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By the late 1960s, the West German Luftwaffe was relying on increasingly aging aircraft for air defense, such as the F-86 Sabre and F-84F Thunderstreak. A replacement was needed, but the West German government wanted to avoid another debacle like the F-104G Starfighter, whose catastrophic loss rate in German service had made it a grim joke. The Luftwaffe considered the Dassault Mirage F.1 and a new design from Lockheed, but settled on the proven F-4E Phantom II; at first, the Germans requested a simplified, single-seat Phantom, but this was rejected by McDonnell Douglas as not being feasible from a production standpoint. The end result was the F-4F Phantom II.
The F-4F externally was identical to the F-4E, but had a degraded APQ-120 radar that did not have the guidance system for the AIM-7 Sparrow, which was also eliminated on the F-4F. It also lacked inflight refueling capability and the ability to launch precision-guided weapons, while major internal components would be built in Germany itself. The F-4F was, therefore, the cheapest and lightest of the various Phantom variants. The first F-4F flew in May 1973 and entered service with the Luftwaffe a few months later under Operation Peace Rhine, replacing the F-84F and F-86 in fighter wings, and supplementing the Fiat G.91R and F-104G in ground attack wings.
Not long after its introduction in service, however, the Luftwaffe realized that it was entrusting the air defense of West Germany, a nation that would come under massive Soviet air attack in the event of a war, to an aircraft that would only be equipped with an internal gun and short-range Sidewinder missiles. This would require the F-4 to get into dogfights with far more agile Soviet fighters such as the MiG-21, and leave it at a long-range disadvantage against the MiG-23 Flogger. This did not mean much sense for an interceptor, and so beginning in 1980, the F-4F fleet was restored back to essentially baseline F-4Es. Avionics were also upgraded, as was the cockpit, making the F-4F a much better fighter—though German crews still referred to it as the Eisenschwein (Iron Pig) and Fliegender Ziegelstein (Flying Brick).
While the F-4F was now capable of taking on the MiG-21 and MiG-23, it was still at a disadvantage against the new third-generation Soviet fighters coming into service, such as the MiG-29 and Su-27. In 1984, the Luftwaffe requested another upgrade to the Phantom, replacing the ALQ-120 radar with a more advanced multimode APG-65, the same carried by the F/A-18 Hornet, along with a host of other upgrades. The main purpose of this was to allow the F-4F to carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile. Delays to the AMRAAM program meant that the F-4F fleet did not start receiving the upgrade until 1988, and was not complete until 1995—by which time the Cold War was over. However, it had unexpected dividends: the Eurofighter Typhoon project ran into innumerable delays during the 1990s, to the point where a now-unified Germany considered leaving the project altogether, but the upgraded F-4F ICE (Improved Combat Efficiency) was able to shoulder the load for the decade and beyond. 175 F-4Fs were built.
This is a F-4F Phantom II of Jagdgeschwader 71 (“Richthofen”), based at Wittmundhafen. It is painted in the standard scheme of 1980s Luftwaffe aircraft, dark gray and green over white. This is a pre-upgrade F-4F and carries four AIM-9J Sidewinders and two external fuel tanks.
While the F-16A had proven a success, its lack of long-range missile and true all-weather capability hampered it, especially in projected combat against the Warsaw Pact over Central Europe. General Dynamics began work on the upgraded F-16C/D version, with the first Block 25 F-16C flying in June 1984 and entering USAF service that September.
Externally, the only ways to tell apart the F-16C from the F-16A is the slightly enlarged base of the tail and a UHF radio antenna at the base of the tail. The intake is also slightly larger, though later marks of the F-16A also have this feature. Internally, however, the F-16C is a significantly different aircraft. The earlier APG-66 radar was replaced by the APG-68 multimode radar used by the F/A-18, which gave the F-16C the same capability to switch between ground-attack and dogfight mode and vastly improved all-weather capability. Cockpit layout was also changed in response to pilots’ requests, with a larger Heads-Up Display and movement of the radar display to eye level rather than between the pilot’s legs on the F-16A. The F-16C would also have the capability to carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM, though it would not be until 1992 that the missile entered service. Other small upgrades were made throughout the design, including the engine.
The Block 25 initial production was superseded by the Block 30 F-16C in 1987, which gave it better navigation systems, and the capability to carry the either the General Electric F110 or the Pratt and Whitney F100 turbofan. The Block 40/42 “Night Falcon” followed in 1988, equipped with LANTIRN night attack pods, followed by the Block 50/52, which was a dedicated Wild Weasel variant. In USAF service, the latter are semi-officially known as F-16CG and F-16CJ variants.
The F-16C had replaced the F-16A in nearly all overseas USAF units by the First Gulf War in 1991, and as a result, the aircraft was among the first deployed to the theater in August 1990. During the war, the F-16C was used mainly in ground attack and strike sorties, due to delays in the AIM-120, but it performed superbly in this role. USAF F-16s finally scored kills in the F-16C, beginning in 1992, when an Iraqi MiG-23 was shot down over the southern no-fly zone; the victory was also the first with the AMRAAM. Four Serbian G-4 Super Galebs were shot down over Bosnia in 1994. F-16Cs had replaced the F-16A entirely in regular and Reserve USAF service by 1997, and further service was seen over Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya by 2012. Subsequent upgrades to USAF F-16Cs with GPS allow them to carry advanced precision weapons such as JSOW and JDAM.
Whatever the variant, the F-16 is today the most prolific combat aircraft in existence, with 28 nations operating the type (17 of which operate F-16Cs). Over 4450 have been built, with more in production; the F-16C is also license-produced by Turkey and South Korea. It also forms the basis for the Mitsubishi F-2 fighter for Japan, though the F-2 is significantly different, with a longer nose and larger wing. Though the USAF projects that the F-16C will be replaced by the F-35 beginning in 2020, it will likely remain in service for a very long time.
I don't know if the Thunderbirds intended this to form a heart in the sky, but it's a neat picture. This is actually a few seconds after the team completed a rolling diamond climb, with one of the solo aircraft coming up behind and then racing to meet the diamond at the bottom. It could be deliberate, as the Red Arrows do a heart formation (complete with arrow splitting the heart). This picture was taken at the Wings Over the Falls airshow in Great Falls, MT in July 2017.
The Israeli Air Force had flown Mirage IIIs quite successfully even before the Six-Day War of 1968, and liked the delta-winged fighter. However, the Mirage III had been designed as a point-defense interceptor, and not the multirole strike aircraft that the Israelis needed. The IDF therefore proposed to Dassault a development of the Mirage III, with the all-weather avionics removed and replaced with more fuel, and additional hardpoints under the wing; given the usually sunny and clear conditions in the Middle East, radar was considered at the time to be secondary. Dassault saw the potential in such a Mirage variant, and with Israeli input on the design, rolled out the first Mirage 5J in May 1967. Externally, it was nearly identical to the Mirage III, but had a narrower nose as it lacked radar.
After the Six-Day War, however, French President Charles de Gaulle, wanting to distance France from Israel in favor of increased ties to the Arab world, embargoed the 50 Mirage 5Js Israel had paid for, then in production. Instead, the Mirage 5Js were redesignated Mirage 5Fs and delivered to the Armee de l’Air, which did not want them: instrumentation had to be changed to French from Hebrew, and Europe’s weather, unlike the Middle East’s, was usually poor. Israel, for its part, would later obtain plans and engines through various means, and produce their own Mirage 5 version, the Nesher.
Dassault went ahead with continued production of the Mirage 5, sensing correctly that there would be a market for a low-cost alternative to the Mirage III. The Mirage 5 also came along at a time when electronics were becoming increasingly smaller, and less than a decade after initial production, Mirage 5s were being fitted with multimode radars, making them equal to and in some cases better than the Mirage III. When fitted with a more advanced engine, the Atar 9K-50 used by the Mirage F.1, this turned the Mirage 5 into a superlative interceptor. A dizzying amount of upgrade programs soon appeared in the 1980s, with better electronics, advanced avionics, canards for better low-speed handling, and all-weather capability. Ironically, many of these upgrade programs were offered by none other than Israel.
Today, the Mirage 5 remains in worldwide service, having been especially popular in the Middle East (among Arab air forces) and South America. 15 air forces operated the type, and remain in service in Argentina, Ecuador, Egypt, Gabon, and Pakistan, the latter becoming something of a clearing house for second-hand Mirage 5s. The type has seen some combat, in skirmishes between Ecuador and Peru in the 1990s, and between Pakistan and its neighbors in the same time period. Israeli Neshers were heavily employed during the Yom Kippur War and proved to be deadly opponents in the hands of their skilled pilots; some of these were later passed on to Argentina, which had less luck with them during the 1982 Falklands War due to range restrictions and their better-trained British opponents. 582 Mirage 5s were built.
Because of its general unsuitability for poor weather operations, the Mirage 5 never quite caught on in Europe, though France would operate its “Israeli” Mirage 5Fs until the mid-1990s. Belgium was the only other NATO nation to purchase the Mirage 5, license-building 62 of them for the Belgian Air Force. These were fitted with US avionics, allowing it to be integrated into the NATO common air plan and use the AIM-9 Sidewinder, as well as provide some all-weather capability. Belgian Mirage 5BAs were used primarily as interceptors and strike aircraft, with the BAF also flying tactical reconnaissance Mirage 5BRs and conversion trainer Mirage 5BDs. This particular aircraft belongs to 2 Squadron, based at Florennes. It carries a camouflage scheme of two shades of green and tan over light gray undersides. 2 Squadron reequipped with F-16As in the mid-1980s; its Mirage 5BAs were sent to other squadrons, retired in 1993, and sent to Chile, where they were upgraded to Mirage 5M standard.
The fourth of the 1950s era “Century Series,” the F-104 Starfighter was designed around one single element: speed. Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, head of Lockheed’s famous “Skunk Works” factory, had interviewed US Air Force pilots during the Korean War, seeking their input on any new fighter. Since the pilots reported that they wanted high performance more than anything else, Johnson returned to the United States determined to deliver exactly that: a simple, point-defense interceptor marrying the lightest airframe to the most powerful engine then available, the superb General Electric J79.
When Johnson offered the L-098 design to the USAF in 1952, the service was so impressed that they created an entire competition for the aircraft to be accepted, ostensibly as a F-100 Super Sabre replacement. The Lockheed design had the clear edge, though both North American’s and Northrop’s design went on to be built themselves—the North American F-107A Ultra Sabre and the Northrop T-38 Talon. The USAF purchased the L-098 as the F-104A Starfighter. The design changed very little from initial design to prototype to operational aircraft, which was done in the astonishing time of two years.
