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military

The SR-71 crew training in anti-SAM tactics left a 5-mile-long contrail after dumping fuel to test if the afterburner would ignite the fuel trail

by Till Daisd August 12, 2024

The Blackbird

The Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft served as the basis for developing the SR-71, also referred to as the “Blackbird” a long-range, advanced strategic reconnaissance aircraft. The 4200th (later 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, California, received the first SR-71 to begin service in January 1966. The first SR-71 flight occurred on December 22, 1964. On January 26, 1990, the U.S. Air Force retired its SR-71 fleet.

During its operational lifetime, the SR-71 provided intelligence about the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the US raid on Libya in 1986, and the revelation of Iranian Silkworm missile batteries in 1987. The USAF ceased SR-71 operations in January 1990.

For almost 24 years, the SR-71 held the record for being the fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft in the world. It could survey 100,000 square miles of the Earth’s surface per hour from 80,000 feet.

SR-71 crews’ anti-SAM tactics

In 1968, the SR-71 crewmembers spent most of their time in the crew lounge, discussing anti-SAM tactics. As told by Paul Crickmore in his book SR-71 Blackbird (Combat Legends), the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing approached the time when they would be flying out of the country at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa.

The plan was to penetrate enemy airspace at Mach 3. If fired upon, the pilot would accelerate to Mach 3.2 and climb, thereby forcing the missile’s guiding system to re-calculate the intercept solution. One idea was to dump fuel to become lighter, increasing the climb rate.

A 5-mile-long contrail in the stratosphere

During a sortie over Montana, a crew decided to end the debate by dumping fuel for ten seconds and seeing if the afterburner would ignite the fuel trail. Instead, this turned instantly into an ice cloud in the fridge’s -55°C stratosphere and left a 5-mile-long contrail finger pointing directly at the aircraft.

Once he turned back toward the west, the pilot stated that he could see the trail for hundreds of miles. That plan was scratched. That was the opposite effect, but they wanted it regardless; the SR-71 was the first attempt at stealth in an airplane.

Check out Habubrats‘s Facebook page for further Blackbird photos and stories.

Photo by unknown

August 12, 2024 0 comment

Cold War

The sad story of EA-3B Ranger 12 crash on USS Nimitz

by Till Daisd August 11, 2024

written by Till Daisd

The deaths of seven crew members in the crash of an EA-3B during a night recovery onboard USS Nimitz (CVN-68) in the Mediterranean rapidly solidified the effort to get the `Whale’ off the boat.

The sad video in this post features the terrible VQ-2 EA-3B accident that took place on Jan. 25, 1987, aboard the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) aircraft carrier.

At that time, the end of the A-3 in US Navy service was only four years away. Since the end of the Vietnam War, a series of incidents have left the Naval Aviation community more concerned about the safety of the aircraft. The most concerning aspect was the loss of forty-three personnel at this time, even though the 10 jets involved were a considerable number. Seven crew members lost their lives in an EA-3B crash that occurred during a nighttime recovery aboard the USS Nimitz in the Mediterranean, which quickly solidified the effort to get the “Whale” off the boat.

In his book A-3 Skywarrior Units of the Vietnam War, Rick Morgan explains that on the evening of January 25, 1987, “Ranger 12” (BuNo 144850) was launched with a full crew of seven people on a surveillance mission. The “Whale” was directed to the duty A-7 tanker for additional fuel after multiple failed attempts near the rear of the ship. The package of the Corsair II turned out to be “sour,” or useless. Faced with the prospect of having the crew bail out into the winter waters at night, the ship decided to rig the barricade. The final pass was like all of the others — high in and the pilot did not quickly cut (shut off) the engines as required over the ramp.

The A-3 floated over the wires and collided with the nose gear of the barricade, which was also improperly built because it was missing a vital piece of gear needed to tighten the upper strap. As expected, the aircraft passed over the angle and through the barricade before hitting the water. The rescue chopper passed swiftly overhead and saw no movement inside the aircraft, which was momentarily floating on the water’s surface. A few minutes later, the EA-3B sank, taking all seven soldiers with it.

