05-07-2024, 06:25 AM | #2773 |
///M driver
16574
Rep 499
Posts
Drives: 2022 M3 6-speed
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Oregon
|
The problem with dropping a high-explosive bomb at low altitude is that the airplane that dropped the bomb may be damaged or destroyed in the explosion. The solution, conceived in the early 1960s and still in use today is the Mark 15 Snake eye (alternative spelling Snakeye) add-on kit for the regular Mark 82 500-pound bomb.
The Snake eye replaces the conical tail cone of the bomb with spring-loaded air brakes that pop out after the bomb is dropped, slowing the forward progress of the bomb -- and allowing the aircraft that dropped the bomb to make a safe escape. An alternative device for the same purpose was the air-inflated retarding ballute (balloon/parachute) similarly attached to the rear of the bomb. It is unclear to me whether this kit is still in use. Of course, flying an attacking airplane at low altitude over an enemy target may be hazardous; these days it is much more likely that an attacking aircraft would use a GPS-guided bomb dropped from a much higher altitude.
__________________
'22 G80 M3 6-sp Portimao Blue/Tartufo
|
Appreciate
5
|
05-07-2024, 09:36 AM | #2774 |
///M driver
16574
Rep 499
Posts
Drives: 2022 M3 6-speed
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Oregon
|
Red Rippers then and now...
F3F-1 of VF-4 "Red Rippers" landing aboard USS Ranger (CV 4), 1938. The tail surfaces are green and the lower engine cowling is red. F/A-18F of VFA-11 "Red Rippers" landing aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68)
__________________
'22 G80 M3 6-sp Portimao Blue/Tartufo
Last edited by Llarry; 05-07-2024 at 11:19 AM.. |
Appreciate
4
|
05-08-2024, 06:09 AM | #2775 |
///M driver
16574
Rep 499
Posts
Drives: 2022 M3 6-speed
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Oregon
|
I've previously explained the three-color camouflage scheme used by U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aircraft -- and some Allies -- in the Pacific in World War II: sea blue as seen from above, white as seen from below and intermediate on the sides to blend the two. But there was one more feature, a bit less obvious, to help make the aircraft a bit of an indistinct blob when seen at a distance. That feature was called countershading. Horizontal features such as wings and horizontal tails naturally produce a dark area underneath due to the shadow of sunlight; countershading attempts to minimize this with a white area that is designed to lighten the shadow effect.
Here are several illustrations of countershading on TBMs. Note the white areas on the fuselage where the wings and tail join. In the last photo, there is a small area of countershading on the PBY's tail.
__________________
'22 G80 M3 6-sp Portimao Blue/Tartufo
Last edited by Llarry; 05-08-2024 at 06:17 AM.. |
05-09-2024, 08:44 PM | #2776 |
///M driver
16574
Rep 499
Posts
Drives: 2022 M3 6-speed
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Oregon
|
A U.S. Air Force E-9A Widget of the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group at Tyndall AFB, Florida. The two E-9As are Bombardier Dash 8s that have been modified with sea surveillance radar for range clearance duties in the Gulf of Mexico. An underside view shows the radar antenna well.
__________________
'22 G80 M3 6-sp Portimao Blue/Tartufo
Last edited by Llarry; 05-10-2024 at 05:26 PM.. |
05-09-2024, 10:15 PM | #2777 |
///M driver
16574
Rep 499
Posts
Drives: 2022 M3 6-speed
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Oregon
|
The U.S. Coast Guard is retiring its fleet of Eurocopter MH-65 Dolphins and transitioning to an all-Sikorsky MH-60T Jayhawk force.
The current fleet is about 100 MH-65D/Es and about 45 MH-60Ts so the transition will take quite some time. The MH-60T total includes some airframes that were retired Navy SH-60s modified to MH-60T standard; there should be quite a few retired USN SH-60Bs and SH-60Fs that would be candidates for such modification. In addition, the Coast Guard bought 12 new MH-60Ts in 2023. The goal is 127 MH-60Ts, so they've quite a way to go to get to their desired number. Three stations have already transitioned to all-MH-60Ts with Kodiak, Alaska, in the midst of becoming the fourth.
__________________
'22 G80 M3 6-sp Portimao Blue/Tartufo
Last edited by Llarry; 05-11-2024 at 06:58 AM.. |
05-10-2024, 06:36 AM | #2778 |
///M driver
16574
Rep 499
Posts
Drives: 2022 M3 6-speed
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Oregon
|
Goodness gracious, I don't know what's become of me... I'm late for Tomcat Thursday again!
__________________
'22 G80 M3 6-sp Portimao Blue/Tartufo
|
05-11-2024, 07:21 AM | #2779 |
///M driver
16574
Rep 499
Posts
Drives: 2022 M3 6-speed
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Oregon
|
In 1986, the U.S. Navy relinquished its last operational F-4 Phantoms when Carrier Air Wing 5, homeported in Japan and operating from the USS Midway (CV 41), gave up its two F-4S Phantom squadrons and gained three F/A-18C squadrons. For several years, the Midway and sister USS Coral Sea (CV 43) embarked air wings with three F-18 strike fighter squadrons and two small A-6 Intruder attack squadrons.
Here's a photo of one of the last Navy Phantoms of VF-151.
__________________
'22 G80 M3 6-sp Portimao Blue/Tartufo
|
05-11-2024, 11:37 AM | #2780 |
Cailín gan eagla.