When the first F-104As reached the USAF in 1958, pilots quickly found that it was indeed a hot fighter—too hot. The Starfighter’s design philosophy of speed above all else resulted in an aircraft with a long fuselage, T-tail for stability, and small wings, which were so thin that special guards had to be put on the leading edges to avoid injuring ground personnel. Because of its small wing, the F-104 required a lot of runway, and blown flaps (which vents airflow from the engine over the flaps to increase lift) were a necessity; unfortunately, the airflow system often failed, which meant that the F-104 pilot would be coming in at a dangerous rate of speed. Because it was feared that a pilot who ejected from a F-104 would never clear the tail, a downward-ejection seat was fitted, but after killing over 20 pilots, the seat was retrofitted with a more reliable, upward-firing type. The design also was not very maneuverable in the horizontal, though it was difficult to match in the vertical. Its shape earned it the moniker “Missile With a Man In It” and “Zipper.”
One thing pilots did not complain about was its speed—the listed top speed of the F-104 was Mach 2.2, but this was because above that the fuselage would melt. The J79 was a near flawless engine that gave the Starfighter an excellent thrust-to-weight ratio; uniquely, the intake design of the Starfighter gave the engine a bansheelike wail. So superb was the F-104 at level speed and climbing that NASA leased several as trainers for the X-15 program, and in setting a number of speed and time-to-climb records.
If the F-104 had gotten a mixed reception at best in the USAF, Lockheed felt that it had potential as an export aircraft. Beating out several excellent British and other American designs in a 1961 competition, every NATO nation except France and Great Britain bought F-104s and manufactured their own as the F-104G; Japan also license-built Starfighters as F-104Js, while still more were supplied to Pakistan and Taiwan. Just as in USAF service, accident rates were incredibly high, particularly in West German and Canadian service—Germany lost 30 percent of its initial batch, and the Canadians over half. Worries that the F-104 was too “hot” for pilots usually transitioning from the F-86 were ignored, and later it was learned why: German, Dutch, and Japanese politicians later admitted to being bribed by Lockheed into buying the Starfighter.
Its high accident rate earned such nicknames as “Widowmaker,” “Flying Coffin,” and “Ground Nail.” Pakistani pilots simply called it Badmash (“Criminal”) and the Japanese Eiko (“Glory,” inferring that it was the easiest way to reach it). German pilots joked that the quickest way to obtain a F-104 was to buy a patch of land and wait.
Nonetheless, once pilots learned how to tame the beast, the accident rates eased somewhat, and NATO pilots discovered that the Starfighter excelled as a low-level attack aircraft: fitted with bomb racks, the F-104 was remarkably stable at low altitude and high speed, and Luftwaffe pilots in particular found that they could sneak up on a target, launch a simulated attack, and be gone before ground defenses could react. The Italians in particular loved the F-104, building their own as the F-104S: these aircraft were equipped with multimode radar and armed with AIM-7 Sparrow and Aspide radar-guided missiles, making them a superb interceptor. Though most NATO nations reequipped their F-104 units with F-16s, F-18s, or Tornados beginning in 1980, the Italian F-104S fleet was continually upgraded and soldiered on until final retirement in 2004. 2578 F-104s were built, mostly F-104Gs; today over 150 survive in museums, with at least ten flyable examples, making it one of the best preserved of the Century Series.
Not much can be found on this particular F-104C, 57-0915, but what is out there is very interesting. It was delivered to the USAF around 1958-1959, to the 479th Tactical Fighter Wing at George AFB, California. 57-0915 competed in the 1961 William Tell competition with the 479th's delegation, and may have won the competition (sources vary on this). After that, 57-0915 likely saw service during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and may have flown over Vietnam as well, as elements from the 479th were deployed to Southeast Asia. As many of the 479th's aircraft ended up with the 156th TFG (Puerto Rico ANG) at San Juan, 57-0915 probably flew with that unit as well.
It was retired with the rest of the remaining USAF F-104s in the early 1970s, and initially went to Lackland AFB, Texas as a ground instruction trainer and museum display. (This is not the same F-104C my dad photographed in 1975.) In 1999, 57-0915 was moved to the Joe Davies Airpark in Palmdale, California.
To someone who isn't an aviation nut, that history might not seem terribly interesting, but 57-0915 has another claim to fame. During the 1961 William Tell competition, the USAF filmed the meet. In 1967, Paramount needed some stock footage of USAF aircraft for the Star Trek episode "Tomorrow is Yesterday"...and chose the 1961 William Tell film. While 57-0915 isn't Captain John Christopher's F-104 (that was 57-0914, which was later shot down over Laos), it appears in several background shots.
57-0915 was originally displayed as a "plain Jane" F-104 with no unit markings, it was repainted fairly recently. Like many museum F-104s, it is finished in light gray rather than bare metal to better preserve the aircraft, but the font on "US Air Force" is incorrect--oddly, because it was correct in its former paint job. It is still a nicely preserved aircraft.
EDIT (June 2023): Slightly replaced by a brighter picture taken on the return trip to Joe Davies in 2023.
In this false-color topographic map of the surface of a piece of polished glass, the most corroded areas (dark blue) are contrasted with the areas most protected (red). PNNL researchers are exposing glass samples to different chemical solutions and studying these topographic images to better understand and predict how glass would corrode in various conditions for thousands of years—helping fine-tune new glass corrosion models to ensure vitrified nuclear waste is confined in the glass for safe, long-term storage and disposal. Directly quantifying corrosion with these images is faster than analyzing the solution to determine how much material has leached from the glass. This research is funded by a joint DOE Office of Environmental Management and Office of Nuclear Energy project and by Washington River Protection Solutions.
Research Team: Tiffany Kaspar, Matthew Asmussen, James Neeway and Joseph Ryan (PNNL).
This image was captured by Tiffany Kaspar using a Bruker DI MultiMode atomic force microscope.
A free PDF calendar with this image is available for download on PNNL.gov: www.pnnl.gov/publications/calendars/
Terms of Use: Our images are freely and publicly available for use with the credit line, "Courtesy of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory." Please use provided caption information for use in appropriate context.
This photo shows the very small Final RF PA Board mounted on the main pa unit board
73, de Dave 2W0DAA / GW4JKR
The fourth of the 1950s era “Century Series,” the F-104 Starfighter was designed around one single element: speed. Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, head of Lockheed’s famous “Skunk Works” factory, had interviewed US Air Force pilots during the Korean War, seeking their input on any new fighter. Since the pilots reported that they wanted high performance more than anything else, Johnson returned to the United States determined to deliver exactly that: a simple, point-defense interceptor marrying the lightest airframe to the most powerful engine then available, the superb General Electric J79.
When Johnson offered the L-098 design to the USAF in 1952, the service was so impressed that they created an entire competition for the aircraft to be accepted, ostensibly as a F-100 Super Sabre replacement. The Lockheed design had the clear edge, though both North American’s and Northrop’s design went on to be built themselves—the North American F-107A Ultra Sabre and the Northrop T-38 Talon. The USAF purchased the L-098 as the F-104A Starfighter. The design changed very little from initial design to prototype to operational aircraft, which was done in the astonishing time of two years.
When the first F-104As reached the USAF in 1958, pilots quickly found that it was indeed a hot fighter—too hot. The Starfighter’s design philosophy of speed above all else resulted in an aircraft with a long fuselage, T-tail for stability, and small wings, which were so thin that special guards had to be put on the leading edges to avoid injuring ground personnel. Because of its small wing, the F-104 required a lot of runway, and blown flaps (which vents airflow from the engine over the flaps to increase lift) were a necessity; unfortunately, the airflow system often failed, which meant that the F-104 pilot would be coming in at a dangerous rate of speed. Because it was feared that a pilot who ejected from a F-104 would never clear the tail, a downward-ejection seat was fitted, but after killing over 20 pilots, the seat was retrofitted with a more reliable, upward-firing type. The design also was not very maneuverable in the horizontal, though it was difficult to match in the vertical. Its shape earned it the moniker “Missile With a Man In It” and “Zipper.”
One thing pilots did not complain about was its speed—the listed top speed of the F-104 was Mach 2.2, but this was because above that the fuselage would melt. The J79 was a near flawless engine that gave the Starfighter an excellent thrust-to-weight ratio; uniquely, the intake design of the Starfighter gave the engine a bansheelike wail. So superb was the F-104 at level speed and climbing that NASA leased several as trainers for the X-15 program, and in setting a number of speed and time-to-climb records.
If the F-104 had gotten a mixed reception at best in the USAF, Lockheed felt that it had potential as an export aircraft. Beating out several excellent British and other American designs in a 1961 competition, every NATO nation except France and Great Britain bought F-104s and manufactured their own as the F-104G; Japan also license-built Starfighters as F-104Js, while still more were supplied to Pakistan and Taiwan. Just as in USAF service, accident rates were incredibly high, particularly in West German and Canadian service—Germany lost 30 percent of its initial batch, and the Canadians over half. Worries that the F-104 was too “hot” for pilots usually transitioning from the F-86 were ignored, and later it was learned why: German, Dutch, and Japanese politicians later admitted to being bribed by Lockheed into buying the Starfighter.
Its high accident rate earned such nicknames as “Widowmaker,” “Flying Coffin,” and “Ground Nail.” Pakistani pilots simply called it Badmash (“Criminal”) and the Japanese Eiko (“Glory,” inferring that it was the easiest way to reach it). German pilots joked that the quickest way to obtain a F-104 was to buy a patch of land and wait.
Nonetheless, once pilots learned how to tame the beast, the accident rates eased somewhat, and NATO pilots discovered that the Starfighter excelled as a low-level attack aircraft: fitted with bomb racks, the F-104 was remarkably stable at low altitude and high speed, and Luftwaffe pilots in particular found that they could sneak up on a target, launch a simulated attack, and be gone before ground defenses could react. The Italians in particular loved the F-104, building their own as the F-104S: these aircraft were equipped with multimode radar and armed with AIM-7 Sparrow and Aspide radar-guided missiles, making them a superb interceptor. Though most NATO nations reequipped their F-104 units with F-16s, F-18s, or Tornados beginning in 1980, the Italian F-104S fleet was continually upgraded and soldiered on until final retirement in 2004. 2578 F-104s were built, mostly F-104Gs; today over 150 survive in museums, with at least ten flyable examples, making it one of the best preserved of the Century Series.
This F-104A, 56-0753, may have had one of the shortest careers of any museum aircraft in general and the F-104 in particular: it was delivered to the USAF on 7 August 1957 to the USAF Operational Test Center at Eglin AFB, Florida, and then written off in a landing accident only 15 days later. Though 56-0753 would never fly again, it was repaired enough to become a ground instruction trainer. In 1982, it became a gate guard at Camp Robinson, Arkansas, where it remained for 25 years. In 2007, the Hill Aerospace Museum acquired it, and after a long period of restoration to repair nearly three decades in the open, 56-0753 went on display around 2014.