The list of the seven men who gave their lives:

LT Stephen H. Batchelder (Intelligence Evaluator)
LCDR Ronald R. Callander (Navigator)
AT2 Richard A. Herzing
LT Alan A. Levine (Pilot)
CTI3 Patrick R. Price*
LT James D. Richards (Junior Evaluator)
CTI3 Craig H. Rudolf

The crash of VQ-1 EA-3B BuNo 144854 during carrier landing practice at NAS Miramar, California, occurred the night after this one on June 26. The three people on board died. Orders were issued to cease A-3 carrier deployments after both accidents and another occurrence involving a trapped VQ-2 jet due to a failed nose gear were taken into consideration. By the end of 1987, VQ-1 and VQ-2 had both retired their aircraft from carrier duty, though they kept them available for use from the beach. But for two more years, the FRS in VAQ-33 kept qualifying carrier instructors for proficiency-related reasons. August 1989 saw the last “Whale” trap and cat off the coast of the Atlantic.

The last A-3 crash happened on January 13, 1988, when VAK-208 KA-3B BuNo 147665, on a low-level mission, crashed into Pyramid Lake northeast of Reno, Nevada, in the late afternoon. The three crew members on board perished. It was the last of almost 100 Skywarriors that were lost in crashes, accounting for a staggering 42% of production. A-3s were also stricken in at least 20 other cases as a result of gear-up landings or in-flight mishaps. However, it was often mentioned, although somewhat sarcastically, in the “Whale” community that the aircraft’s lack of ejection seats was the reason it had survived for so long!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT40pxuPzfo

A-3 Skywarrior Units of the Vietnam War is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo and video: John Herndon / herndonjtexas

August 11, 2024 0 comment

Cold War

The B-70 proposal aimed to carry 19 general-purpose missiles attached to various parts of the aircraft

by Till Daisd August 11, 2024

written by Till Daisd

The XB-70A Valkyrie

The 1950s saw the conception of the futuristic XB-70A Valkyrie, a high-altitude, nuclear strike bomber capable of flying at Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound, beyond the reach of any prospective enemy.

However, by the beginning of the 1960s, high-speed, high-altitude bombers were facing a threat to their survivability from new Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs). Less costly, nuclear-armed ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) were also entering service. As a consequence, the costly B-70 bomber program was terminated in 1961 before any Valkyries had been completed or flown.

Even so, the USAF bought two XB-70As to test large supersonic aircraft’s aerodynamics, propulsion, and other characteristics. The first XB-70A, on display here, flew in September 1964 and achieved Mach 3 flight in October 1965. The second Valkyrie first flew in July 1965, but in June 1966, it was destroyed following an accidental mid-air collision. The third Valkyrie was not completed.

Up until it was given to the US Air Force National Museum in 1969, the original XB-70A aircraft was flown and produced useful test data for the research program.

B-70 with `General Purpose Missile’

A North American plan for employing the B-70 as a carrier for a “General Purpose Missile” was one of the more absurd-looking proposals, according to Scott Lowther’s book US Supersonic Bomber Projects. Unfortunately, not much is known about the missile, its performance, weight, or warhead. There is just a single illustration that demonstrates how eighteen of the missiles could be carried at once by a B-70.

The General Purpose Missile had a design featuring a delta-winged configuration, along with a single ramjet engine housed in a separate nacelle and downward-drooping wingtips. It was designed as a standoff weapon, likely equipped with a small nuclear warhead. By calling it a ‘general purpose` missile, it may be that it was intended to not only strike ground targets but possibly serve an air-to-air role as well.

The diagram in this article shows where the missiles were supposed to be gathered across the great expanse of the B-70, suspended beneath the wings with pylons, attached to the tips of both the canards and the vertical stabilizers, perched atop and underneath the fuselage. The source sketch does not depict all of the necessary pylons, explaining why some of the missiles in this reconstruction are not attached to the aircraft.

Able to carry 19 GPMs

Another diagram presents an alternate design for the General Purpose Missile. This missile was similar in size with a similar-looking ramjet engine… But otherwise, the configuration was quite different, looking more like a catamaran boat with a jet engine than a normal sort of missile. This version of the GPM weighed 698lb, would fly from Mach 3 to Mach 4 at 70,000 to 90,000ft, and had a range of 975 nautical miles.

The B-70 would be able to carry 19 of this version of the GPM.

US Supersonic Bomber Projects is published by Mortons Books and is available to order here.

