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-111_Aardvark
Yanks Air Museum (museum web site):
Willard Martin (b. 1917) held various jobs before he was hired by Convair San Diego as a metal worker. For the next 30 years, Martin worked at Convair, eventually serving much of his career as the Operations General Supervisor, a task that involved supervising experiment department operations, engineering test lap support, model shop operations, mockup and wind tunnel support. In addition, he managed all instrumentation fabrication, installation and field support operations for the Cruise Missile Program and others. In 1976, he was elected by members of the National Management Association, General Dynamics Convair Chapter, as Director of Public Relations from 1976 to 1977.
Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive
PictionID:54636914 - Catalog:14_035147 - Title:GD/Astronautics Details: Azusa Harness Mock Up Date: 01/09/1964 - Filename:14_035147.tif - - ---- Images from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection. The processing, cataloging and digitization of these images has been made possible by a generous National Historical Publications and Records grant from the National Archives and Records Administration---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
What would become arguably the most successful fighter aircraft since World War II started modestly, and like many late 20th-Century fighter designs, as a result of lessons learned in the Vietnam War. Among those lessons was that large, heavy fighters were not always the answer: the F-4 Phantom II, while a superlative aircraft, had often found itself outclassed by smaller, more nimble North Vietnamese MiG-17s and MiG-21s. The call for the US Air Force to develop its own lightweight fighter was spearheaded by fighter pilot and air combat theorist John Boyd. At first, Boyd’s proposals were dismissed by the USAF, who feared losing funding for the F-15 Eagle then in development. Boyd and others were able to convince the USAF of the usefulness of a light, cheap fighter as a complement to the heavy, expensive F-15, and finally the USAF agreed to issue a requirement for a Lightweight Fighter (LWF)—though with no guarantee that it would actually buy it.
Both General Dynamics and Northrop responded with designs, which would become the YF-16 and YF-17 Cobra. The first YF-16 was rolled out in December 1973, and first flew in January of the next year—accidentally, as the prototype veered off the runway and the test pilot felt it safer to takeoff rather than try to steer it back. The YF-16 won the flyoff against the YF-17, and the USAF selected it to go into service as the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Simultaneously, the YF-16 won a flyoff for the Multinational Fighter; the MNF was planned to be the successor to a number of aircraft in NATO service, and the competition between the YF-16, YF-17, France’s Mirage F.1M, and the SEPECAT Jaguar was fierce. Once selected, production of the F-16 would be vastly expanded, with it not only being produced in the United States, but also in the Netherlands and Belgium as well (to be followed later by Turkey and South Korea). In a short time, the F-16 had come a long way.
Production F-16s differed from the prototype by being slightly larger and heavier, though the initial production batch retained the “small tail” tailplanes of the prototype. Though heftier than the prototype, the F-16 retained the basis of Boyd’s ideal lightweight fighter: it was extremely maneuverable, to the point that a number of early F-16s crashed as the aircraft could take more than the pilot. Its maneuverability is due both to a favorable thrust-weight ratio and its deliberately unstable design: the F-16 was one of the first fighters to employ a wholly-fly-by-wire control system, with the hydraulic controls of older fighters being replaced by microprocessors controlled by a central computer. The microprocessors are able to make the dozens of decisions per second required by the design. For this reason, the F-16 is also known as the “Electric Jet.” General Dynamics had attempted to mitigate these effects on the pilot by reclining the ejection seat backwards and moving the control stick to the side. The pilot also has superb visibility due to the F-16’s bubble canopy.
The Fighting Falcon’s baptism of fire would not take long. Israel, which had been among the first to purchase the F-16, scored the type’s first air-to-air kill over Lebanon in 1981, as well as its first significant strike mission, the raid on Iraq’s Osirak reactor. In the following year, Israeli F-16s scored possibly as many as 30 victories over Syrian MiGs during the 1982 Lebanon War. Pakistani F-16s were to see limited action during the Soviet-Afghan War, shooting down 10 Afghani and Soviet aircraft that strayed into Pakistan’s airspace. For the United States, the F-16 would see its first action in the First Gulf War, though here the USAF used the Falcon’s large payload in strike missions; USAF F-16s saw no aerial action during this conflict.