56-0753 is displayed as it would've looked during its 15 day career in 1957; as part of the OTC, it would have lacked squadron markings and carried only the fuselage "buzz numbers" and tail number. Operationally, 56-0753 would have been bare metal, but it is painted in a high-gloss anticorrosion gray to better preserve the aircraft.
This is the Yaesu FT-290R MK2 VHF 144MHz all mode two meter Transceiver,
Nice Quality made in Japan
With the 9 Type C cell rechargeable batteries in the matching FBA-8 case
And the optional FL-2025 Clip on 25 watt matching amplifier
All in very nice condition and working order, The set whilst running on its battery box
Produces 2.5 watts or 500 mw low setting
Modes FM USB & CW
Ideal radio for portable, Mobile or base
73, de Dave.....2W0DAA
Just fitted a brand new set of 9 German quality Ansmann rechargeable 4500mAh Ni-MH Batteries to my Yaesu FT-290R MK2 VHf All mode portable 144Mhz transceiver
73, de Dave 2W0DAA / GW4JKR
Just fitted a brand new set of 9 German quality Ansmann rechargeable 4500mAh Ni-MH Batteries to my Yaesu FT-290R MK2 VHf All mode portable 144Mhz transceiver
73, de Dave 2W0DAA / GW4JKR
In 1969, the Soviet Union learned of the United States’ TFX program, what would become the F-15 Eagle. This aircraft threatened to be far beyond anything the Soviets had in their inventory or planned at the time. To counter the F-15, the Sukhoi design bureau was to begin work on a long-range heavy air superiority fighter. The so-called Advanced Frontline Fighter concept was too ambitious, and so the program was split up into two designs: the long-range air superiority fighter, and the short-range battlefield air superiority fighter. Mikoyan-Gurevich, with its experience in designing light point-defense fighters like the MiG-21, was assigned this second fighter, known as the Advanced Lightweight Fighter. The latter was also meant to counter the American light fighters known to be in the design stage, the F-16 Fighting Falcon and YF-17 Cobra. The Mikoyan-Gurevich design was designated MiG-29 in 1974.
Since both it and the Advanced Frontline Fighter (which would become the Su-27) had a common origin, the designs were broadly similar, though the MiG-29 was a good deal smaller than the Sukhoi design. Both would have blended fuselages, leading-edge wing extensions for better maneuverability, twin tails, and twin engines for better survivalbility—drawing on the same lessons of the Vietnam and Arab-Israeli Wars as the Americans had. Agility was paramount in the MiG-29’s design, as was simplicity and the ability to operate from forward airfields. Because of the latter, a complicated system of vents and doors over the intakes was devised to keep any foreign objects from being sucked into the engines. The intakes themselves were also variable to control airflow to the engines. Some emphasis was given to all-around visibility from the cockpit, as MiG-21 and MiG-23 pilots had complained of poor vision to the front and rear. Because it was meant to be used very close to the fighting front, range was not an important factor in the MiG-29’s design. Mikoyan-Gurevich meant for it to be a rugged aircraft that could maneuver with anything in the West’s inventory, and largely succeeded—despite not using a fly-by-wire control system.
The biggest drawback to the MiG-29 design was its radar. Because Soviet radar technology was still a generation behind that of the West, the multimode, look-down radar the Soviet V-VS desired was too big to fit in a smaller aircraft like the MiG-29. As a result, the radar from the MiG-23MF was adapted and modified. While the radar could track multiple targets, it could not pick out small targets at range and could only guide one missile at a time. This put the MiG-29 at a severe disadvantage: in hypothetical combat with a F-15, both pilots would detect each other at the same time, but the MiG-29 would be unable to respond until the range closed to visual range. Once at close range, the advantage would switch to the more maneuverable MiG-29, which compensated for its lack of long-range firepower by using both a helmet-mounted sight (which allowed pilots to engage targets “off-boresight” of the nose) and an infrared sensor mounted in front of the cockpit. The poor radar, combined with a poorly-designed cockpit, meant that the MiG-29 would not be able to reach its full potential. Nonetheless, it gave Soviet Frontal Aviation a dogfighter that was equal at short range with Western fighters.
The first MiG-29A prototype flew in October 1977; engine trouble which resulted in the loss of two prototypes led to delaying its entry into service until 1984 as the operational MiG-29B. By this time, it had been identified by US reconnaissance satellites as first the “Ram-L” and then as the MiG-29A, though only the prototypes had been given this designation. It was given the reporting name Fulcrum: when the name became known in the Soviet Union after its first public display in Finland in 1986, MiG-29 pilots liked the reporting name so much it was unofficially adopted. The MiG-29 would be extensively exported to Soviet client states.
The MiG-29’s combat experience was mixed: in engagements with F-15s during the First Gulf War in 1991, and F-15s and F-16s in the Bosnia and Kosovo Wars of the late 1990s, it came off second-best. Eleven MiG-29s were lost in air combat during these wars; several others were lost during the Eritrean War of 1999, ironically to Ethiopian Su-27s. 37 nations have operated or continue to operate the Fulcrum: this includes the United States, which purchased a number from Moldova to prevent them from being sold to Iran.The MiG-29 has been extensively upgraded by its operators, usually adding internal fuel, better avionics, and a much-improved radar. India has adopted the MiG-29K for use on its carriers. Some versions use Western electronics. Russian MiG-29s are being gradually upgraded to MiG-29SMT standard, though poor maintenance and aging engines has grounded the V-VS’ fleet on several occasions, as recently as 2009. Over 1600 MiG-29s have been produced, and it continues in production.
Built as serial number 29605 "Blue 53," this MiG-29 is an earlier variant, and was assigned to the 86th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (GIAP) in Moldova. When Moldova became independent after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, 29605 remained with the Moldovan Air Force. As Moldova badly needed foreign currency by 1997, it offered 21 of their MiG-29s--including nuclear-delivery capable MiG-29S variants--on the open market. Fearing Iran might purchase the aircraft, the United States bought them instead, including 29605.
Of the 21 former Moldovan aircraft, many have ended up in museums, and 29605 ended up first at Tyndall AFB, Florida. It was moved in 2008 to the Pima Air and Space Museum.
"Blue 53"/29605 is displayed at the end of Pima's "MiG Row," in faded standard Fulcrum air superiority camouflage. A Guards emblem is displayed underneath the cockpit; Guards regiments were those units that distinguished themselves during World War II. The intake louvres are displayed closed. The canopy shape looks a little off, so I'm not sure if it's been damaged or Pima's preparing 29605 for restoration.
Of the "Moldovan Fulcrums," this marks the third or fourth one I've photographed.
This is the Yaesu FT-290R MK2 VHF 144MHz all mode two meter Transceiver,
Nice Quality made in Japan
With the 9 Type C cell rechargeable batteries in the matching FBA-8 case
And the optional FL-2025 Clip on 25 watt matching amplifier
All in very nice condition and working order, The set whilst running on its battery box
Produces 2.5 watts or 500 mw low setting
Modes FM USB & CW
Ideal radio for portable, Mobile or base
73, de Dave.....2W0DAA
This is the Yaesu FT-290R MK2 VHF 144MHz all mode two meter Transceiver,
Nice Quality made in Japan
With the 9 Type C cell rechargeable batteries in the matching FBA-8 case
And the optional FL-2025 Clip on 25 watt matching amplifier
All in very nice condition and working order, The set whilst running on its battery box
Produces 2.5 watts or 500 mw low setting
Modes FM USB & CW
Ideal radio for portable, Mobile or base
73, de Dave.....2W0DAA
This is the Yaesu FT-290R MK2 VHF 144MHz all mode two meter Transceiver,
Nice Quality made in Japan
With the 9 Type C cell rechargeable batteries in the matching FBA-8 case
And the optional FL-2025 Clip on 25 watt matching amplifier
All in very nice condition and working order, The set whilst running on its battery box
Produces 2.5 watts or 500 mw low setting
Modes FM USB & CW
Ideal radio for portable, Mobile or base
73, de Dave.....2W0DAA
Just fitted a brand new set of 9 German quality Ansmann rechargeable 4500mAh Ni-MH Batteries to my Yaesu FT-290R MK2 VHf All mode portable 144Mhz transceiver
73, de Dave 2W0DAA / GW4JKR
One of the lessons of the Six-Day War of 1967 was that the long runways needed by contemporary fighters were vulnerable targets and could be destroyed, pinning surviving aircraft to a base they could not operate from nor escape. With this in mind, Hawker-Siddeley began research into a vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) aircraft, the P.1127 Kestrel, which would use a revolutionary new engine—the Rolls-Royce Pegasus, which used vectored thrust, in which nozzles were turned for regular flight or hovering. The Kestrel was proven in a series of tests, and the British Royal Air Force accepted a modified Kestrel as the Harrier GR.1.
Involved in the test process of the Kestrel and the Harrier had been the US Marine Corps, who saw potential in the idea: in cases where the Marines had to land on beaches, often airfields were hard to get to or were so badly damaged by fighting as to be useless for a time. The Harrier would allow the Marines to have air support over the beach, as Harriers could operate from small ships or from shore. The Marines would subsequently adopt the Harrier as the AV-8A. This concept of small-ship operation also led to the development of the Sea Harrier for the British Fleet Air Arm, as the United Kingdom wanted to retire its large carriers in favor of smaller “through-deck cruisers”—light carriers with Harriers aboard.
While the Harrier’s V/STOL capability was impressive and touted by some British aviation enthusiasts as the wave of the future, the early AV-8As and Harrier GR.1/3s were limited by their size and engine power: despite being the same size as the A-4 Skyhawk, the latter could carry more bombs faster and further than the AV-8A. The Harrier was notoriously unforgiving and difficult to fly; the FAA learned that the best Sea Harrier pilots were actually those who had been helicopter pilots. It was also a maintenance nightmare: to change the engine, the wings had to be removed. In an attempt to cure or mitigate these problems, British Aerospace and McDonnell Douglas embarked on a joint project to improve the Harrier, mainly with a new, larger wing and uprated engine. Defense cuts in the UK led to British Aerospace withdrawing from the project, but despite pressure from the US Navy to cancel the “Advanced Harrier” project, McDonnell Douglas persisted, converting two Harriers to YAV-8B standard, with new wings and redesigned nozzles and intakes. While performance was still not up to par, it still had increased range and more bombload.
New administrations—Margaret Thatcher’s in England and Ronald Reagan in the US—led to the British rejoining the project and more momentum, and finally, in 1981, the first AV-8B Harrier II flew. This had all of the improvements of the YAV-8B, with a new forward fuselage with a raised cockpit for better visibility, an uprated engine, heavy use of composites to lighten the weight, and leading-edge extensions of the wings. These solved the Harrier’s range and speed problems, and the AV-8B went into full production in January 1984 in the US, quickly followed by the Harrier GR.4 in the UK. Almost immediately, according to Marine requirements, work began on a dedicated night attack Harrier with FLIR infrared guidance and provision for night-vision goggles. These aircraft—unofficially referred to as “Night Attack” Harriers but retaining the basic AV-8B designation—became the baseline version, with earlier “Day Fighter” AV-8Bs converted to this standard.