The crazy B-70 proposal aimed to carry 19 General Purpose Missiles attached to the tips of canards, of vertical stabilizers, suspended beneath the wings and perched atop and underneath the fuselage

Photo by NASA

August 11, 2024 0 comment

Cold War

Why the F-4G Wild Weasel was at least 30 years ahead of its time in capability

by Till Daisd August 11, 2024

written by Till Daisd

The F-4G Wild Weasel

The F-4E, the most advanced Phantom II version with an internal gun and a wide range of ground assault capabilities, served as the basis for the F-4G Wild Weasel V, also called the Advanced Wild Weasel. This upgrade included a cockpit update for the rear seat to handle the electronic battle environment, as well as the removal of the gun and replacement with the APR-38(t) Radar Homing and Warning Receiver (later improved to the APR-47). A total of 134 F-4G models were converted from F-4Es with the first one flying in 1975. Squadron service began in 1978.

F-4Gs were deployed to three active wings. One was stationed at George AFB, Victorville, California, as part of the Rapid Deployment Force; one wing was assigned to USAFE (US Air Forces in Europe) at Spangdahlem AB, Germany; and the other to PACAF (Pacific Air Forces) at Clark AB, Philippines. F-4Gs from George AFB, Clark AB, and Spangdahlem AB saw combat during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, successfully protecting strike packages from enemy air defenses.

The F-4G operated with other F-4Gs or as a hunter aircraft, directing fighter-bombers, such as the F-16, against SAM sites while carrying AGM-88A/B/C High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARM). The F-4G carried a pilot and an Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO) to facilitate communication, navigate, and coordinate assaults on the SAM installations.

30 years ahead of its time in capability

“The F-4G Wild Weasel [that first flew in 1975 and was retired in 1996] was at least 30 years ahead of its time in capability,” Jim Howard, former F-4G, and EF-111A EWO, says on Quora.

“In fact, I don’t think there is a flying system today that can geolocate radars as well by itself. The modern technique is to use multiple platforms to locate radars and share this information via datalinks.

“It had ‘DC to Daylight’ frequency coverage, had 52 flat plate antennas that used digital interferometry to measure the angle of arrival of radar pulses within seconds. Knowing the angle of arrival, the APR-38/47 system could compute the range, bearing, and probable type of radar within seconds.

“The APR38/47 system monitored 360 degrees around the F-4G.

“This information was displayed to the electronic warfare officer on a plan position indicator scope (PPI). This display was essentially an ‘inverse radar’, displaying radar emitters the same way a radar displays airborne targets.

“The APR38/47 system computed attack envelopes for anti-radiation missiles and displayed this information to the crew.”

Howard continues;

The incredible story of the F-4G Wild Weasel that dodged 6 SAMs in few seconds During Operation Desert Storm

F-16s technically very inferior to the F-4G Wild Weasel

“When the F-4 platform became unsupportable the Weasel mission was passed off to F-16s using a cobbled-up pod system that primarily used the AGM-88 seeker head to detect threats.

“In all ways, the F-16 Weasels were technically very inferior to the F-4G, although the F-16 as a fighter outperforms Double Ugly by orders of magnitude.

“The F-4G Weasels were spectacularly successful in Desert Storm in suppressing Surface to Air missile sites.”

He concludes;

“Although not designed for air-to-air use, one F-4G did succeed in blowing most of the tail off an airborne bomber with an AGM-88 anti-radiation missile.

“OK, it was a friendly B-52, everyone got home, the BUFF crew all got medals, and the whole thing is forgotten now. By the Weasels anyway, maybe not so much by the BUFF guys.”

Photo by U.S. Air Force

August 11, 2024 0 comment

History

Naval Aviator explains discomfort of T-2 Buckeye ejection seat

by Till Daisd August 11, 2024

written by Till Daisd

Which aircraft’s ejection seat is the most comfortable?

An ejection seat is a mechanism installed in an aircraft that is intended to save the pilot or other crew members in the event of an emergency. The majority of designs include the canopy coming off and the seat being propelled out of the aircraft by a rocket motor or explosive charge, carrying the pilot with it. The ejection seat releases a parachute once it is outside of the aircraft. To prevent a collision, the seats of two-seat aircraft are ejected at different angles.