By the early 1990s, the USAF relegated its F-16A models to the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, reequipping its units with later mark F-16Cs. Many of the ANG’s F-16As were upgraded to ADF standard. The last USAF F-16A left service around 2000; aircraft not placed in storage at AMARC in Arizona have been sold to other nations, while some are scheduled for conversion to QF-16 drones.
F-16As are among the most prolific fighters in the world, in service worldwide, flown by ten nations, three of which are in NATO. These aircraft (save those flown by Venezuela) have been significantly upgraded to F-16 MLU (Mid-Life Upgrade) standard, making them equivalent to F-16Cs. Besides Israeli and Pakistani kills in the type, a Dutch F-16AM shot down a Serbian MiG-29 during the Kosovo War in 1999. Other NATO F-16AMs have seen service over Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. These older models of F-16s will remain in service until probably 2020 at least, to be replaced by the F-35A Lightning II.
While not a good picture--disposable camera pictures do not hold up well over time--I posted this as it shows the 120th Fighter-Interceptor Wing (Montana ANG)'s first F-16, now in the 120th's buffalo skull motif. This is 80-0526 at the Malmstrom AFB Airshow in 1986, not long after the wing converted from the F-106. It is equipped with two AIM-9 Sidewinders and a centerline drop tank.
80-0526 had first entered service in 1981 with the 50th TFW at Hahn, West Germany, and was assigned to the 120th in 1986. It would finish out its career with the Montana ANG at Great Falls, and was retired in 1994. It may still exist, stored at the Lockheed Martin plant in Texas for eventual restoration.
PictionID:44932231 - Catalog:14_015818 - Title:Sycamore Canyon Facilities Details - Filename:14_015818.tif - - - - Image from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection. The processing, cataloging and digitization of these images has been made possible by a generous National Historical Publications and Records grant from the National Archives and Records Administration---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
F-111F. C.N. 24. Withdrawn from service to AMARC 6 November, 1995 as AA FV0226. Scrapped in June, 2012. Photo Date: May, 1979. photo Credit's: Unknown to me (Kodachrome Slide)
F-16C 92-3887 of the 13th FS, 35th FW based at Misawa AB, Japan, at the 2017 Australian International Airshow
Arizona Air National Guard F-16A Fighting Falcon 82-0938 heads the line-up at Tucson in October 1997.
F-111F. C.N. 36. 493rd TFS at RAF Lakenheath. Struck the crest of a ridge near Tonopah, NV during Nellis Red Flag, 5 April, 1989, both crew killed. I took this with a Yashica TLectro in 1978. VA (Victor Alert) in background.
Beginning in the early 1960s, the USAF sought a replacement for the F-105 Thunderchief: while the F-105 was a good aircraft, it needed long runways that would be vulnerable in wartime and was not as long-ranged as the USAF might like. Simultaneously, the US Navy noticed that Soviet antiship missiles were becoming more advanced and longer-ranged, which would put their current fleet defense aircraft, the F-4 Phantom II, at a disadvantage. The Navy was especially interested in the AIM-54 Phoenix that provided very long-range capability. Though the two services wanted vastly different aircraft, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered that both seek a common aircraft to save money and development time, as had been done with the F-4; McNamara’s order came over the objections of both USAF and Navy researchers. Nonetheless, the Tactical Fighter Experimental (TFX) project began work in 1961.