Though the Sea Harrier had blooded the type in the 1982 Falklands War with phenomenal success, the first war fought by Marine AV-8Bs was the First Gulf War of 1991. Marine Harriers, operating from offshore amphibious assault ships, regular airfields, and forward operating locations, were instrumental in the Marines’ liberation of Kuwait, sustaining a 90 percent operational rate; five Harriers were shot down during the war. One complaint was that the AV-8B lacked a radar and had no long-range capability: should a Harrier get into a dogfight, it would have to rely on short-range AIM-9 Sidewinders. Subsequently, McDonnell Douglas began a long modification and update program, the so-called AV-8B+, which redesigned the nose to accept the same radar as the F-18 Hornet. This allowed the Harrier to fire the AIM-120 AMRAAM and the AGM-84 Harpoon attack missile. These updated Harriers began entering service in 1993.
Since then, AV-8Bs have served in American service in Kosovo, Afghanistan (where they were among the first aircraft in action there), and Iraq, where they were used heavily to cover the Marine assault into Baghdad. The design was also updated for British service as the Harrier GR.9, and also used in Kosovo and Afghanistan; budget cuts saw the premature retirement of the GR.9s, which have been subsequently taken up by the US Marines, though the GR.9 lacks the multimode radar of the AV-8B+. Spain and Italy have also adopted the AV-8B for use off of their light carriers—Spain’s Principe de Asturias and Italy’s Garibaldi-class; these aircraft are identical to the Marine AV-8B+. Two concerns of the original Harrier—its high accident rate and high maintenance requirements—still exist, and figured into the British retirement of their GR.9s. Nonetheless, the Harrier is scheduled to service for at least another decade, until it is replaced by the F-35C Lightning II. 323 were built and most remain in service.
AV-8B+ BuNo 164533's service history is a bit elusive. It is known that it served with VMA-211 ("Wake Island Avengers"), VMA-311 ("Tomcats"), and--weirdly enough--HMM-365 ("Blue Knights"), which was normally equipped with CH-46E Seaknights, but apparently had a small number of AV-8Bs assigned for a short time. When, exactly, it served with these units is not known. It more than likely was retired in 2016 when VMFA-211 reequipped with F-35B Lightnings, and went on display at the MCAS Yuma airpark in 2021, making it the newest addition there.
164553 carries the overall gunship gray color scheme used by Marine AV-8s at the end of their career; VMA-211's squadron badge is carried on the nose. The camouflage has been slightly marred by the birds targeting this aircraft in particular. It is displayed with two Mk 82 bombs and two LAU-10 rocket pods. For a picture taken through the fence, this turned out rather nice.
Just fitted a brand new set of 9 German quality Ansmann rechargeable 4500mAh Ni-MH Batteries to my Yaesu FT-290R MK2 VHf All mode portable 144Mhz transceiver
73, de Dave 2W0DAA / GW4JKR
The age and vulnerability of the RF-101C Voodoo was apparent by the Vietnam War. As losses rose among the Voodoo community, the USAF sought a faster and newer replacement. The solution turned out to be yet another variant of the eminently adaptable F-4C Phantom II. The basic airframe was retained with a new nose, with three cameras placed inside. As the RF-4C was meant to be unarmed, it was not necessary to retain the multimode interception radar of the F-4C, and the RF-4C used the smaller AN/APQ-99 navigation radar. Lighter and more aerodynamic than the F-4C, the RF-4C proved to be the perfect replacement for the RF-101 and remaining RF-84F Thunderstreaks in USAF service. It entered service in 1965.
The RF-4C would be the last dedicated manned tactical reconnaissance aircraft in USAF service. They were used extensively over Vietnam, and in active-duty USAF squadrons until the late 1980s, when they were relegated to Air National Guard units. The last two squadrons of ANG RF-4Cs saw service during the First Gulf War, after which they were retired completely. A number were supplied to foreign air forces afterwards, but the RF-4E (built off of the early F-4E variant) remains the primary foreign RF-4 version.
65-0886 was delivered to the USAF's 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Shaw AFB, South Carolina in 1967. It remained stateside and didn't see action during Vietnam, and in 1971, was transferred to the 117th TRW (Alabama ANG) at Birmingham. After a short stint in Illinois, 65-0886 was sent to the 152nd TRW (Nevada ANG) at Reno in 1978, where it would serve for the rest of its career.
It was among the aircraft deployed to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield, and then flew combat during Desert Storm--the First Gulf War. Despite extensive use, the 152nd lost no aircraft during the war. (Supposedly, one of the wing's RF-4s dropped its wing tanks after it came under attack from Iraqi MiGs, and the tank promptly hit the MiG and destroyed it. This is not corraborated by any USAF official MiG kill records, and likely is just a wing legend...but stranger things have happened.) In 1994, when the 192nd switched over to the airlift mission, 65-0886 was retired and was preserved as a gate guard at the Nevada ANG's base at Reno International Airport.
Having seen this aircraft on Google Earth, I made it a point to see it during my May 2021 trip to California and Nevada. It is in excellent shape, one of the finest gate guards I've seen, wearing its "war paint" of Egypt One camouflage adopted by RF-4C units towards the end of its career. Though it is displayed "clean" with only wing pylons, it should be noted that the 152nd's RF-4Cs did carry Sidewinders operationally; the wing was a little reluctant to completely embrace the motto of "Alone, Unarmed, Unafraid." The wing's distinctive "High Rollers" emblem is carried on the tail--very appropriate for a unit based in Reno!
The 152nd has a RF-101 on display as well, but that one is on display inside the base itself, and sadly is off-limits to civvies such as myself.
This matching pair of Transceivers are for 433Mhz, 70 cms band, & 144Mhz and Two meter band
FM SSB CW Multimode Operation, Pwr: 5 watts Low, 25 watts Hi
73, ....de...Dave...2W0DAA / GW4JKR
The "Auto Notch" unit is the inverted board on the right.
This could be bought as a separate item allowing an FL2 to be upgrade to an FL3.
All achieved with analogue electronics, no DSP back then, of course!
A combination of low radar, IR and visual signatures, along with the long range PS05 multimode radar and sensor fusion, including world leading new generation weapon integration, ensure a high hit-ratio in long range engagements.
While the F-16A had proven a success, its lack of long-range missile and true all-weather capability hampered it, especially in projected combat against the Warsaw Pact over Central Europe. General Dynamics began work on the upgraded F-16C/D version, with the first Block 25 F-16C flying in June 1984 and entering USAF service that September.
Externally, the only ways to tell apart the F-16C from the F-16A is the slightly enlarged base of the tail and a UHF radio antenna at the base of the tail. The intake is also slightly larger, though later marks of the F-16A also have this feature. Internally, however, the F-16C is a significantly different aircraft. The earlier APG-66 radar was replaced by the APG-68 multimode radar used by the F/A-18, which gave the F-16C the same capability to switch between ground-attack and dogfight mode and vastly improved all-weather capability. Cockpit layout was also changed in response to pilots’ requests, with a larger Heads-Up Display and movement of the radar display to eye level rather than between the pilot’s legs on the F-16A. The F-16C would also have the capability to carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM, though it would not be until 1992 that the missile entered service. Other small upgrades were made throughout the design, including the engine.
The Block 25 initial production was superseded by the Block 30 F-16C in 1987, which gave it better navigation systems, and the capability to carry the either the General Electric F110 or the Pratt and Whitney F100 turbofan. The Block 40/42 “Night Falcon” followed in 1988, equipped with LANTIRN night attack pods, followed by the Block 50/52, which was a dedicated Wild Weasel variant. In USAF service, the latter are semi-officially known as F-16CG and F-16CJ variants.
The F-16C had replaced the F-16A in nearly all overseas USAF units by the First Gulf War in 1991, and as a result, the aircraft was among the first deployed to the theater in August 1990. During the war, the F-16C was used mainly in ground attack and strike sorties, due to delays in the AIM-120, but it performed superbly in this role. USAF F-16s finally scored kills in the F-16C, beginning in 1992, when an Iraqi MiG-23 was shot down over the southern no-fly zone; the victory was also the first with the AMRAAM. Four Serbian G-4 Super Galebs were shot down over Bosnia in 1994. F-16Cs had replaced the F-16A entirely in regular and Reserve USAF service by 1997, and further service was seen over Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya by 2012. Subsequent upgrades to USAF F-16Cs with GPS allow them to carry advanced precision weapons such as JSOW and JDAM.
Whatever the variant, the F-16 is today the most prolific combat aircraft in existence, with 28 nations operating the type (17 of which operate F-16Cs). Over 4450 have been built, with more in production; the F-16C is also license-produced by Turkey and South Korea. It also forms the basis for the Mitsubishi F-2 fighter for Japan, though the F-2 is significantly different, with a longer nose and larger wing. Though the USAF projects that the F-16C will be replaced by the F-35 beginning in 2020, it will likely remain in service for a very long time.
I'm not sure what this maneuver is called, as I'd never seen the Thunderbirds perform it before. It was one of the last parts of the team's show at Wings Over the Falls 2017, where the whole team approached show center, then split into six directions. It was definitely impressive, and something new.
Just fitted a brand new set of 9 German quality Ansmann rechargeable 4500mAh Ni-MH Batteries to my Yaesu FT-290R MK2 VHf All mode portable 144Mhz transceiver
73, de Dave 2W0DAA / GW4JKR
Just fitted a brand new set of 9 German quality Ansmann rechargeable 4500mAh Ni-MH Batteries to my Yaesu FT-290R MK2 VHf All mode portable 144Mhz transceiver
73, de Dave 2W0DAA / GW4JKR
The fourth of the 1950s era “Century Series,” the F-104 Starfighter was designed around one single element: speed. Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, head of Lockheed’s famous “Skunk Works” factory, had interviewed US Air Force pilots during the Korean War, seeking their input on any new fighter. Since the pilots reported that they wanted high performance more than anything else, Johnson returned to the United States determined to deliver exactly that: a simple, point-defense interceptor marrying the lightest airframe to the most powerful engine then available, the superb General Electric J79.
When Johnson offered the L-098 design to the USAF in 1952, the service was so impressed that they created an entire competition for the aircraft to be accepted, ostensibly as a F-100 Super Sabre replacement. The Lockheed design had the clear edge, though both North American’s and Northrop’s design went on to be built themselves—the North American F-107A Ultra Sabre and the Northrop T-38 Talon. The USAF purchased the L-098 as the F-104A Starfighter. The design changed very little from initial design to prototype to operational aircraft, which was done in the astonishing time of two years.