Pilots had to manually remove the aircraft canopy to climb out before the invention of ejection seats. Lives can be saved with ejection seats. Which airplane, nevertheless, has the most comfortable ejector seat?

‘None of them are great. Some are terrible,’ David Tussey, a former US Navy A-7 Corsair II pilot, says on Quora.

The T-2C Buckeye had the worst ejection seat

‘The worst ejection seat I ever flew was in the T-2C “Buckeye” training aircraft, which I both trained in and was an instructor pilot in. I have about 1500 hrs in that puppy…err “guppy”.

‘The ejection seat [the Buckeye’s ejection seat was the North American LS-1] in the T-2C used an explosive device instead of a rocket to eject the seat. So, the instantaneous “G” force during an ejection occurred right at the start, instead of accelerating through the sequence as happens during a rocket-powered seat.

‘As a result, the seat could not accommodate a cushion as that would allow the seat to accelerate, even if it’s just a 1″ of vertical travel (by compressing the cushion), before the seat bottom impacts the body of the pilot. And that would likely cause injury.

‘So, no cushion, just a hard-plastic seat. As an IP, flying 2–3 times per day, riding that seat caused me a lot of back problems. And then there were the carrier landings and FCLPs. It was a bit rough.’

The T-2C Buckeye was a great basic jet trainer

Tussey concludes;

‘But I have to say, the T-2C was, in retrospective, a damn good basic jet trainer, highly maneuverable, forgiving, fully acrobatic, pretty fast, and carrier capable. What’s not to like?

‘No pain, no gain.’

US Naval Aviator explains why landing on an aircraft carrier for first time is one of the most incredible things you can experience, yet it’s also one of the most terrifying

Photo by U.S. Navy

August 11, 2024 0 comment

Cold War

SR-71 Blackbird surprises F-4 crew with a vertical takeoff demonstration

by Till Daisd August 11, 2024

written by Till Daisd

The SR-71

One of the most advanced Blackbirds, the SR-71 (along with the A-12 and YF-12), was designed by a team of Lockheed personnel under the direction of Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, who was vice president of Lockheed’s Advanced Development Company Projects at the time. Known as the “Skunk Works,” this unit is now called Lockheed Martin.

The Blackbirds were built to reach altitudes of up to 85,000 feet and cruise at Mach 3.2, which is little over three times the speed of sound or more than 2,200 miles per hour. The SR-71 strategic reconnaissance aircraft held the record for being the fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft in the world for about 24 years. It could survey 100,000 square miles of the Earth’s surface per hour from 80,000 feet.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the aircraft has broken multiple speed and altitude records during its history due to its incredible flight characteristics.

Once F-4 crews told the SR-71 couldn’t go vertical after takeoff. They gave up after a Blackbird did a high-performance takeoff (with sensitive equipment replaced with ballast).

Blackbird high performance takeoff

The following story is provided by an SR-71 Blackbird mechanic who wants to remain anonymous:

‘I won’t say who; I won’t say when, but I did see the SR go vertical ONCE, and that was at Kadena [Air Base]. The F-4 jocks used to tell us when they were going to do a high-performance takeoff during an FCF (Functional Check Flight) so we could watch a “real takeoff”!

‘Our DET Commander had chewed his lip long enough, and the stage was set. We finally had the kind of flight scheduled where the plan could be put into action.

‘All sensors were removed and replaced with ballast. That included the ballast nose. This didn’t lighten the aircraft, but removed sensitive equipment, gyros, and such. On the morning of the launch, the Fighter wing was notified. The SR did its thing getting ready to launch. Brakes released, burners on, and once it was up, it accelerated just above the runway. And then, IT HAPPENED. It went vertical in full afterburner. It was loud AND impressive! Needless to say, it shut the F-4 lads up for a while.

‘Written by somebody who knew.’

Check out Habubrats SR-71‘s Twitter profile, SR71Habubrats‘s Instagram profile, and Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder Habubrats‘s Facebook page for further Blackbird photos and stories.