Immediately, TFX ran into trouble. The Navy wanted side-by-side seating with a maximum speed of Mach 2 and a fuselage length adequate for carrier operations; the USAF wanted tandem seating with a maximum speed of Mach 2.5 and a long fuselage for better performance. About the only things the two services could agree on was the need for two engines and variable sweep wings, which would satisfy both services’ need for shorter distance takeoffs and landings. Only Boeing and General Dynamics’ proposals reached mockup stage, and McNamara personally ordered the General Dynamics design based on its better commonality of parts, despite the services preferring the Boeing version and the fact that General Dynamics had never built a naval fighter before. The new aircraft was designated F-111, in theory making it the last of the Century Series.
The problems with the F-111 now compounded. The F-111B carrier defense fighter was inadequate in every way, lacking the performance the Navy wanted, and it was too heavy for carrier operations. The F-111B was cancelled in 1967—though its AWG-9 fire control system and the Phoenix missile would live on in the F-14 Tomcat. The USAF’s F-111A had somewhat easier development, flying first in December 1964. Wing cracks and intake issues were addressed, and the F-111A entered USAF service in July 1967, then deployed to Vietnam under Project Combat Lancer in 1968.
Combat Lancer was a miserable failure: of six F-111As sent to Vietnam, three were lost in a month. The F-111 was grounded and in danger of cancellation until the USAF discovered the problem: the “box” that contained the wing sweep mechanism was flawed, as were the tailplanes, which could lock downwards without warning. The latter was traced to a glitch in the terrain-following computer, but the wing box problems were known by General Dynamics before delivery—and ignored to meet contract requirements. The troubles of the F-111 led to derisive nicknames from its crews, such as the “Supersonic Edsel,” “McNamara’s Folly,” and “Aardvark,” due to its long nose and propensity to stick it into the ground. The latter nickname stuck and became the informal name for the aircraft, though it would not be until 1995 that the USAF officially named the F-111 Aardvark.
Following personnel changes at General Dynamics and yet more rework to the design, F-111s returned to Vietnam in September 1972, with some trepidation. This time, however, the F-111 finally proved itself: operating without tanker or jamming support, F-111s would attack North Vietnamese targets alone, at night and often in bad weather, moving so quickly and so low that North Vietnamese air defense could not react in time. Though clearly the Aardvark was no fighter, as a strike aircraft it had few peers. Its terrain-following radar was the best in the world, and it combined high speed penetration with a good bombload.
The USAF began subsequent improvement of the design. The F-111D had an even more advanced fire control system, the first USAF aircraft to use a microprocessor computer, and better Triple Plow II intakes, which spared the Aardvark the catastrophic engine failure that plagued the other user of the TF30 engine, the F-14 Tomcat. The F-111D’s computer was plagued with trouble, so the USAF then fielded the F-111E/F variants, which had simpler fire control but better avionics; the F-111F was optimized for precision attack, equipped with the radar of the FB-111 and the AVQ-26 Pave Tack laser designator.
While the early F-111As were converted to EF-111A Raven ECM aircraft (described below) and the F-111D ended up being simply retired rather than fixed, the “simple” F-111E/Fs proved to be superb in USAF service. Australia was the only export customer for the Aardvark, flying F-111Cs from 1973; the United Kingdom cancelled its order of F-111Ks in 1968.
In 1986, F-111s spearheaded Operation Eldorado Canyon, which crippled the regime of Moammar Qaddafi in Libya, while during the First Gulf War of 1991, Aardvarks completely destroyed oil facilities at Kirkuk, used laser-guided bombs to destroy over 1500 Iraqi tanks, and completed nearly 80 percent of all precision attack sorties of the war—ahead of the newer and more advanced F-15E Strike Eagle and Tornado IDS.
This impressive effort was to be the Aardvark’s last. Though it remained in service until 1996, when it was retired from the USAF, it did not participate in any further combat operations. Replaced by the F-15E Strike Eagle, the F-111 left its mark on history and the USAF. A few ex-USAF F-111Gs were passed on to Australia, who continued to operate the Aardvark until finally retiring it for good in 2010. 563 were built, and 57 have been preserved in museums.