When the first F-104As reached the USAF in 1958, pilots quickly found that it was indeed a hot fighter—too hot. The Starfighter’s design philosophy of speed above all else resulted in an aircraft with a long fuselage, T-tail for stability, and small wings, which were so thin that special guards had to be put on the leading edges to avoid injuring ground personnel. Because of its small wing, the F-104 required a lot of runway, and blown flaps (which vents airflow from the engine over the flaps to increase lift) were a necessity; unfortunately, the airflow system often failed, which meant that the F-104 pilot would be coming in at a dangerous rate of speed. Because it was feared that a pilot who ejected from a F-104 would never clear the tail, a downward-ejection seat was fitted, but after killing over 20 pilots, the seat was retrofitted with a more reliable, upward-firing type. The design also was not very maneuverable in the horizontal, though it was difficult to match in the vertical. Its shape earned it the moniker “Missile With a Man In It” and “Zipper.”
One thing pilots did not complain about was its speed—the listed top speed of the F-104 was Mach 2.2, but this was because above that the fuselage would melt. The J79 was a near flawless engine that gave the Starfighter an excellent thrust-to-weight ratio; uniquely, the intake design of the Starfighter gave the engine a bansheelike wail. So superb was the F-104 at level speed and climbing that NASA leased several as trainers for the X-15 program, and in setting a number of speed and time-to-climb records.
If the F-104 had gotten a mixed reception at best in the USAF, Lockheed felt that it had potential as an export aircraft. Beating out several excellent British and other American designs in a 1961 competition, every NATO nation except France and Great Britain bought F-104s and manufactured their own as the F-104G; Japan also license-built Starfighters as F-104Js, while still more were supplied to Pakistan and Taiwan. Just as in USAF service, accident rates were incredibly high, particularly in West German and Canadian service—Germany lost 30 percent of its initial batch, and the Canadians over half. Worries that the F-104 was too “hot” for pilots usually transitioning from the F-86 were ignored, and later it was learned why: German, Dutch, and Japanese politicians later admitted to being bribed by Lockheed into buying the Starfighter.
Its high accident rate earned such nicknames as “Widowmaker,” “Flying Coffin,” and “Ground Nail.” Pakistani pilots simply called it Badmash (“Criminal”) and the Japanese Eiko (“Glory,” inferring that it was the easiest way to reach it). German pilots joked that the quickest way to obtain a F-104 was to buy a patch of land and wait.
Nonetheless, once pilots learned how to tame the beast, the accident rates eased somewhat, and NATO pilots discovered that the Starfighter excelled as a low-level attack aircraft: fitted with bomb racks, the F-104 was remarkably stable at low altitude and high speed, and Luftwaffe pilots in particular found that they could sneak up on a target, launch a simulated attack, and be gone before ground defenses could react. The Italians in particular loved the F-104, building their own as the F-104S: these aircraft were equipped with multimode radar and armed with AIM-7 Sparrow and Aspide radar-guided missiles, making them a superb interceptor. Though most NATO nations reequipped their F-104 units with F-16s, F-18s, or Tornados beginning in 1980, the Italian F-104S fleet was continually upgraded and soldiered on until final retirement in 2004. 2578 F-104s were built, mostly F-104Gs; today over 150 survive in museums, with at least ten flyable examples, making it one of the best preserved of the Century Series.
Though painted as a F-104C, this is actually a F-104G, D-8244, formerly of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. Delivered in 1964, it would serve with both 311 and 312 Squadron at Volkel until 1983, when it was retired. D-8244 was then used as a battle damage repair trainer until 2005, when it was purchased by the Palm Springs Air Museum. It would take seven years to restore it, but in 2012 D-8244 went on display, painted as 57-0913, which was shot down during the Vietnam War while part of the 479th Tactical Fighter Wing, at Da Nang, South Vietnam.
This is not the best picture of this aircraft--Palm Springs, much like many of the museums in California in May 2021, was still under coronavirus restrictions; this meant crowding the aircraft together for social distancing. It does give an idea of the length of the F-104, and the thinness of the wing. The 479th's F-104s were later camouflaged, but when they first arrived in Southeast Asia, they retained their bare metal finish and TAC markings; D-8244 is painted in easier to maintain aluminum paint.
EDIT (June 2023): I was able to get a much better picture of this aircraft on the return trip to Palm Springs in 2023. The hangar had been cleared out some, and as a result I had an unobstructed view of the entire aircraft!
EDIT (June 2025): And an even better view outside in 2025!
The A-6 Intruder was designed to serve two roles: one, to replace the aging A-1 Skyraider and supplement the A-4 Skyhawk in the carrier-based strike role, and two, to give the US Navy a genuine all-weather strike aircraft. The requirement was issued in 1957, and Grumman’s A2F-1 design selected, with the first flight in 1960. In 1962, just before fleet entry in 1963, the Intruder was redesignated A-6A.
The A-6 was designed to hit targets with pinpoint accuracy in adverse weather, day or night, similar to what the USAF would later require for the F-111 Aardvark. For this reason, it was built around the Digital Integrated Attack/Navigation Equipment (DIANE), which used three radar systems to constantly update the INS and provide attack data to the bombardier/navigator sitting in the right seat. The system proved very complicated and it would be some years before it was perfected. Since the weather and night would be the Intruder’s primary defense, no internal armament equipped the aircraft, though it could carry an impressive 18,000 pound warload.
The Intruder was committed early to the Vietnam War, which showed up the flaws in the DIANE system and a more lethal one in the bomb delivery system, which had a tendency to set off the bombs prematurely, destroying the aircraft. Gradually improvements were made, and despite the loss of 84 Intruders over Vietnam, it proved to be extremely effective: until the bugs were ironed out of the F-111A in 1971, the A-6 remained the only American aircraft that could attack during the monsoon season.
Specialized A-6Bs were also produced specifically for Iron Hand defense suppression missions, and A-6Cs for anti-truck operations on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. All three variants were replaced by the A-6E beginning in 1971: this replaced DIANE with a more advanced solid-state computer and the three radars with a single AN/APQ-148 multimode radar. In 1979, the A-6E was further modified with the installation of Target Recognition Attack Multisensor (TRAM), consisting of a turret in the nose containing FLIR linked to the radar and a new bomb computer. Besides making the already accurate A-6 even more deadly, it also allowed the Intruder to drop laser-guided bombs, hit moving targets with bombs, and also use passive radar to attack a target.
A-6s would find themselves once more heavily employed during the First Gulf War, flying 4700 sorties for the loss of four aircraft; its final roles would find it supporting Marines in Somalia in 1991 and UN forces in Bosnia in 1995. By that time, surviving A-6Es had been partially upgraded to allow them to fire all newer guided weapons in the inventory (namely the AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-65 Maverick, and AGM-88 HARM), while most of the fleet also received composite wings.
Grumman further proposed an updated version designated A-6F, with new avionics and engines, but the US Navy rejected this in favor of replacing the Intruder with first the cancelled stealthy A-12A Avenger II, then the F/A-18C/D Hornet. The last A-6E left US Navy service by Feburary 1997; the US Marine Corps had retired theirs in 1993. Older, non-modified aircraft were sunk as an artificial reef off Florida; others remain at AMARC for scrapping.
This Intruder, Bureau Number 151782, was originally built as an A-6A, and joined the Fleet in 1965, starting with VA-65 ("Black Panthers") aboard the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63); it would see combat over Vietnam with VA-65. In 1969, it was transferred to VA-145 ("Swordsmen") aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), then to VA-115 ("Arabs") aboard the USS Midway (CV-41). During this time period, 151782 was upgraded to an A-6E. After a short stint with VA-95 ("Green Lizards") aboard the USS Coral Sea (CV-43), it was back to VA-115 and the Midway--though by this time VA-115 had become the more politically-correct "Eagles." 151782 was retired in 1980.
But that was not the end for 151782. In 1990, it was returned to duty as an attrition replacement, then went to VA-34 ("Blue Blasters") aboard the USS Dwight Eisenhower (CVN-69). 151782's second lease on life didn't last long, and it was back in storage in 1995 at AMARG in Arizona. In 2004, however, it was saved from being scrapped by being donated to the USS Midway Museum, where 151782 had spent more time than any other point in its career.
Like many of the aircraft aboard the Midway, 151782 carries different squadron markings on either side of the aircraft. On the left side, it carries the markings of VMA(AW)-224 ("Bengals") from its service aboard the USS Coral Sea (CV-43), while on the right it carries VA-115's colors from its time aboard the Midway. It is displayed on the starboard bow catapult, loaded with no less than 30 Mk 81 500-pound Snakeye bombs.
Just on the other side of this aircraft is a mannequin of a catapult officer on one knee, giving the "shoot" signal to launch aircraft. You can bet I made sure to get a picture of myself right with him!
While the F-16A had proven a success, its lack of long-range missile and true all-weather capability hampered it, especially in projected combat against the Warsaw Pact over Central Europe. General Dynamics began work on the upgraded F-16C/D version, with the first Block 25 F-16C flying in June 1984 and entering USAF service that September.
Externally, the only ways to tell apart the F-16C from the F-16A is the slightly enlarged base of the tail and a UHF radio antenna at the base of the tail. The intake is also slightly larger, though later marks of the F-16A also have this feature. Internally, however, the F-16C is a significantly different aircraft. The earlier APG-66 radar was replaced by the APG-68 multimode radar used by the F/A-18, which gave the F-16C the same capability to switch between ground-attack and dogfight mode and vastly improved all-weather capability. Cockpit layout was also changed in response to pilots’ requests, with a larger Heads-Up Display and movement of the radar display to eye level rather than between the pilot’s legs on the F-16A. The F-16C would also have the capability to carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM, though it would not be until 1992 that the missile entered service. Other small upgrades were made throughout the design, including the engine.
The Block 25 initial production was superseded by the Block 30 F-16C in 1987, which gave it better navigation systems, and the capability to carry the either the General Electric F110 or the Pratt and Whitney F100 turbofan. The Block 40/42 “Night Falcon” followed in 1988, equipped with LANTIRN night attack pods, followed by the Block 50/52, which was a dedicated Wild Weasel variant. In USAF service, the latter are semi-officially known as F-16CG and F-16CJ variants.
The F-16C had replaced the F-16A in nearly all overseas USAF units by the First Gulf War in 1991, and as a result, the aircraft was among the first deployed to the theater in August 1990. During the war, the F-16C was used mainly in ground attack and strike sorties, due to delays in the AIM-120, but it performed superbly in this role. USAF F-16s finally scored kills in the F-16C, beginning in 1992, when an Iraqi MiG-23 was shot down over the southern no-fly zone; the victory was also the first with the AMRAAM. Four Serbian G-4 Super Galebs were shot down over Bosnia in 1994. F-16Cs had replaced the F-16A entirely in regular and Reserve USAF service by 1997, and further service was seen over Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya by 2012. Subsequent upgrades to USAF F-16Cs with GPS allow them to carry advanced precision weapons such as JSOW and JDAM.