Photo by Linda Sheffield Miller, Boeing and U.S. Navy

August 11, 2024 0 comment

Cold War

When Grumman flew F-14A No. 3 with the starboard wing locked fully forward and the port wing swept fully aft

by Till Daisd August 11, 2024

written by Till Daisd

The F-14 Tomcat

When it came to Cold War fighters from the Free World, none could match the Grumman F-14 Tomcat of the US Navy. Six long-range AIM-54A Phoenix missiles could be guided by the F-14’s AWG-9 weapons control system against six different threat aircraft at a long distance. For medium-range combat, Sparrow missiles were carried; Sidewinders and a 20mm were available for dogfighting. In the latter role, the Tomcat’s variable-sweep wings gave the F-14 a combat maneuvering capability that could not have been achieved with a “standard” fixed planform wing.

The F-14A, which employed the P&W TF30 engines and AWG-9 system and carried the six Phoenix missiles designated for the F-111B, was created in 1968 to replace the controversial F-111B, which was being developed for the Navy’s carrier fighter inventory. A completely new fighter system was designed around these that placed a strong focus on standoff missile fighting and close-in fighting “claws.” After undergoing five years of development, evaluation, squadron training, and initial carrier deployments following its first flight on December 21, 1970, the F-14A has become the most potent fighter aircraft for carrier air wings. Technical and financial problems that received a great deal of publicity have been overcome in achieving this goal.

F-14A No. 3

F-14A [Aircraft No. 3, Bureau Number (BuNo.) 157982], the third Tomcat manufactured and one of the prototypes utilized in the initial testing of the aircraft, can be seen on exhibit at the Cradle of Aviation Museum at Mitchel Field, Long Island. There are several reasons why this particular Tomcat is significant. Firstly, it is the oldest surviving F-14 in the world.

No. 3 first flew on Dec. 28, 1971, with Grumman Test Pilots Don Evans (pilot) and Dennis Romano (Weapon Systems Officer). As told by David F. Brown in his book Tomcat Alley: A Photographic Roll Call of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, she was then delivered on Jan. 4, 1972.

The second interesting thing about BuNo. 157982 is that while operating out of the Grumman Flight Test Facility at Calverton, New York, No 3 was primarily used for determining the entire structural envelope for the F-14 and investigating certain flight characteristics under extreme conditions.

One of these was in response to concerns raised by the US Navy regarding asymmetrical wing sweep. The asymmetrical wing sweep program came as a result of an incident in the fleet where the wings on one Tomcat in flight experienced a slight misalignment with the degree setting for each wing.

This resulted in concern by the Navy that if this problem persisted could the F-14 safely land as well as take off. No. 3 is best remembered for the photo shown above (The presence of a star and bar on both wings led some to believe that this was a cleverly faked piece of photographic trickery, but in fact, the photo really does show Tomcat 3 with her wings swept differentially, with the starboard wing locked fully forward, and the port wing swept fully aft).

Flight tests

As explained by William Barto, F-14 NATOPS illustrator, Historian, and on the Board of Directors of the F-14 Tomcat Association and museum associate, Cradle of Aviation Museum, in an article for the F-14 Tomcat Association, a series of flight tests were conducted from December 19, 1985 to February 28, 1986. Chuck Sewell, the Chief Test Pilot of Grumman, carried out multiple trials wherein the left wing was positioned at 35, 50, 60, and 68 degrees of sweep while the right wing was locked in the forward position at 20 degrees. It was determined that the maximum landing angle was 60 degrees. Sewell found that the aircraft could be used for carrier landings in this configuration in the case of an operational in-flight malfunction.

The famous photo of an asymmetrical wing sweep with the right wing at 20 degrees and the left wing at 60, proved in an extreme way that the jet could still perform.

Tomcat No. 3 flew for the last time in 1990, and she was stricken on Sep. 20, 1994. Acquired by the Cradle of Aviation Museum in 1995, No. 3 is shown here on display in Hangar 2. It is also interesting to note that Tom Gwynne, Vice President for External Relations for the “Cradle”, and Grumman Test Pilot No. 72, flew No. 3 on several occasions.

Photo by Grumman and William Barto

August 11, 2024 0 comment

Cold War

A Petty Officer did unauthorized at-sea maintenance to replace a bearing of the number two engine of a Seasprite

by Till Daisd August 10, 2024

written by Till Daisd

SH-2 Seasprite

The SH-2 Seasprite, which made its first flight in July 1959 and was provided to fleet squadrons starting in 1962, gave the Navy an all-weather helicopter that could be used for a range of missions. The Seasprite was originally designed to serve as plane guards aboard aircraft carriers, but as the air war in Vietnam grew more intense, it was forced to do combat rescue and search missions.