This is a F-111A variant, assigned to the 474th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at Nellis AFB, Nevada. 474th TFW F-111s served in Vietnam during both Combat Lancer trials and Linebacker/Linebacker II operations. As such, they carried standard Southeast Asia camouflage of two shades of green and brown over white. The real aircraft is on display at the National Museum of the USAF at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
What would become arguably the most successful fighter aircraft since World War II started modestly, and like many late 20th-Century fighter designs, as a result of lessons learned in the Vietnam War. Among those lessons was that large, heavy fighters were not always the answer: the F-4 Phantom II, while a superlative aircraft, had often found itself outclassed by smaller, more nimble North Vietnamese MiG-17s and MiG-21s. The call for the US Air Force to develop its own lightweight fighter was spearheaded by fighter pilot and air combat theorist John Boyd. At first, Boyd’s proposals were dismissed by the USAF, who feared losing funding for the F-15 Eagle then in development. Boyd and others were able to convince the USAF of the usefulness of a light, cheap fighter as a complement to the heavy, expensive F-15, and finally the USAF agreed to issue a requirement for a Lightweight Fighter (LWF)—though with no guarantee that it would actually buy it.
Both General Dynamics and Northrop responded with designs, which would become the YF-16 and YF-17 Cobra. The first YF-16 was rolled out in December 1973, and first flew in January of the next year—accidentally, as the prototype veered off the runway and the test pilot felt it safer to takeoff rather than try to steer it back. The YF-16 won the flyoff against the YF-17, and the USAF selected it to go into service as the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Simultaneously, the YF-16 won a flyoff for the Multinational Fighter; the MNF was planned to be the successor to a number of aircraft in NATO service, and the competition between the YF-16, YF-17, France’s Mirage F.1M, and the SEPECAT Jaguar was fierce. Once selected, production of the F-16 would be vastly expanded, with it not only being produced in the United States, but also in the Netherlands and Belgium as well (to be followed later by Turkey and South Korea). In a short time, the F-16 had come a long way.
Production F-16s differed from the prototype by being slightly larger and heavier, though the initial production batch retained the “small tail” tailplanes of the prototype. Though heftier than the prototype, the F-16 retained the basis of Boyd’s ideal lightweight fighter: it was extremely maneuverable, to the point that a number of early F-16s crashed as the aircraft could take more than the pilot. Its maneuverability is due both to a favorable thrust-weight ratio and its deliberately unstable design: the F-16 was one of the first fighters to employ a wholly-fly-by-wire control system, with the hydraulic controls of older fighters being replaced by microprocessors controlled by a central computer. The microprocessors are able to make the dozens of decisions per second required by the design. For this reason, the F-16 is also known as the “Electric Jet.” General Dynamics had attempted to mitigate these effects on the pilot by reclining the ejection seat backwards and moving the control stick to the side. The pilot also has superb visibility due to the F-16’s bubble canopy.
The Fighting Falcon’s baptism of fire would not take long. Israel, which had been among the first to purchase the F-16, scored the type’s first air-to-air kill over Lebanon in 1981, as well as its first significant strike mission, the raid on Iraq’s Osirak reactor. In the following year, Israeli F-16s scored possibly as many as 30 victories over Syrian MiGs during the 1982 Lebanon War. Pakistani F-16s were to see limited action during the Soviet-Afghan War, shooting down 10 Afghani and Soviet aircraft that strayed into Pakistan’s airspace. For the United States, the F-16 would see its first action in the First Gulf War, though here the USAF used the Falcon’s large payload in strike missions; USAF F-16s saw no aerial action during this conflict.
By the early 1990s, the USAF relegated its F-16A models to the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, reequipping its units with later mark F-16Cs. Many of the ANG’s F-16As were upgraded to ADF standard. The last USAF F-16A left service around 2000; aircraft not placed in storage at AMARC in Arizona have been sold to other nations, while some are scheduled for conversion to QF-16 drones.