Whatever the variant, the F-16 is today the most prolific combat aircraft in existence, with 28 nations operating the type (17 of which operate F-16Cs). Over 4450 have been built, with more in production; the F-16C is also license-produced by Turkey and South Korea. It also forms the basis for the Mitsubishi F-2 fighter for Japan, though the F-2 is significantly different, with a longer nose and larger wing. Though the USAF projects that the F-16C will be replaced by the F-35 beginning in 2020, it will likely remain in service for a very long time.
This picture shows off the entire Thunderbirds team, all six aircraft in the delta formation in a team pass in front of the crowd. This picture was taken at the Wings Over the Falls airshow in Great Falls, MT in July 2017.
The A-6 Intruder was designed to serve two roles: one, to replace the aging A-1 Skyraider and supplement the A-4 Skyhawk in the carrier-based strike role, and two, to give the US Navy a genuine all-weather strike aircraft. The requirement was issued in 1957, and Grumman’s A2F-1 design selected, with the first flight in 1960. In 1962, just before fleet entry in 1963, the Intruder was redesignated A-6A.
The A-6 was designed to hit targets with pinpoint accuracy in adverse weather, day or night, similar to what the USAF would later require for the F-111 Aardvark. For this reason, it was built around the Digital Integrated Attack/Navigation Equipment (DIANE), which used three radar systems to constantly update the INS and provide attack data to the bombardier/navigator sitting in the right seat. The system proved very complicated and it would be some years before it was perfected. Since the weather and night would be the Intruder’s primary defense, no internal armament equipped the aircraft, though it could carry an impressive 18,000 pound warload.
The Intruder was committed early to the Vietnam War, which showed up the flaws in the DIANE system and a more lethal one in the bomb delivery system, which had a tendency to set off the bombs prematurely, destroying the aircraft. Gradually improvements were made, and despite the loss of 84 Intruders over Vietnam, it proved to be extremely effective: until the bugs were ironed out of the F-111A in 1971, the A-6 remained the only American aircraft that could attack during the monsoon season.
Specialized A-6Bs were also produced specifically for Iron Hand defense suppression missions, and A-6Cs for anti-truck operations on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. All three variants were replaced by the A-6E beginning in 1971: this replaced DIANE with a more advanced solid-state computer and the three radars with a single AN/APQ-148 multimode radar. In 1979, the A-6E was further modified with the installation of Target Recognition Attack Multisensor (TRAM), consisting of a turret in the nose containing FLIR linked to the radar and a new bomb computer. Besides making the already accurate A-6 even more deadly, it also allowed the Intruder to drop laser-guided bombs, hit moving targets with bombs, and also use passive radar to attack a target.
A-6s would find themselves once more heavily employed during the First Gulf War, flying 4700 sorties for the loss of four aircraft; its final roles would find it supporting Marines in Somalia in 1991 and UN forces in Bosnia in 1995. By that time, surviving A-6Es had been partially upgraded to allow them to fire all newer guided weapons in the inventory (namely the AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-65 Maverick, and AGM-88 HARM), while most of the fleet also received composite wings.
Grumman further proposed an updated version designated A-6F, with new avionics and engines, but the US Navy rejected this in favor of replacing the Intruder with first the cancelled stealthy A-12A Avenger II, then the F/A-18C/D Hornet. The last A-6E left US Navy service by Feburary 1997; the US Marine Corps had retired theirs in 1993. Older, non-modified aircraft were sunk as an artificial reef off Florida; others remain at AMARC for scrapping.
Bureau Number 155644 was built as an A-6A, and started its career with VA-128 ("Golden Intruders"), serving as a trainer for new A-6 crews at NAS Whidbey Island, Washington. It went to the Fleet in 1969, flying with VA-165 ("Boomers") aboard the USS Independence (CV-62); 155644 saw combat over Vietnam during Operation Freedom Train and Linebacker I. After the end of American involvement in Vietnam, 155644 returned to VA-128, then was upgraded to an A-6E in 1977.
155644 would go on to serve with both Navy and Marine squadrons: VA-34 ("Blue Blasters") aboard the USS Dwight Eisenhower (CVN-69) from 1977-1981; VMA(AW)-242 ("Bats") and VMA(AW)-121 ("Green Knights") at MCAS El Toro, California from 1981-1991; and finally VA-115 ("Eagles"), back aboard the Independence. It was retired in 1994, and donated to the Yanks Air Museum a few years later. (Serving with so many squadrons is not unusual for Navy or Marine squadrons.)
One of two A-6s in Yanks' boneyard, 155644 is little more than a wreck: it is missing its wings, canopy, TRAM turret, and significant parts of the airframe. As a Vietnam veteran, it would be nice to see it restored, and it may be, or it may be used as a parts source for the other A-6, 160995. I saw it in May 2021.
What about what happened to me last week? I went to Gedling on the edge of Nottingham (UK) to do a filmed interview - for research into the working relationships of scrutiny members and officers in local government. My camera and kit were in my bike’s pannier. I’d checked my route – cycle, train, cycle, bus – on the website Transport Direct which works out an A to B route that includes walking, even calculating a journey's CO2 use. In Upper Parliament Street where I’d cycled from the station, I found a number 7 bus parked, and started to fold my bicycle to board it, when the driver, in a harsh voice - so it sounded to me - said “You can’t put that bike on my bus". The bus contained two people and had spaces for baby buggies and a wheelchair. I continued folding, hoping he’d see my Brompton’s portability. The driver must have read this as evidence of my intention to bypass his prohibition. He continued to repeat himself in the most hortatory tone. This sort of thing is so rare in my experience. I suggested he phone his company. He got out his mobile and after a moment's chat on the phone I saw him nod and heard him mutter "at driver’s discretion". He turned to me and, with what I perhaps imagined was a gleam of satisfaction, said “Right! I’m exercising my discretion and you aren't putting that bike on my bus”.
I had a map and set out to cycle the three miles or so to Gedling. As I climbed the hill out of the city, on the Mansfield Road, I encountered the same unhelpful driver in his red bus halted at a red light at a T-junction. While 'his' bus was stopped I took out my camera and filmed the driver through his windscreen. He got on his mobile phone and called the police. “I'm being harassed by a passenger” he said. ‘Passenger? I wish I was' I thought. The police soon arrived in a little car with a twirling blue light. One officer spoke to me; the other to the driver. They conferred, took details and said it was a 'civil matter' and nothing to do with them. We parted.
Later I phoned the bus company and spoke to a genial person who apologised on behalf of the company with a remark about how some drivers in their concern for passengers could become 'proprietorial about their vehicles'. I was pacified. While the altercation had been going on that morning a delayed woman passenger had decided to walk. As she alighted I apologised. She shrugged encompassingly and said "men!'
This is the Yaesu FT-817ND Portable hf vhf uhf Transceiver
Nice quality unit, Made in Japan
73, de Dave 2W0DAA / GW4JKR
While the F-16A had proven a success, its lack of long-range missile and true all-weather capability hampered it, especially in projected combat against the Warsaw Pact over Central Europe. General Dynamics began work on the upgraded F-16C/D version, with the first Block 25 F-16C flying in June 1984 and entering USAF service that September.
Externally, the only ways to tell apart the F-16C from the F-16A is the slightly enlarged base of the tail and a UHF radio antenna at the base of the tail. The intake is also slightly larger, though later marks of the F-16A also have this feature. Internally, however, the F-16C is a significantly different aircraft. The earlier APG-66 radar was replaced by the APG-68 multimode radar used by the F/A-18, which gave the F-16C the same capability to switch between ground-attack and dogfight mode and vastly improved all-weather capability. Cockpit layout was also changed in response to pilots’ requests, with a larger Heads-Up Display and movement of the radar display to eye level rather than between the pilot’s legs on the F-16A. The F-16C would also have the capability to carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM, though it would not be until 1992 that the missile entered service. Other small upgrades were made throughout the design, including the engine.
The Block 25 initial production was superseded by the Block 30 F-16C in 1987, which gave it better navigation systems, and the capability to carry the either the General Electric F110 or the Pratt and Whitney F100 turbofan. The Block 40/42 “Night Falcon” followed in 1988, equipped with LANTIRN night attack pods, followed by the Block 50/52, which was a dedicated Wild Weasel variant. In USAF service, the latter are semi-officially known as F-16CG and F-16CJ variants.
The F-16C had replaced the F-16A in nearly all overseas USAF units by the First Gulf War in 1991, and as a result, the aircraft was among the first deployed to the theater in August 1990. During the war, the F-16C was used mainly in ground attack and strike sorties, due to delays in the AIM-120, but it performed superbly in this role. USAF F-16s finally scored kills in the F-16C, beginning in 1992, when an Iraqi MiG-23 was shot down over the southern no-fly zone; the victory was also the first with the AMRAAM. Four Serbian G-4 Super Galebs were shot down over Bosnia in 1994. F-16Cs had replaced the F-16A entirely in regular and Reserve USAF service by 1997, and further service was seen over Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya by 2012. Subsequent upgrades to USAF F-16Cs with GPS allow them to carry advanced precision weapons such as JSOW and JDAM.
Whatever the variant, the F-16 is today the most prolific combat aircraft in existence, with 28 nations operating the type (17 of which operate F-16Cs). Over 4450 have been built, with more in production; the F-16C is also license-produced by Turkey and South Korea. It also forms the basis for the Mitsubishi F-2 fighter for Japan, though the F-2 is significantly different, with a longer nose and larger wing. Though the USAF projects that the F-16C will be replaced by the F-35 beginning in 2020, it will likely remain in service for a very long time.
Since I had taken so many pictures of the Thunderbirds when they came to Great Falls, Montana in 2017, I contented myself with just one picture of their lineup this time around in 2022. This view shows all six of the team's F-16Cs, from Thunderbird One to the left to Six on the right.
I may not have gotten much of the Thunderbirds this time around, but that is not to say I was bored in the least with their show. As always, the Thunderbirds put on a great performance--even if this year, the sneak pass with the four-ship diamond, in full afterburner, left me with some sore eardrums!
The A-6 Intruder was designed to serve two roles: one, to replace the aging A-1 Skyraider and supplement the A-4 Skyhawk in the carrier-based strike role, and two, to give the US Navy a genuine all-weather strike aircraft. The requirement was issued in 1957, and Grumman’s A2F-1 design selected, with the first flight in 1960. In 1962, just before fleet entry in 1963, the Intruder was redesignated A-6A.
The A-6 was designed to hit targets with pinpoint accuracy in adverse weather, day or night, similar to what the USAF would later require for the F-111 Aardvark. For this reason, it was built around the Digital Integrated Attack/Navigation Equipment (DIANE), which used three radar systems to constantly update the INS and provide attack data to the bombardier/navigator sitting in the right seat. The system proved very complicated and it would be some years before it was perfected. Since the weather and night would be the Intruder’s primary defense, no internal armament equipped the aircraft, though it could carry an impressive 18,000 pound warload.