71884
Rep 1,008
Posts |
|
Appreciate
5
|
05-11-2024, 06:15 PM | #2781 |
///M driver
16574
Rep 499
Posts
Drives: 2022 M3 6-speed
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Oregon
|
Virtually all of the many photos I've posted of World War II Navy and Marine Corps aircraft have been of squadrons in the Pacific, but the units in the Atlantic had a different paint scheme.
Pacific: Dark sea blue on top, white on bottom and intermediate blue along the sides to blend the two. Late in the war transitioning to all dark sea blue. Atlantic: Mostly white with a little gull gray on upper surfaces. Some types had small areas of dark gull gray on top. No blue. Here is a scanned page showing Atlantic scheme aircraft, along with a photo of a Consolidated PB4Y-1 patrol plane. The mission in the Atlantic was quite different than that in the Pacific; Atlantic aircraft were primarily sub hunters for German U boats.
__________________
'22 G80 M3 6-sp Portimao Blue/Tartufo
|
05-12-2024, 07:18 AM | #2782 |
///M driver
16574
Rep 499
Posts
Drives: 2022 M3 6-speed
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Oregon
|
The second-oldest strike fighter squadron in the Navy is VFA-31, the Tomcatters. They use "Felix" as their callsign and over the years have adorned their aircraft with the vintage cartoon Felix the cat carrying a lit bomb.
They span the period from yellow-winged biplanes to the Super Hornet of today. Their aircraft have not always featured the insignia. As I have posted before, during World War II squadron insignia were limited to several inches in size. During the 1950s Navy carrier aircraft frequently displayed no insignia at all. Nevertheless, here are some aircraft of the Tomcatters over the period 1930 to today displaying the Felix insignia.
__________________
'22 G80 M3 6-sp Portimao Blue/Tartufo
|
05-14-2024, 05:22 AM | #2783 |
///M driver
16574
Rep 499
Posts
Drives: 2022 M3 6-speed
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Oregon
|
The U.S. Navy Test Pilot School is located at Naval Air Station Patuxent River and has a wide variety of aircraft to expose students to types they have not previously flown. USNTPS also periodically borrows aircraft that offer unique problems or issues to expose to students.
Here are some of the school's aircraft... The first photo, a Grumman OV-1B that originally served with the Army, dates from 1986 and may no longer be used. The USNTPS graduates not only test pilots, but test engineers, including those of other services and other nations.
__________________
'22 G80 M3 6-sp Portimao Blue/Tartufo
|
05-14-2024, 09:42 PM | #2784 |
///M driver
16574
Rep 499
Posts
Drives: 2022 M3 6-speed
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Oregon
|
Talk about bad timing...
Edo Corporation, which had previously manufactured seaplane floats, finally designed their own floatplane in 1946. The Edo XOSE-1 was a single place aircraft which could be fitted with a pod to carry a rescued aviator. The Curtiss SC-1 was the standard floatplane by then but was soon to be replaced by the helicopter. Needless to say, Edo did not win a production contract.
__________________
'22 G80 M3 6-sp Portimao Blue/Tartufo
|
Yesterday, 07:11 AM | #2785 |
///M driver
16574
Rep 499
Posts
Drives: 2022 M3 6-speed
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Oregon
|
The nose compartment of a Boeing B-17G bomber. I believe there were only two crewmen in this space: a bombardier and a navigator. Under some circumstances they would be awfully busy. There is not only a bomb sight for the bombardier and a table for the navigator's charts, but there are cheek-mounted machine guns on each side plus controls for the twin machine gun turret that is under the nose. So: Operating bomb sight, keeping track of navigation, and operating four machine guns against attacking fighters. Wow!
__________________
'22 G80 M3 6-sp Portimao Blue/Tartufo
|
Yesterday, 08:39 AM | #2786 |
///M driver
16574
Rep 499
Posts
Drives: 2022 M3 6-speed
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Oregon
|
The Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier II is on its last legs, with just two squadrons remaining and both scheduled to transition to the F-35B fighter within the next year or two. VMA-231 concluded the final deployment of the AV-8B earlier this year.
The AV-8B was a developed version of the original UK Harrier that featured an increased thrust engine, a graphite composite wing, etc. It first flew in 1981 and entered service with the Marines in 1985. The Marine Corps took delivery of 306 aircraft and they have served well for almost 40 years. The few remaining AV-8Bs are the final version fitted with radar and night attack capabilities. In addition to the end of the line for the AV-8B, this will also mark the end of the line for Navy/Marine attack squadrons after an 80-year history. Former attack squadrons have become strike fighter (Navy) or fighter attack (Marine) squadrons.
__________________
'22 G80 M3 6-sp Portimao Blue/Tartufo
|
Today, 06:32 AM | #2787 |
///M driver
16574
Rep 499
Posts
Drives: 2022 M3 6-speed
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Oregon
|
Tomcat Thursday!
During the presidency of Ronald Reagan, there was a substantial increase in the military budget. So much so that the U.S. Navy decided to stand up an additional carrier air wing with two fighter squadrons, two strike fighter squadrons, etc. The two new fighter squadrons were VF-191 Satan's Kittens (my Dad's old squadron of 1944-1947 resurrected) and VF-194 Red Lightnings. They were established in 1986 as part of Carrier Air Wing 10. CVW-10 proved to be short-lived as budget realities caused the wing and its squadrons to be disestablished after only two years. VF's -191 and -194 were the only F-14 fleet squadrons to never deploy. Here they are in all their brief glory: F-14A Tomcats of VF-191 and VF-194.
__________________
'22 G80 M3 6-sp Portimao Blue/Tartufo
Last edited by Llarry; Today at 10:11 AM.. |
Post Reply |
Bookmarks |
|
|