F-16As are among the most prolific fighters in the world, in service worldwide, flown by ten nations, three of which are in NATO. These aircraft (save those flown by Venezuela) have been significantly upgraded to F-16 MLU (Mid-Life Upgrade) standard, making them equivalent to F-16Cs. Besides Israeli and Pakistani kills in the type, a Dutch F-16AM shot down a Serbian MiG-29 during the Kosovo War in 1999. Other NATO F-16AMs have seen service over Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. These older models of F-16s will remain in service until probably 2020 at least, to be replaced by the F-35A Lightning II.
80-0527 has the distinction of spending most of its career with the Air National Guard. It served with an active duty unit, the 58th Tactical Training Wing at MacDill AFB, Florida from 1981 to 1989, before being transferred to the 187th TFG (Alabama ANG) at Montgomery, where 80-0527 was from 1989 to 1992. In 1992, it was again transferred to the 162nd FG (Arizona ANG) at Tucson, where it performed both air defense and training duties; part of the 162nd's role is helping to train foreign pilots in the F-16. 80-0527 was retired in 2002 when the 162nd reequipped with F-16Cs, and was in storage from then until 2017, when it was donated to the Pima Air and Space Museum, just down the road.
80-0527 has been magnificently restored in standard F-16 camouflage, with the 162nd FG's Arizona flag tail markings. (The flag pattern is repeated on the intake cover.) It carries three external drop tanks.
Not long after I took this picture, a F-16 took off from nearby Davis-Monthan AFB, did a quick pass over the museum, and then executed a hard climb, probably reaching about 15,000 feet in less than 20 seconds. Yes, we cheered!
EDIT (2024): 80-0527 recently got a nice restoration from Pima, so I replaced my older picture with this newer one.
c/n 61-172. At Hill AFB, UT. In the markings of the 184th Tactical Fighter Training Group, Kansas Air National Guard based at McConnell AFB, KS.
What would become arguably the most successful fighter aircraft since World War II started modestly, and like many late 20th-Century fighter designs, as a result of lessons learned in the Vietnam War. Among those lessons was that large, heavy fighters were not always the answer: the F-4 Phantom II, while a superlative aircraft, had often found itself outclassed by smaller, more nimble North Vietnamese MiG-17s and MiG-21s.
The call for the US Air Force to develop its own lightweight fighter was spearheaded by fighter pilot and air combat theorist John Boyd. At first, Boyd’s proposals were dismissed by the USAF, who feared losing funding for the F-15 Eagle then in development. Boyd and others were able to convince the USAF of the usefulness of a light, cheap fighter as a complement to the heavy, expensive F-15, and finally the USAF agreed to issue a requirement for a Lightweight Fighter (LWF)—though with no guarantee that it would actually buy it.
Both General Dynamics and Northrop responded with designs, which would become the YF-16 and YF-17 Cobra. The first YF-16 was rolled out in December 1973, and first flew in January of the next year—accidentally, as the prototype veered off the runway and the test pilot felt it safer to takeoff rather than try to steer it back. The YF-16 won the flyoff against the YF-17, and the USAF selected it to go into service as the F-16 Fighting Falcon. (The name was disliked by its pilots, who preferred, and still prefer, the nickname Viper—based on the F-16’s shape, its competitor, and the popularity of the science fiction show Battlestar Galactica at the time.)
Simutaneously, the YF-16 won a flyoff for the Multinational Fighter; the MNF was planned to be the successor to a number of aircraft in NATO service, and the competition between the YF-16, YF-17, France’s Mirage F.1M, and the SEPECAT Jaguar was fierce. Once selected, production of the F-16 would be vastly expanded, with it not only being produced in the United States, but also in the Netherlands and Belgium as well (to be followed later by Turkey and South Korea). In a short time, the F-16 had come a long way.