The Intruder was committed early to the Vietnam War, which showed up the flaws in the DIANE system and a more lethal one in the bomb delivery system, which had a tendency to set off the bombs prematurely, destroying the aircraft. Gradually improvements were made, and despite the loss of 84 Intruders over Vietnam, it proved to be extremely effective: until the bugs were ironed out of the F-111A in 1971, the A-6 remained the only American aircraft that could attack during the monsoon season.
Specialized A-6Bs were also produced specifically for Iron Hand defense suppression missions, and A-6Cs for anti-truck operations on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. All three variants were replaced by the A-6E beginning in 1971: this replaced DIANE with a more advanced solid-state computer and the three radars with a single AN/APQ-148 multimode radar. In 1979, the A-6E was further modified with the installation of Target Recognition Attack Multisensor (TRAM), consisting of a turret in the nose containing FLIR linked to the radar and a new bomb computer. Besides making the already accurate A-6 even more deadly, it also allowed the Intruder to drop laser-guided bombs, hit moving targets with bombs, and also use passive radar to attack a target.
A-6s would find themselves once more heavily employed during the First Gulf War, flying 4700 sorties for the loss of four aircraft; its final roles would find it supporting Marines in Somalia in 1991 and UN forces in Bosnia in 1995. By that time, surviving A-6Es had been partially upgraded to allow them to fire all newer guided weapons in the inventory (namely the AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-65 Maverick, and AGM-88 HARM), while most of the fleet also received composite wings.
Grumman further proposed an updated version designated A-6F, with new avionics and engines, but the US Navy rejected this in favor of replacing the Intruder with first the cancelled stealthy A-12A Avenger II, then the F/A-18C/D Hornet. The last A-6E left US Navy service by Feburary 1997; the US Marine Corps had retired theirs in 1993. Older, non-modified aircraft were sunk as an artificial reef off Florida; others remain at AMARC for scrapping.
BuNo 160995, an A-6E, was delivered in 1978 to VA-65 ("Tigers"), spending most of its time with that squadron aboard the USS Dwight Eisenhower (CVN-69). In 1986, it was transferred to VA-42 ("Green Pawns"). When VA-65 was disestabilished in 1994, 160995 was transferred to VA-196 ("Main Battery"), and retired in 1997 when VA-196 was also disestablished. During its time with the squadron aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), 160955 may have participated in Operation Desert Fox, the 1996 airstrike on Iraq. It was donated to the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California soon after retirement.
160995 is one of two A-6s at Yanks, both in the museum boneyard. It is not in good shape, missing its canopy and wings, but VA-196's ace of spades emblem is still visible. For movie and book buffs, VA-196 was the squadron from "Flight of the Intruder."
The fourth of the 1950s era “Century Series,” the F-104 Starfighter was designed around one single element: speed. Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, head of Lockheed’s famous “Skunk Works” factory, had interviewed US Air Force pilots during the Korean War, seeking their input on any new fighter. Since the pilots reported that they wanted high performance more than anything else, Johnson returned to the United States determined to deliver exactly that: a simple, point-defense interceptor marrying the lightest airframe to the most powerful engine then available, the superb General Electric J79.
When Johnson offered the L-098 design to the USAF in 1952, the service was so impressed that they created an entire competition for the aircraft to be accepted, ostensibly as a F-100 Super Sabre replacement. The Lockheed design had the clear edge, though both North American’s and Northrop’s design went on to be built themselves—the North American F-107A Ultra Sabre and the Northrop T-38 Talon. The USAF purchased the L-098 as the F-104A Starfighter. The design changed very little from initial design to prototype to operational aircraft, which was done in the astonishing time of two years.
When the first F-104As reached the USAF in 1958, pilots quickly found that it was indeed a hot fighter—too hot. The Starfighter’s design philosophy of speed above all else resulted in an aircraft with a long fuselage, T-tail for stability, and small wings, which were so thin that special guards had to be put on the leading edges to avoid injuring ground personnel. Because of its small wing, the F-104 required a lot of runway, and blown flaps (which vents airflow from the engine over the flaps to increase lift) were a necessity; unfortunately, the airflow system often failed, which meant that the F-104 pilot would be coming in at a dangerous rate of speed. Because it was feared that a pilot who ejected from a F-104 would never clear the tail, a downward-ejection seat was fitted, but after killing over 20 pilots, the seat was retrofitted with a more reliable, upward-firing type. The design also was not very maneuverable in the horizontal, though it was difficult to match in the vertical. Its shape earned it the moniker “Missile With a Man In It” and “Zipper.”
One thing pilots did not complain about was its speed—the listed top speed of the F-104 was Mach 2.2, but this was because above that the fuselage would melt. The J79 was a near flawless engine that gave the Starfighter an excellent thrust-to-weight ratio; uniquely, the intake design of the Starfighter gave the engine a bansheelike wail. So superb was the F-104 at level speed and climbing that NASA leased several as trainers for the X-15 program, and in setting a number of speed and time-to-climb records.
If the F-104 had gotten a mixed reception at best in the USAF, Lockheed felt that it had potential as an export aircraft. Beating out several excellent British and other American designs in a 1961 competition, every NATO nation except France and Great Britain bought F-104s and manufactured their own as the F-104G; Japan also license-built Starfighters as F-104Js, while still more were supplied to Pakistan and Taiwan. Just as in USAF service, accident rates were incredibly high, particularly in West German and Canadian service—Germany lost 30 percent of its initial batch, and the Canadians over half. Worries that the F-104 was too “hot” for pilots usually transitioning from the F-86 were ignored, and later it was learned why: German, Dutch, and Japanese politicians later admitted to being bribed by Lockheed into buying the Starfighter.
Its high accident rate earned such nicknames as “Widowmaker,” “Flying Coffin,” and “Ground Nail.” Pakistani pilots simply called it Badmash (“Criminal”) and the Japanese Eiko (“Glory,” inferring that it was the easiest way to reach it). German pilots joked that the quickest way to obtain a F-104 was to buy a patch of land and wait.
Nonetheless, once pilots learned how to tame the beast, the accident rates eased somewhat, and NATO pilots discovered that the Starfighter excelled as a low-level attack aircraft: fitted with bomb racks, the F-104 was remarkably stable at low altitude and high speed, and Luftwaffe pilots in particular found that they could sneak up on a target, launch a simulated attack, and be gone before ground defenses could react. The Italians in particular loved the F-104, building their own as the F-104S: these aircraft were equipped with multimode radar and armed with AIM-7 Sparrow and Aspide radar-guided missiles, making them a superb interceptor. Though most NATO nations reequipped their F-104 units with F-16s, F-18s, or Tornados beginning in 1980, the Italian F-104S fleet was continually upgraded and soldiered on until final retirement in 2004. 2578 F-104s were built, mostly F-104Gs; today over 150 survive in museums, with at least ten flyable examples, making it one of the best preserved of the Century Series.
This F-104C is...not actually a F-104C! It is more or less a replica, built as a nonflying testbed out of the parts of several F-104s, and never assigned a tail number. After the USAF was done with it, it was donated to the March Air Museum. As March already had a real F-104 on display, in 2013 the aircraft was handed over to Yanks Air Museum in nearby Chino, California for display.
Despite being essentially a replica, it's a rather good one; it's somewhat unusual to see a F-104 in Southeast Asia camouflage. It is painted as "Smokey II," F-104C 57-0925, an aircraft assigned to the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing at Da Nang during the Vietnam War. The real 57-0925 was shot down in 1966.
The A-6 Intruder was designed to serve two roles: one, to replace the aging A-1 Skyraider and supplement the A-4 Skyhawk in the carrier-based strike role, and two, to give the US Navy a genuine all-weather strike aircraft. The requirement was issued in 1957, and Grumman’s A2F-1 design selected, with the first flight in 1960. In 1962, just before fleet entry in 1963, the Intruder was redesignated A-6A.
The A-6 was designed to hit targets with pinpoint accuracy in adverse weather, day or night, similar to what the USAF would later require for the F-111 Aardvark. For this reason, it was built around the Digital Integrated Attack/Navigation Equipment (DIANE), which used three radar systems to constantly update the INS and provide attack data to the bombardier/navigator sitting in the right seat. The system proved very complicated and it would be some years before it was perfected. Since the weather and night would be the Intruder’s primary defense, no defensive armament was put on the aircraft, though it could carry an impressive 18,000 pound warload of air-to-ground weaponry.
The Intruder was committed early to the Vietnam War, which showed up the flaws in the DIANE system and a more lethal one in the bomb delivery system, which had a tendency to set off the bombs prematurely, destroying the aircraft. Gradually improvements were made, and despite the loss of 84 Intruders over Vietnam, it proved to be extremely effective: until the bugs were ironed out of the F-111A in 1971, the A-6 remained the only American aircraft that could attack during the monsoon season. Specialized A-6Bs were also produced specifically for Iron Hand defense suppression missions, and A-6Cs for anti-truck operations on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
All three variants were replaced by the A-6E beginning in 1971: this replaced DIANE with a more advanced solid-state computer and the three radars with a single AN/APQ-148 multimode radar. In 1979, the A-6E was further modified with the installation of Target Recognition Attack Multisensor (TRAM), consisting of a turret in the nose containing FLIR linked to the radar and a new bomb computer. Besides making the already accurate A-6 even more deadly, it also allowed the Intruder to drop laser-guided bombs, hit moving targets with bombs, and also use passive radar to attack a target.
A-6s would find themselves once more heavily employed during the First Gulf War, flying 4700 sorties for the loss of four aircraft; its final roles would find it supporting Marines in Somalia in 1991 and UN forces in Bosnia in 1995. By that time, surviving A-6Es had been partially upgraded to allow them to fire all newer guided weapons in the inventory (namely the AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-65 Maverick, and AGM-88 HARM), while most of the fleet also received composite wings. Grumman further proposed an updated version designated A-6F, with new avionics and engines, but the US Navy rejected this in favor of replacing the Intruder with the F/A-18C/D Hornet. The last A-6E left US Navy service by Feburary 1997; the US Marine Corps had retired theirs in 1993.
In addition to the attack versions of the Intruder, Grumman also built the dedicated KA-6D tanker version, which replaced the attack systems with an internal hose/reel refuelling system. These too were retired in 1997 and replaced by the S-3B Viking.
Bureau Number 154171 would be one of the highest-timed A-6s ever built: it would serve with no less than 12 squadrons during its three-war career! (For interest of brevity and sanity, this history will only list seven of those units, as 154171 was shuttled between squadrons seemingly once a year.) It was built as an A-6A, and was assigned to VA-65 ("Fighting Tigers") aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) in 1968. It would remain with that squadron until 1970, when it was transferred to VA-115 ("Eagles") aboard USS Midway (CVA-41), where it saw combat during Operation Linebacker over North Vietnam.
After Vietnam, 154171 was sent to the Marines and VMA(AW)-242 ("Bats") at MCAS El Toro, California, serving there from 1972 to 1974, then back to the Navy with VA-176 ("Thunderbolts") aboard USS America (CV-66). It returned ashore in 1978, when it was upgraded to an A-6E and flew as a testbed aircraft at NAS China Lake until 1983. 154171 went back to the Marines as a training aircraft with VMAT(AW)-202 ("Double Eagles") until 1985, and would then serve off and on with VA-165 ("Boomers") from then until retirement in 1996. During that time, it flew during Operation Earnest Will, the escorting of tankers through the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War, and during Operation Southern Watch in the aftermath of the First Gulf War, mostly aboard the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and USS Constellation (CV-64). (Estrella claims that 154171 saw combat over Libya and in Desert Storm, which is possible, as the aircraft was detached to other squadrons during that time period.)
In 1996, 154171 was donated to the Estrella Warbirds Museum and flown there from NAS Whidbey Island, Washington. Surprisingly, it went on display with the engines still in the aircraft, and left in the markings of VA-165, its last squadron. It's looking a little worn, but still in good shape when we visited in June 2023.
The fourth of the 1950s era “Century Series,” the F-104 Starfighter was designed around one single element: speed. Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, head of Lockheed’s famous “Skunk Works” factory, had interviewed US Air Force pilots during the Korean War, seeking their input on any new fighter. Since the pilots reported that they wanted high performance more than anything else, Johnson returned to the United States determined to deliver exactly that: a simple, point-defense interceptor marrying the lightest airframe to the most powerful engine then available, the superb General Electric J79.
When Johnson offered the L-098 design to the USAF in 1952, the service was so impressed that they created an entire competition for the aircraft to be accepted, ostensibly as a F-100 Super Sabre replacement. The Lockheed design had the clear edge, though both North American’s and Northrop’s design went on to be built themselves—the North American F-107A Ultra Sabre and the Northrop T-38 Talon. The USAF purchased the L-098 as the F-104A Starfighter. The design changed very little from initial design to prototype to operational aircraft, which was done in the astonishing time of two years.
When the first F-104As reached the USAF in 1958, pilots quickly found that it was indeed a hot fighter—too hot. The Starfighter’s design philosophy of speed above all else resulted in an aircraft with a long fuselage, T-tail for stability, and small wings, which were so thin that special guards had to be put on the leading edges to avoid injuring ground personnel. Because of its small wing, the F-104 required a lot of runway, and blown flaps (which vents airflow from the engine over the flaps to increase lift) were a necessity; unfortunately, the airflow system often failed, which meant that the F-104 pilot would be coming in at a dangerous rate of speed. Because it was feared that a pilot who ejected from a F-104 would never clear the tail, a downward-ejection seat was fitted, but after killing over 20 pilots, the seat was retrofitted with a more reliable, upward-firing type. The design also was not very maneuverable in the horizontal, though it was difficult to match in the vertical. Its shape earned it the moniker “Missile With a Man In It” and “Zipper.”
One thing pilots did not complain about was its speed—the listed top speed of the F-104 was Mach 2.2, but this was because above that the fuselage would melt. The J79 was a near flawless engine that gave the Starfighter an excellent thrust-to-weight ratio; uniquely, the intake design of the Starfighter gave the engine a bansheelike wail. So superb was the F-104 at level speed and climbing that NASA leased several as trainers for the X-15 program, and in setting a number of speed and time-to-climb records.
If the F-104 had gotten a mixed reception at best in the USAF, Lockheed felt that it had potential as an export aircraft. Beating out several excellent British and other American designs in a 1961 competition, every NATO nation except France and Great Britain bought F-104s and manufactured their own as the F-104G; Japan also license-built Starfighters as F-104Js, while still more were supplied to Pakistan and Taiwan. Just as in USAF service, accident rates were incredibly high, particularly in West German and Canadian service—Germany lost 30 percent of its initial batch, and the Canadians over half. Worries that the F-104 was too “hot” for pilots usually transitioning from the F-86 were ignored, and later it was learned why: German, Dutch, and Japanese politicians later admitted to being bribed by Lockheed into buying the Starfighter.
Its high accident rate earned such nicknames as “Widowmaker,” “Flying Coffin,” and “Ground Nail.” Pakistani pilots simply called it Badmash (“Criminal”) and the Japanese Eiko (“Glory,” inferring that it was the easiest way to reach it). German pilots joked that the quickest way to obtain a F-104 was to buy a patch of land and wait.
Nonetheless, once pilots learned how to tame the beast, the accident rates eased somewhat, and NATO pilots discovered that the Starfighter excelled as a low-level attack aircraft: fitted with bomb racks, the F-104 was remarkably stable at low altitude and high speed, and Luftwaffe pilots in particular found that they could sneak up on a target, launch a simulated attack, and be gone before ground defenses could react. The Italians in particular loved the F-104, building their own as the F-104S: these aircraft were equipped with multimode radar and armed with AIM-7 Sparrow and Aspide radar-guided missiles, making them a superb interceptor. Though most NATO nations reequipped their F-104 units with F-16s, F-18s, or Tornados beginning in 1980, the Italian F-104S fleet was continually upgraded and soldiered on until final retirement in 2004. 2578 F-104s were built, mostly F-104Gs; today over 150 survive in museums, with at least ten flyable examples, making it one of the best preserved of the Century Series.
FX82 was license-built by SABCA for the Belgian Air Force in 1965, and served with 350 Squadron at Beauvechain until 1983, when it was retired in favor of the F-16. Planes of Fame acquired the F-104 by 1993, and it has been there since, though as of this writing (June 2021), it may have been sold to another museum.
Since foriegn fighters are not common in American museums, FX82 was a bit of a shock. Its BAF camouflage is faded some, but still shows the colors used by Belgian F-104s, which was very similar to USAF Southeast Asia camouflage. Belgian F-104s were frequent visitors to Ramstein when I lived in Germany, so I wonder if I've seen the aircraft before.
This is the Yaesu FT-290R MK2 VHF 144MHz all mode two meter Transceiver,
Nice Quality made in Japan
With the 9 Type C cell rechargeable batteries in the matching FBA-8 case
And the optional FL-2025 Clip on 25 watt matching amplifier
All in very nice condition and working order, The set whilst running on its battery box
Produces 2.5 watts or 500 mw low setting
Modes FM USB & CW
Ideal radio for portable, Mobile or base
73, de Dave.....2W0DAA
The A-6 Intruder was designed to serve two roles: one, to replace the aging A-1 Skyraider and supplement the A-4 Skyhawk in the carrier-based strike role, and two, to give the US Navy a genuine all-weather strike aircraft. The requirement was issued in 1957, and Grumman’s A2F-1 design selected, with the first flight in 1960. In 1962, just before fleet entry in 1963, the Intruder was redesignated A-6A.
The A-6 was designed to hit targets with pinpoint accuracy in adverse weather, day or night, similar to what the USAF would later require for the F-111 Aardvark. For this reason, it was built around the Digital Integrated Attack/Navigation Equipment (DIANE), which used three radar systems to constantly update the INS and provide attack data to the bombardier/navigator sitting in the right seat. The system proved very complicated and it would be some years before it was perfected. Since the weather and night would be the Intruder’s primary defense, no internal armament equipped the aircraft, though it could carry an impressive 18,000 pound warload.
The Intruder was committed early to the Vietnam War, which showed up the flaws in the DIANE system and a more lethal one in the bomb delivery system, which had a tendency to set off the bombs prematurely, destroying the aircraft. Gradually improvements were made, and despite the loss of 84 Intruders over Vietnam, it proved to be extremely effective: until the bugs were ironed out of the F-111A in 1971, the A-6 remained the only American aircraft that could attack during the monsoon season.
Specialized A-6Bs were also produced specifically for Iron Hand defense suppression missions, and A-6Cs for anti-truck operations on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. All three variants were replaced by the A-6E beginning in 1971: this replaced DIANE with a more advanced solid-state computer and the three radars with a single AN/APQ-148 multimode radar. In 1979, the A-6E was further modified with the installation of Target Recognition Attack Multisensor (TRAM), consisting of a turret in the nose containing FLIR linked to the radar and a new bomb computer. Besides making the already accurate A-6 even more deadly, it also allowed the Intruder to drop laser-guided bombs, hit moving targets with bombs, and also use passive radar to attack a target.
A-6s would find themselves once more heavily employed during the First Gulf War, flying 4700 sorties for the loss of four aircraft; its final roles would find it supporting Marines in Somalia in 1991 and UN forces in Bosnia in 1995. By that time, surviving A-6Es had been partially upgraded to allow them to fire all newer guided weapons in the inventory (namely the AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-65 Maverick, and AGM-88 HARM), while most of the fleet also received composite wings.
Grumman further proposed an updated version designated A-6F, with new avionics and engines, but the US Navy rejected this in favor of replacing the Intruder with first the cancelled stealthy A-12A Avenger II, then the F/A-18C/D Hornet. The last A-6E left US Navy service by Feburary 1997; the US Marine Corps had retired theirs in 1993. Older, non-modified aircraft were sunk as an artificial reef off Florida; others remain at AMARC for scrapping.
This Intruder is Bureau Number 154162, built as an A-6A and entering service with VMA(AW)-533 ("Hawks") at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan. 154162 would just miss service in Vietnam, as VMA(AW)-533 was sent back to Southeast Asia in 1972, but by that time it was serving with VA-176 ("Thunderbolts") aboard the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42) in the Atlantic. It was upgraded to an A-6E in 1974 and would spend the next decade as a test aircraft, first with the Naval Air Weapons Center at NAS China Lake, California and then with the Pacific Missile Test Range at NAS Point Mugu. 154162 would see its only combat while assigned to VA-145 ("Swordsmen") aboard the USS Ranger (CV-61), supporting the US effort in Somalia, though no airstrikes were flown. Badly damaged in a landing accident at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma in 1995, it was repaired to static condition and eventually donated to the Palm Springs Air Museum.
Today, 154162 is preserved in the colors of VA-36 ("Roadrunners"), during its time aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), though it does not appear 154162 ever flew with that squadron. It still looks good, though, and like the Hornet next to it, is displayed on a simulated carrier deck.
Please see the camera-wiki article on the Canon T70. This is another multi-mode camera; and like the Ricoh XR-P, it offers 3 different choices of autoexposure programs, for different lens types.
The plastic body shell also includes a power winder (like the Konica FT-1). The top LCD display and the pushbutton interface would prove to be a very influential trend in 1980s cameras. The integral winder of the T70 also adds motorized rewind.