As former US Navy SH-2 Seasprite pilot, Jim Thurber recalls on Quora, the Navy adopted a further variant of the Seasprite in 1970 to meet the interim requirement for the Light Airborne Multi-purpose System (LAMPS), which provided over-the-horizon search and strike capability for anti-submarine destroyers;

LAMPS pilot

‘As a LAMPS pilot, I deployed with four pilots and twelve or thirteen ground crew – aboard a destroyer class vessel capable of carrying a single helo. In this case, we used an SH-2F Seasprite, affectionately known as the Whistling Sh*t Can.

‘My crew was, in a word, excellent. The Chief Petty Officer in charge of maintenance and deck operations was top drawer. And did these guys get the job done? Absolutely and with complete professionalism.

‘The only thing that happened “outside” the realm of normal maintenance is that we had a Second Class Petty Officer, William Chestnut, who was an engine maintenance tech. It turns out he had worked in the maintenance rebuild facility for several years and knew the GE T-58 engine [the SH-2 had two T-58s] inside and out.

Unauthorized at-sea maintenance

‘We’d landed one day and Petty Officer Chestnut had us keep the number two engine running for a few extra minutes (the rotor blades were stationary – using the main rotor brake). After we shut down, he (Chestnut) said he thought we had a bad number two bearing. Normally this requires an engine change, but we were in the middle of the Mediterranean, and there were no engines in the European theater. “Mister Thurber,” said Petty Officer Chestnut. “I worked in depot-level maintenance, and I can probably tear down and replace that bearing aboard the ship. Take me about 32 hours total.”

‘Absolutely UNAUTHORIZED at-sea maintenance but Petty Officer Chestnut did a GREAT job and had that engine back and running in 22 hours – max. If we had been caught, we’d have been in a world of sh*t but having guys like that on my crew… I had no doubt that the work Petty Officer Chestnut did on that engine exceeded anything I’d have gotten from a normal depot-level rebuild.’

Thurber concludes;

‘Thanks for listening and THANK YOU to my LAMPS crew for a job very, very well done. This includes Chief Warford, Petty Officer Shrimpton, Petty Officer Chestnut, and a host of others whose names I simply cannot remember.’

SH-2 pilot recalls when a Petty Officer did an unauthorized at-sea maintenance to replace a bearing of the number two engine of his Seasprite (the engine was back and running in 22 hours)

Photo by PH2 Michael A. Harnar and OS2 John Bouvia, USN

August 10, 2024 0 comment

Cold War

SR-71 pilot recalls when his RSO flipped off a French Air Force Mirage III pilot

by Till Daisd August 10, 2024

written by Till Daisd

The SR-71 Blackbird

The most advanced Blackbird developed by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation’s clandestine “Skunk Works” division, the SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft was also the fastest jet-propelled aircraft in the world.

Everything that has come before the Blackbird was not comparable. “Everything had to be invented. Everything,” Kelly Johnson, the legendary aircraft designer from Skunk Works, recalled in an interesting article that was posted on the Lockheed Martin website.

The SR-71 flew at over 2,000 miles per hour. Theoretically, other aircraft of the time could reach that velocity, but only in short bursts powered by afterburners. The Blackbird maintained a record-setting speed for hours at a time.

One of the most entertaining stories about flying the Blackbird comes from Lt. Colonel William Burk Jr., who shares about a particular mission he flew [according to SR-71 pilot Stormy Boudreaux, Tom Henichek was Burk’s RSO for that mission] over Lebanon back in 1982 in the book Skunk Works by Ben Rich.

Blackbird over Lebanon

‘In the fall of ’82, I flew from Mildenhall on a mission over Lebanon in response to the Marine barracks bombing. President Reagan ordered photo coverage of all the terrorist bases in the region. The French refused to allow us overfly, so our mission profile was to refuel off the south coast of England, a Mach 3 cruise leg down the coast of Portugal and Spain, left turn through the Straits of Gibraltar, refuel in the Western Mediterranean, right turn into Lebanon and fly right down main street Beirut, exit along the southern Mediterranean with another refueling over Malta, supersonic back out the straits, and return to England.

‘Because Syria had a Soviet SA-5 missile system just west of Damascus that we would be penetrating (we were unsure of Syria’s intentions in this conflict), we programmed to fly above 80,000 feet and at Mach 3 plus to be on the safe side, knowing that this advanced missile had the range and speed to nail us.

SR-71 pilot recalls when his RSO Flipped Off a French Air Force Mirage III Pilot (Then They lit their Blackbird’s Afterburners and Outran him)

‘As we entered Lebanon’s airspace my Recon Systems Officer in the rear cockpit informed me that our defensive systems display showed we were being tracked by that SA-5. About 15 seconds later we got a warning of active guidance signals from the SA-5 site. We couldn’t tell whether there was an actual launch or the missile was still on the rails, but they were actively tracking us. We didn’t waste any time wondering, but climbed and pushed that throttle, and said a couple of “Hail Kellys.”

SR-71 crew flipping off a French Air Force Mirage III Pilot

‘We completed our pass over Beirut and turned toward Malta when I got a warning low-oil-pressure light on my right engine. Even though the engine was running fine I slowed down and lowered our altitude and made a direct line for England. We decided to cross France without clearance instead of going the roundabout way.

‘We made it almost across when I looked out the left window and saw a French Mirage III sitting ten feet off my left wing. He came up on our frequency and asked us for our Diplomatic Clearance Number. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I told him to stand by. I ask my backseater, who said, “Don’t worry about it. I just gave it to him.” What he had given him was “the bird” with his middle finger: I lit the afterburners and left that Mirage standing still. Two minutes later, we were crossing the Channel.’

Check out Habubrats SR-71‘s Twitter profile, SR71Habubrats‘s Instagram profile, and Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder Habubrats‘s Facebook page for further Blackbird photos and stories.

Photo by U.S. Air Force and French Air Force Via FAST Museum Twitter Account

August 10, 2024 0 comment

Cold War

USAF T-39A pilot explains why he chose to fly the Sabreliner business jet over the F-15 Eagle

by Till Daisd August 9, 2024

written by Till Daisd

The F-15 Eagle

The Air Force was able to establish and preserve air supremacy over the battlefield with the help of the F-15 Eagle, a tactical fighter that is incredibly maneuverable and suitable for all weather conditions.

The Eagle’s exceptional maneuverability, acceleration, range, weapons, and avionics all contribute to its outstanding air superiority. It is capable of defeating all existing hostile aircraft and penetrating opposing defenses. The F-15 is equipped with electronic systems and weapons that allow it to track, detect, and attack hostile aircraft when it is in friendly or enemy-controlled airspace. Air-to-air combat can be safely and effectively carried out by one person because of the design of the weaponry and flight control systems.

Would you rather be a T-39A Sabreliner pilot instead of being an F-15 Eagle pilot?

Why would you prefer to fly a T-39A Sabreliner over an F-15 Eagle, considering its unique capabilities?

Ron Wagner, former USAF Pilot, recalls on Quora.

‘I was first in my USAF Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) class in October 1974, and we were thinking about our upcoming assignment selections. With the exception of a single year—the year I got my wings—the USAF sent a list of aircraft to each class, and then the class chose from that fixed list, whatever came down to them, and it varied quite a bit from class to class. #1 got first choice from the list, on down to the B-52 to Minot that went by default to the bottom slot.

‘However!

‘During this one magical year, the USAF experimented with a system that allowed the #1 graduate to pick any aircraft in the USAF inventory for which they were qualified. (We could not select an SR-71, for example, which required a certain number of hours of flight experience.)

‘In other words, #1 got anything they wanted and then the block that went to the rest of the class was short by one.

F-15 Initial Cadre

‘When the F-15 entered USAF service, all of the pilots were experienced fighter pilots who built up what the USAF calls an “initial cadre” before letting slots in the new aircraft go to brand new pilots fresh out of UPT.

‘I got a note to go see the wing commander in his office, where he very proudly informed me that the F-15 had just completed “initial cadre” and that if I selected an F-15, I would be the first to go from UPT directly into it.

‘He was excited. He expected me to be excited.

‘I was honored.

‘And I gave it some serious thought because—well, damn, I question the wings on the chest of any USAF ‘pilot who does not want to FLY an F-15.

‘Any pilot, actually! It’s a hell of an airplane!

‘Flying one would be absolutely fabulous and I loved wringing out everything the T-38 could do and the instructors knew I did. They figured I’d love the F-15. I would have.

‘However, all military flying assignments come with a lifestyle.

‘I had spent a year surrounded by fighter pilots, including a really swaggering, mouthy captain who had been an F-4 back-seater in Vietnam. He had a MiG kill to his credit, which earned him a slot to UPT to move to the front seat. A year listening to him made me sure I did not want the lifestyle.

USAF T-39A Pilot who Classified First in his UPT Class Tells why He Chose to Fly the Sabreliner Business Jet instead of the F-15 Eagle Fighter Jet

Bad News for my Wing Commander

‘Unfortunately for the hopeful colonel, two “coincidences” had happened to me in the previous couple of months.’

Wagner continues;

‘First, I had spotted a very cool [T-39A Sabreliner] business jet on the Webb Air Force Base ramp one day, painted up for the U.S. Air Force. I raced over to base ops and met the crew. They were NOT wearing the green-bag flight suits, but were sharply dressed in regular uniforms, and wearing Air Force flight jackets. That combination was prohibited!

‘But it turns out that crews at Andrews Air Force Base—here in Washington, D.C.—are authorized to wear the combo, and it looked sharp. Those guys had flown Texas Senator John Tower to my Texas base, and they let me go out to their jet.

‘I about peed myself sitting in the cockpit. I thought, “I want to fly these.”

‘Second, about two weeks later, a guy in the class ahead of me took one of those assignments to Andrews Air Force Base and I thought, “Holy S**t, that’s a good idea.” It turned out, he had gone to see that jet the same day I did and came to the same conclusion.

‘So, at that point, the colonel’s dreams were “toast” before I got to his office.

‘At that point, now knowing I was Numero Uno, I took the cool bizjet to Andrews Air Force Base. The guy who had been the aircraft commander on the jet that inspired me was soon my instructor pilot, checking me out in the same jet. Thank you, Captain Devore.

T-39A Pilot recalls when a Saudi Prince arrived in the US to buy F-15s pulled out a Roll of $1,000 Bills and asked him how many he needed to pay for the Sabreliner Fuel

T-39A Sabreliner Lifestyle Choice

‘I sure would have loved to have flown an F-15, but, damn, did I have fun flying at Andrews! During my flying career, I met and flew seven U.S. presidents, three first ladies, and countless ambassadors, generals, admirals, astronauts, Senators, Reps, and many famous heroes. Back in those days, the USAF had 93 U.S. bases, and I landed at every single one of them. I saw and did cool things!

‘As cool as flying an F-15?

‘In the opinions of a lot of people, no way.

‘But in my opinion, with lifestyle factored in: Hell yes!

T-39A Sabreliner Museum Pieces

‘If you’re ever near Dayton, Ohio, stop by the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force and say “Hi” to an old friend of mine. The museum has a section called the Presidential Gallery because it houses aircraft that carried Presidents of the United States. This one, [T-39A Sabreliner] 62–4478, was nicknamed “Queenie” and is in my logbook.

‘The Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona also wanted one of our jets and they got [T-39A Sabreliner] 62-4449, which is also in my logbook, with another Andrews bird parked on the other side of it.

Can’t do this in an F-15

‘I looked up 4449 in my logbook and remembered I flew it on a memorable mission. Back then, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN was Andrew Young and Carter was POTUS. Mr. Young had a flare for saying things that irked the POTUS. When he spouted out something that Carter had to “correct,” Carter would dispatch the Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance, to “straighten him out.”

‘I did that twice!

‘But the first time happened to be in 4449. I remember opening that side door with Cyrus Vance at my left shoulder and peering down at Ambassador Young when Vance, with a smiling smirk, said, “Hello, Andy.”

‘And “Andy” chuckled back as he said, “Hello, Cyrus.”

‘Clearly, it was going to be quite an ass chewing! LOL! NOT!’

Wagner concludes;

‘The point of the mission was for President Carter to save face by having the network TV cameras capture the arrival so that the White House press briefer could say that President Carter sent Cyrus Vance to NYC to straighten out that wild and crazy Andrew Young.

‘They had a nice dinner and I took Secretary Vance home that evening.

‘You don’t get missions like that in F-15s.’

Photo by U.S. Air Force

August 9, 2024 0 comment

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