Production F-16s differed from the prototype by being slightly larger and heavier, though the initial production batch retained the “small tail” tailplanes of the prototype. Though heftier than the prototype, the F-16 retained the basis of Boyd’s ideal lightweight fighter: it was extremely maneuverable, to the point that a number of early F-16s crashed as the aircraft could take more than the pilot. Its maneuverability is due both to a favorable thrust-weight ratio and its deliberately unstable design: the F-16 was one of the first fighters to employ a wholly-fly-by-wire control system, with the hydraulic controls of older fighters being replaced by microprocessors controlled by a central computer. The microprocessors are able to make the dozens of decisions per second required by the design. For this reason, the F-16 is also known as the “Electric Jet.” General Dynamics had attempted to mitigate these effects on the pilot by reclining the ejection seat backwards and moving the control stick to the side. The pilot also has superb visibility due to the F-16’s bubble canopy.
The Fighting Falcon’s baptism of fire would not take long. Israel, which had been among the first to purchase the F-16, scored the type’s first air-to-air kill over Lebanon in 1981, as well as its first significant strike mission, the raid on Iraq’s Osirak reactor. In the following year, Israeli F-16s scored possibly as many as 30 victories over Syrian MiGs during the 1982 Lebanon War. Pakistani F-16s were to see limited action during the Soviet-Afghan War, shooting down 10 Afghani and Soviet aircraft that strayed into Pakistan’s airspace. For the United States, the F-16 would see its first action in the First Gulf War, though here the USAF used the Falcon’s large payload in strike missions; USAF F-16s saw no aerial action during this conflict. By the early 1990s, the USAF relegated its F-16A models to the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, reequipping its units with later mark F-16Cs. Many of the ANG’s F-16As were upgraded to ADF standard. The last USAF F-16A left service around 2000; aircraft not placed in storage at AMARC in Arizona have been sold to other nations, while some are scheduled for conversion to QF-16 drones.
F-16As are among the most prolific fighters in the world, in service worldwide, flown by ten nations, three of which are in NATO. These aircraft (save those flown by Venezuela) have been significantly upgraded to F-16 MLU (Mid-Life Upgrade) standard, making them equivalent to F-16Cs. Besides Israeli and Pakistani kills in the type, a Dutch F-16AM shot down a Serbian MiG-29 during the Kosovo War in 1999. Other NATO F-16AMs have seen service over Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. These older models of F-16s will remain in service until probably 2020 at least, to be replaced by the F-35A Lightning II.
Displayed as "Thunderbird One," this early Block 15 F-16A was delivered to the USAF as 81-0663, and went straight to the Thunderbirds at Nellis AFB, Nevada. It remained with the team from 1982 to 1992; when the Thunderbirds reequipped with F-16Cs, 81-0663 was transferred to the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB and used as a trainer for American and Singaporean fighter pilots. During its time with the 56th, it was returned to standard F-16A status, with a gun and a different engine, and in regular F-16 camouflage.
When the USAF retired its Block 15 F-16As in 1996, 81-0663 was marked for preservation as a former Thunderbird. It was donated to the National Museum of the USAF, and restored back to its Thunderbird colors--complete with original engine. Today it is displayed next to another Thunderbird aircraft, a F-100D Super Sabre.
The Thunderbird colors are always impressive to look at, and this is likely not the first time I've met this particular aircraft. Dad and I saw her at Peterson AFB in 1983: www.flickr.com/photos/31469080@N07/16075709302/in/photoli...
Piction ID: 83794660 USAF ground launched cruise missile--Please tag these photos so information can be recorded.---Note: This material may be protected by Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.)--Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon of the 100th Fighter Squadron "Red Tails" of the 187th Fighter Wing of the Alabama Air National Guard from Dannelly Field participating in Red Flag 17-2 exercises at Nellis AFB.
The 100th Fighter Squadron was re-activated in 2007 to honor the legacy of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen.