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planes

Me-262-Jet-Fighter

The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe WWII jet fighter displayed for the first time in the UK

by Till Daisd March 13, 2024

written by Till Daisd

The video shown in this article, which was shot at RAF Fairford at the Royal International Air Tattoo in 2023, features the Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe jet fighter making its UK debut

The video featured in this post, which was shot at RAF Fairford during the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) 2023 by Dafydd Phillips, features the Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe jet fighter making its UK debut.

Phillips explains;

‘To see the first designed operational jet fighter do a demonstration was going to be the holy grail for the Royal International Air Tattoo. Here we have the Me 262 Project, it’s a reproduction of the original Messerschmitt Me 262 that was designed by the Germans at the beginning of the Second World War.’

The world’s first operational turbojet aircraft was the Me 262 Schwalbe, which was developed from a 1938 design by the Messerschmitt company. When it was first used as a jet on July 18, 1942, it outperformed traditional aircraft in terms of speed. Delays in quantity production were caused by Allied attacks, development issues (especially its temperamental engines), and cautious Luftwaffe leadership.

The first jet aircraft to be deployed in combat was a Me 262, which engaged a British photo-reconnaissance Mosquito above Munich on July 25, 1944. The German jet scored heavily in combat against the formations of Allied bombers. However, hundreds more Me 262s on the ground were destroyed by US Army Air Force bombers. Less than 300 of the more than 1,400 Me 262s built were used in combat. Germany’s surface transportation system was destroyed, hence the majority of Me 262s did not reach operational units. For many of those that did, there was not enough fuel, spare parts, or trained pilots to allow them to fly.

The Me 262 project was established in 1993 in Texas with the goal of creating airworthy replicas of the Me 262, based on a real two-seater Me 262B-1 that was borrowed from the US Navy. Five aircraft were to be built: two Me 262B-1 two-seat examples, one Me 262A-1 single-seat example, and a fifth pair that could be converted from A-1 to B-1 as needed. The strengthened undercarriage and the installation of modern, dependable General Electric CJ610 Turbojet engines—disguised to resemble the original Junkers Jumo 004B engines—distinguished these copies from the original aircraft.

Four of these replicas, according to the Royal International Air Tattoo website, are airworthy, and one of them participated in the flying display at RIAT 2023. This aircraft, registration D-IMTT, is operated by Flugmuseum Messerschmitt and supported by the Airbus Heritage Flight. It has been based in Manching, Germany, since its delivery in 2006. This marked the UK debut of one of these modern Me 262s and the first time a Me 262 has flown in UK skies since the 1940s.

Photo by Dafydd Phillips

March 13, 2024 0 comment

When an inlet unstart hindered the SR-71 crew from exceeding Mach 3.2

by Till Daisd March 12, 2024

written by Till Daisd

“If they hadn’t had the unstart when they were going through the gate, the record speed would’ve been higher. Their goal was to make 2200 mph,” David Peters former SR-71 Blackbird pilot

The SR-71 Mach 3 + spy plane, which was developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A, made its first flight on December 22, 1964. It was first delivered to the 4200th (later 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, California, in January 1966.

For almost two decades, the SR-71 held the record for being the fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft in the world. It could cover 100,000 square miles of the Earth’s surface per hour from 80,000 feet. In 1976, the SR-71 Blackbird was also the preferred aircraft for commemorating the bicentennial of the United States. Officials decided to try breaking a few records with the famous reconnaissance aircraft as a way to celebrate.

In July of that year, retired Maj. Gen. Eldon (Al) Joersz, the pilot, and retired Lt. Col. George Morgan, the reconnaissance systems officer (RSO), set a world absolute speed record for jet-powered airplanes with a speed of 2,193 mph, as reported by Angela Woolen in the article SR-71 pilots, crew relive absolute speed record. The record is still in effect today.

SR-71-record-crew-1 — Retired Maj. Gen. Eldon Joersz, a former pilot, and retired Lt. Col. George Morgan, a former reconnaissance systems officer, sit inside the cockpit of the SR-71 Blackbird they flew when setting the world absolute speed record for jet-powered aircraft on Jul. 28, 1976. The two were at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, Georgia, for the 40th anniversary of the historic flight. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tommie Horton)

The Blackbird that set the speed record, SR-71 #958, is currently on display at the Museum of Aviation, which is located close to Warner Robins, Georgia. It’s noteworthy that Joersz and Morgan encountered an inlet unstart during the record-breaking event, but it didn’t stop the iconic Blackbird from breaking the absolute speed record.

SR-71 pilot David Peters explains;

‘If Joersz and Morgan had just a normal unstart without a burner blowout, it probably didn’t slow them down much but they certainly would have had the record higher without it.’

They could have exceeded 2,193 mph if not for the inlet unstart that momentarily jammed an engine. This note is from George Morgan: ‘Al and I had the ACTUAL speed record. 2200 indicated in our equipment aboard 958!

‘Theirs…. 2193….NAH!’

Peters explains;

“Just to clear up a couple of points, first, an unstart does not usually cause the engine to shut down. In this case, it was just an unstart of the inlet, which can be recovered rather quickly. Second unstarts were much more likely in the 2.6 to 2.9 range, especially in the climb. High Mach unstarts were much more rare.”

That record-breaking run could have been achieved by any SR-71 with any crew. However, the commander would have chosen the most dependable crew available. He chose George Morgan and Al Joersz to board the aircraft. They truly didn’t want to draw attention to the Blackbird in the early SR-71 days. As part of the United States 200th anniversary celebrations, President Ford inquired as to whether an SR could make the speed run. Commanders of SR-71 never refused a presidential request.

The aircraft achieved the first of its two passes at a speed that was significantly faster than what was needed to break the record. One of the engines shut down just before the second pass began. The plane was well beyond the start line before the engine could be started again. The engine did recover from the unstart.

Capt. Al Joersz, the record-setting pilot, said, “By the time we’d gone through the checklist, we’d already passed the second gate, thus officially starting the run. Still, we exited the gate at Mach 3.2.”

Peters concludes:

“If they hadn’t had the unstart when they were going through the gate, the record speed would’ve been higher. Their goal was to make 2200 mph.”

However, after the inlet unstart, Joersz and Morgan could’ve pushed the Blackbird to the limit and gone Mach 3.3, but in 1976, they didn’t want anyone to know how fast the SR-71 could go. It was still classified. For this reason, the US Air Force (USAF) chose to set the speed record “very carefully” avoiding disclosing how fast the SR-71 could really go.

Check out the Habubrats SR-71 and Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder Facebook pages for further Blackbird photos and stories.

Photo by U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin

March 12, 2024 0 comment

SR-71Bx-Blackbird

The SR-71(Bx), a Blackbird supercruising strike aircraft equipped with AGM-69A SRAM missiles

by Till Daisd March 11, 2024

written by Till Daisd

Ben Rich of Lockheed Skunk Works presented a paper in 1976 that provided a brief overview of the “Bx,” a straightforward modification of the SR-71 Blackbird into a supercruising strike aircraft

The Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft served as the basis for the development of the SR-71, also referred to as the “Blackbird,” or 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 took place on December 22, 1964. On January 26, 1990, the US Air Force (USAF) retired its fleet of SR-71 aircraft.

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

SR-71-Bx

According to Scott Lowther’s narrative in the book Origins and Evolution Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, Ben Rich of Lockheed Skunk Works presented a paper in 1976 that provided a brief overview of the ‘Bx,’ a straightforward modification of the SR-71 into a supercruising strike aircraft. This would be achieved by installing AGM-69A SRAM missiles in the Chinese equipment bays, which are slightly different from the current ones, in longer bays that are roughly in the same locations.

The SR-71(Bx) diagram that is currently available has very poor resolution and contains a few internal contradictions, but it looks like the aircraft’s forward fuselage would be “bent” upwards in addition to having rounded undersides and blunter chines to give the missiles enough room. The aircraft would have been fitted with a dedicated radar, though it’s difficult to make out the details; the nose would be recontoured and slightly lengthened to accommodate.

There is limited information available on the SR-71(Bx). It is not clear how much effort was put into its design. However, launching at Mach 3.2 and an altitude of 80,000ft could increase the range of the SRAM to approximately 500 nautical miles. The SRAM was not a guided missile, so its accuracy was not spectacular. At a distance of 300 nautical miles, the Circular Error Probability (CEP) was 3600ft. Rich proposed that CEP could be reduced by half with terminal guidance, but the specifics of this were not provided.

Origins and Evolution Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is published by Mortons Books and is available to order here.

Photo by U.S. Air Force and Scott Lowther via Mortons Books

March 11, 2024 0 comment

The F-4 Phantom II variant had to be designated the F-110 Spectre

by Till Daisd March 10, 2024

written by Till Daisd

The USAF F-4 Phantom II version was authorized to be designated the F-110 Spectre in 1962

McDonnell Aircraft Company delivered the F4H (later dubbed F-4) Phantom II in answer to Navy requests for a high-altitude interceptor to defend carriers with long-range air-to-air missiles against attack aircraft. The aircraft’s maiden flight occurred in 1958, with deliveries to Navy and Marine Corps squadrons beginning in 1960. The US Air Force (USAF) eventually became interested in it due to its performance and versatility.

A small number of the first F-4Bs to join Navy service contributed to the introduction of the Phantom to the USAF, as told by Peter E. Davies in his book Gray Ghosts, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps F-4 Phantoms. Confronted with the undeniable fact that it outperformed all Air Force fighters, TAC borrowed two F4H-1s (BuNos 149405 and 149406) in 1962 for a seventeen-week evaluation. In 1962, they visited several USAF bases, such as Bentwaters in the UK (BuNo 149406), to give the troops a preview of their new fighter.The F-4B had already made an impressive debut in the previous year’s Paris Salon. Both were officially assigned new serial numbers (JF-4B 62-12169 instead of 149406) and transferred to the Air Force.

A further 27 F-4Bs were “bought” from the Navy order for S 147.8 m on the understanding that the Navy would have them back once the USAF’s Phantom variant, the F-4C, began to roll off the line. Initially, the USAF F-4 model had to be designated the F-110 Spectre under the pre-McNamara designations. Later, both designs (Navy/USMC and USAF) were renamed Phantom II to eliminate confusion regarding the different designations.

There were inevitable changes to the design for the production F-4C, but they were comparatively minor. Structurally, the wing root of the F-4B was thickened to accept wider (11.5 inch) wheels with anti-skid brakes on the main gear in place of the 7.7 “skinny” F-4B tires. Navy Phantoms did not come equipped with anti-skid brakes until F-4J BuNo 157242 and higher. Cartridge-starting J79-15 engines were employed, and the AJB-7 bombing system improved ground assault capability. Given that both crew members were considered pilots, a control column emerged in the rear cockpit. A control column appeared in the back cockpit, as both crewmen were regarded as pilots. The in-flight refueling system was converted to the standard Air Force flying boom system.

The 4453rd Combat Crew Training Wing at MacDill AFB, Florida, was equipped with “borrowed” F4H-1s under the command of record-breaking test pilot Colonel Pete “Speedy” Everest on January 1, 1963. These aircraft trained crews for the 12th TFW until November, when “real” F-4Cs started to arrive. The removable control column in the rear cockpit was perceived by RIOs, who were formerly known as Pilot Systems Operators (PSOs) in the Air Force and later as Weapons Systems Operators (WSOs), as an uncertain advantage. Unlike the F-4C’s stick, it had to be unplugged and stowed before the radar controls could be slid out for use.

It’s interesting to note that “front seaters” had to study the radar interception assignment while spending a period of time in the back. The backseater was able to take control of the aircraft with this twin-stick approach, but he was unable to control the landing gear or brakes. Even with the F-4C’s rudimentary throttle controls, the backseater was still unable to land the aircraft alone.

The Air Force experienced some initial difficulties adjusting to the more complicated Martin-Baker H5 ejection seats on the F-4B. The failure to recognize that the “banana-link” mechanism on top of the seat might begin ejection if moved or compressed while the seat was armed resulted in two fatalities and serious injuries to MacDill personnel. Once, during a negative g maneuver, an F-4B’s seat that wasn’t properly secured slid up the rail, fired the canopy jettison device, left the cockpit, and then slid back along the fuselage. Fortunately, the pilot’s parachute was also deployed, and he survived.

The USAF F-4 crews were not on alert throughout the Cuban crisis, in contrast to their counterparts in the Navy and Marines. But much farther away in Southeast Asia, Phantom crews from all three services were soon to find plenty of action. You may see a preview of the F-110A’s TAC evaluation in the video that follows.

Gray Ghosts: U.S. Navy and Marine Corps F-4 Phantoms is published by Schiffer Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

March 10, 2024 0 comment

How Apollo astronauts dumped on their way to the Moon and how they tried to stay clean without shower

by Till Daisd March 9, 2024

written by Till Daisd

The Apollo astronauts had to change many of their daily routines, including what they ate, drank, dressed, and even how they used the restroom

On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 launched from Cape Kennedy, carrying Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin into an initial Earth orbit of 114 by 116 miles.

The primary objective of Apollo 11 was to complete a national goal set by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961: perform a crewed lunar landing and return to Earth.

On July 20, 1969, Armstrong’s televised image and voice described the moment as “…one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” to an estimated 650 million viewers.

The life of the Apollo astronauts on board the command and service module, or CSM, was not simple. Living in space was considerably different from Earthly life because of the restricted space and lack of gravity. The website of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum states that astronauts had to modify many everyday routines, including how they ate, drank, dressed, and even used the restroom.

Andy Burns, a student of Space history and Flight Officer / Aviator at the United States Navy (USN), explains this on Quora.

‘There were no showering/bathing facilities aboard any of the Apollo spacecraft. What washing the astronauts were able to do was via wet washcloths every now and then. The environmental control system circulated air and helped somewhat, but mostly it was just a matter of the whole crew stinking equally and eventually going nose-deaf.’

Fecal-Bag — Fecal bag

How did Apollo astronauts poop during their journey to the moon?

Extremely cautiously.

They stripped down entirely—there was no way to take a shower or change their clothes—and moved as far away from the rest of the crew members as they could. (Nowhere near far enough). Then they did what had to be done, sticking a bag with a glue-coated ring on their butts. Then, if it was firm, they would have to break it off by inserting their finger into a covered hole. (It couldn’t fall because of the absence of gravity.)

Then, to make things worse, they had to add a specific fluid that killed the bacteria in the excrement, close the bag, and thoroughly mix the contents to incorporate the chemical.

Julie Ritt, an expert in NASA history, explains on Quora;

‘That’s assuming that they managed to get the bag attached to their bootie before anything exited the premises.’

According to Popular Science, random feces were floating around in the cabin of Apollo 10 (crewed by John Young, Thomas Stafford, and Gene Cernan), and nobody acknowledged who was responsible for them.

“Oh — Who did it?” Tom Stafford asks at one point. Confused, Young and Cernan reply, “Who did what?”
Cernan: “Where did that come from?”
Stafford: “Get me a napkin quick. There’s a turd floating through the air.”
Young: “I didn’t do it. It ain’t one of mine.”
Cernan: “I don’t think it’s one of mine.”
Stafford: “Mine was a little more sticky than that. Throw that away.”
Young: “God Almighty”
(laughter)

Apollo-10 — Apollo 10 crew

According to HuffPost, later on, they were interrupted again:

Cernan: “Here’s another goddam turd. What’s the matter with you guys? Here, give me a —“
(laughter from Young and Stafford)
Stafford: “It was just floating around?”
Cernan: “Yes.”
Stafford (laughing): “Mine was stickier than that.”
Young: “Mine was too. It hit that bag —“
Cernan: “I don’t know whose that is. I can neither claim it nor disclaim it (laughter).”
Young: “What the hell is going on here?”

Burns goes on to explain;

‘According to the reports of the Navy rescue swimmers, who were responsible for opening the spacecraft hatch after splashdown, the sheer stink of an Apollo cabin after two weeks was awe-inspiring.’

The facilities are far better, so that any prospective astronauts who may be rethinking their career decision can rest easy. They now have a proper restroom. It’s equipped with a camera so you can perfect your aim!

Apollo-12-crew — US Navy swimmers assist NASA astronauts into a life raft and out of the Command Module from their journey to the moon on Apollo 12. This picture was taken about 45 minutes after splashdown in the south Pacific. The USS Hornet provided rescue operations.

Photo by NASA

March 9, 2024 0 comment

The story behind the Blackbird’s moniker, the “Lead Sled”

by Till Daisd March 8, 2024

written by Till Daisd

A few people nicknamed the SR-71 the “Lead Sled” after pilot Jerry O’Malley and RSO Ed Payne, on their second Blackbird combat sortie over Vietnam in 1968, dropped 60,000 feet

The SR-71 Mach 3 + spy plane, which was developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A, made its first flight on December 22, 1964. It was first delivered to the 4200th (later 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, California, in January 1966.

For almost 24 years, the SR-71 held the record for being the fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft in the world. It could cover 100,000 square miles of the Earth’s surface per hour from 80,000 feet. The SR-71 was also referred to as the “Sled” and was unofficially called the “Blackbird.”

Aloysius G. Casey and Patrick A. Casey’s book Velocity Speed With Direction – The Professional Career of Gen. Jerome F. O’Malley claims that the Lead Sled was an unaffectionate name.

A few people dubbed the SR-71 the Sled* when Ed Payne and Jerry O’Malley dropped 60,000 feet over Vietnam in 1968.

That time an SR-71 deployed Ladies Underwear (along with the drag chute) upon landing to adjust the attitude of a new Blackbird pilot

Payne and O’Malley hold the distinction of having flown their Blackbird on its second combat sortie. (They also hold the distinction of being the first to complete a combat sortie successfully.) They refueled and then coasted close to Saigon before continuing north to cross the DMZ and into North Vietnam. Near the end of their run, a message was received to abort the remainder of the mission based on confusion in the command chain on exactly what President Johnson meant in a speech he made that day about restricting “strike” aircraft flights north of the 19th Parallel over Vietnam.

As O’Malley eased back on the throttles, both engines rumbled in a compression stall and immediately flamed out! Jerry pushed the nose down to get to the denser air needed for an air start of the big engines. They decided that if they could not achieve an air start at 23,000 feet, they would call it “MAYDAY” and bail out at 14,000 feet. Attempts at 40,000 and 30,000 feet failed, and Ed Payne noted 26,000 feet. As he made ready for the call, he called out, “MAY. . .” the aircraft shook, and O’Malley said one engine had started. By the time they made 20,000 feet, Jerry had both engines “turning and burning.”

Jerry made his way south and got ready to descend. As they returned to home base in the normal profile, Jerry talked extensively about the information he wanted Ed to record. The engines spooled down normally when it was time to ease back on the throttles, and they made a safe landing back at Kadena.

The double-engine flameout was the precursor to several similar incidents that followed over Laos and served to reinforce the undesired nickname of Lead Sled… back at the SAC Reconnaissance Center.

Later, as time went on, the term sled was used affectionately.

*According to The Complete Book of the SR-71 Blackbird by Richard H. Graham, the Blackbird was dubbed ‘Sled’ because the U-2 pilots didn’t like calling the SR-71 by its proper nickname, so they came up with a derogatory name of their own, calling it the ‘Sled.’

Check out the Habubrats SR-71 and Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder Facebook pages for further Blackbird photos and stories.

Photo by U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin

March 8, 2024 0 comment

KC-135A Crew Chief had to purge the tanks to load JP-7 for SR-71 Blackbird refueling

by Till Daisd March 7, 2024

written by Till Daisd

If KC-135Qs were unavailable, ordinary Stratotankers could be used to refuel the SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3+ spy plane.

If it weren’t for air refueling, the SR-71’s range would be relatively limited—roughly 2,000 NM. The aircraft’s range was increased by several air refuelings to the crew’s maximum endurance. Many missions have gone above 12,000 NM. The SR-71 and KC-135Q tankers’ forward basing allowed for increased overall efficiency, shorter range, shorter length missions, and faster responses.

There were various ways in which KC-135Q crews and their aircraft were different from other Air Force units. Col. Richard H. Graham, a former Blackbird pilot, explains in his book ‘SR-71 The Complete Illustrated History of THE BLACKBIRD The World’s Highest, Fastest Plane‘ that their boom operators were the only ones qualified to refuel the SR-71, and their aircrews were the only ones certified in Blackbird’s specific radio-silent rendezvous procedures. The Q-model tankers could move JP-4 and JP-7 fuel between different tanks because of the special plumbing between the tanks. They could use JP-4 or JP-7 fuel in their engines. In fact, KC-135Q tankers could carry up to 110,000lb of JP-4 and 74,490lb of JP-7 for their own engines at the same time.

If the SR-71 landed in an area without JP-7 fuel, the Q-model tankers would fly in with the fuel and refill the aircraft using ground-based transfer hoses.

However, as recently explained, in the case that KC-135Qs were unavailable, the SR-71 could also be refueled using conventional Stratotankers.

Earl Belz, former KC-135A crew chief, said:

‘In 1978, I was a Crew Chief on a KC-135A model tanker. We were TDY from Carswell AFB in Ft. Worth, Texas to RAF Mildenhall, UK. While we were there at Mildenhall there was some type of political election or changing of political parties (they were having an election of the Prime Minister or something like that). Because of that, there couldn’t be any foreign reconnaissance (spy) aircraft in England.

‘There were two SR-71s and one U-2 also TDY at Mildenhall. They couldn’t get a Q model there in time, so we were directed to defuel and purge some of our center body fuel tanks of the JP-4, and we were given instructions to load JP-7 in those tanks to support refueling one of the SR-71s (thus separating the JP-7 from our KC-135’s own fuel supply). It’s known as “flying dirty.”

‘We did as directed and took off with one of the SR-71s the following day. We accomplished two refuels. One immediately after getting airborne and a second one about an hour later. I believe the SR-71 was going to Zaragoza, Spain, to remain overnight, at which point it was going to get Q model support to return to Beale. We returned to Mildenhall to finish the reminder of our TDY.’

He continues;

‘I’ve got a couple of photos [shown below] I took while hooked up to the SR-71. Pretty awesome.

‘I took these pictures with my Kodak 110 camera. The one taken from the boom pod has a couple of spots were the photo got stuck to the plexiglass picture frame, but this was the first refuel immediately after we took off. He was moving into position for hooking up. We only refueled it twice. The SR-71 was going to Zaragoza, and a Q model was supposedly going to be there the next day.

SR-71-KC-135A

‘The second SR-71 photo was another one that took off the day before.

KC-135A-SR-71

‘The third photo was a U-2 that was at Mildenhall at the same time the two SR-71s were there.’

U-2-KC-135A

Belz concludes;

‘Sorry about the quality of the pictures but I was just an E-4 Crew Chief.’

Photo by U.S. Air Force, Tony Landis Lockheed and Earl Belz

March 7, 2024 0 comment

An RAF Phantom Pilot remembers shadowing two Soviet Bears over France with his navigator and wingman when French fighters were grounded for Bastille Day celebrations

by Till Daisd March 6, 2024

written by Till Daisd

‘The VC10 captain announced that as it was Bastille Day he had been told that we would have to look after the ‘trade’ alone and that, consequently, we could not anticipate any form of relief from Mirage units,’ Alan Winkles, former RAF Phantom pilot

For more than two decades, the Phantom was an essential part of the Royal Air Force’s combat aircraft arsenal, providing the service with one of the most capable strike fighters in the world. The Royal Air Force began using two models of the Rolls-Royce Spey-powered Phantom. Germany deployed the FGR2 for ground assault and tactical reconnaissance, and the FG1, which was also used by the Royal Navy, for interceptor roles.

From 1977, all Royal Air Force Phantoms were almost entirely used as interceptor fighters over UK airspace.

That time a RAF Phantom crew jokingly requested fuel from an Argentine Air Force KC-130 flying over the Falklands

“The French, without doubt, are proud of their way of life, and French folk will usually be eager to claim the virtues of their je sais quoi factor. Sometimes, however, the quoi in question can cause a problem or two for everyone else. I discovered myself in July 1987, on a day known as Bastille Day, or La Fête Nationale. The day when the storming of the Bastille prison on 14 July 1789, is remembered as a symbol of the modern nation and thus a cause of considerable celebration all over the place,” says Alan “Al” Winkles, a former RAF Phantom pilot, in Robert Pike’s book Phantom Boys.

“The day for me and for my navigator started well enough. It was an unexceptional Tuesday with the two of us on duty with another pilot/navigator crew. We were supported by a team of squadron engineers in the quick reaction alert (QRA) set-up at RAF Leuchars. Two Phantoms kept at readiness to be airborne in a matter of minutes when ordered by the ground radar controller at RAF Buchan, were in a special hangar next to a couple of crewrooms, one for the aircrew and one for the engineers. As the commanding officer of 43(F) Squadron at the time, I was not often on QRA duty, although I liked to ensure I was rostered for the occasional stint. If, as the saying goes, all was quiet on the western front, it was, for one thing, an opportunity for me to catch up on irksome paperwork from HQ,” Winkles continues.

However, on Bastille Day 1987, Al Winkles was scrambled to patrol east of the Faeroes to await the expected transit of two Bear Deltas to Cuba—a routine event.

“Sure enough, my trusty navigator made radar contact with them at an astounding range, and we motored in behind them. First, we closed in on the rear Bear to read its door number, before edging forward to the leader to read its number. Fully satisfied, we then stayed with the Bears for the next 30 minutes or so, seeing them safely off on their westerly heading over the Atlantic. Turning away to the southeast, we headed for home—or so we thought.”

Tu-95MSM

Benbecula radar guided Al and his backseater to a rendezvous with a VC10 tanker as they coasted in over Scotland’s northwest coast. However, as Jimmy Bedle noted in The Fighting Cocks, more trade was undoubtedly expected. Having tanked to full, they were unexpectedly vectored southward down the Irish Sea, arriving at a location 100 miles southwest of Cornwall.

Then Portreath radar reported that, strangely, their earlier trade had veered south down the west coast of Ireland and seemed to be going for the Bay of Biscay, rather than continuing towards Cuba. They had dispatched another VC10 tanker to their area in order to shadow and intercept the Bears. The targets did indeed emerge to the west, and the Phantom executed a 120° maneuver to intercept.

Al Winkles resumes narrating the story.

“We were joined by a VC10, pulled off its training sortie over the North Sea. The tanker fell into line astern as we stationed ourselves on the Bear’s port side. By this time, the two Russian aircraft had joined together in loose formation. About 150 miles south of Cornwall, my navigator announced in a small voice that we had fallen off his map. However, as we entered the Bay of Biscay, we were certain that we would soon be relieved by the French Air Force, and we therefore kept a sharp lookout for Mirage fighters.

“By now, we had lost contact with Portreath radar and had just the VC10 for company. The tanker captain then announced that, as it was Bastille Day, he had been told that we would have to look after the ‘trade’ alone and that, consequently, we could not anticipate any form of relief from Mirage units. Far be it for me, I reasoned, to deny French their day of Bastille celebrations, but surely there were other considerations too. I could not avoid a feeling of irritation when I pictured our Mirage colleagues as they attended their Bastille barbecues on this mid-summer’s day.

Phantom flying alongside Bear D

“The VC-10 captain said he was trying to find a selection of French airfields that might be open for any possible diversion if we got into difficulties. However, thus far, the airfields he had tried had not even replied to his radio calls! Having given us this good news, he then said he was getting short of fuel, that he would give us what he could spare, and then he would leave us as there was another VC10 due to pitch up in around 30 minutes or so. We took on a few thousand pounds of fuel, and he left us, having given us a selection of vectors towards the nearest airfields in the St. Nazaire/La Rochelle areas—all probably closed.

At this point, we felt very vulnerable. We had no maps of France, no specific diversions, no weather information, and no radio contact with anyone except for the departing tanker. At this point the Bears seemed quite friendly and, possibly having been monitoring our situation over the radio, they turned towards the northwest. At least now we felt we were heading home. A very long 30 minutes passed, and then very faintly, we heard what appeared to be a distant conversation between our departing VC10 and the one arriving. Sure enough, the new tanker soon appeared and carried out an immaculate join-up using our air-to-air Tacan. The return route was flown in reverse by the Bears and ourselves, and we finally handed the Soviets over to Norwegian fighters who escorted them on their way back to Murmansk.”

Following his amazing five-hour sortie, Al gave the order to equip all 43 Squadron QRA aircraft with maps of Northern France in the future. It’s better late than never!

Photo by Crown Copyright and U.S. Air Force

March 6, 2024 0 comment

F-4D-Belly-Landing-no-Backseater

When a Phantom II pilot belly landed his stricken F-4D without his backseater

by Till Daisd March 4, 2024

written by Till Daisd

‘In retrospect, my ordering WSO to eject was a mistake which I have always regretted. I felt at the time I was saving his life and I intended to eject after he did,’ Major Ben “Ray” Battle, F-4D Phantom II pilot

The Phantom II, which had its maiden flight in May 1958, was initially created for US Navy fleet defense and went into service in 1961. After evaluating it for counterair, interdiction, and close air support, the USAF authorized a variant in 1962. On May 27, 1963, the USAF’s Phantom II, known as the F-4C, completed its maiden flight. Delivery of production started in November 1963. Although the F-4D has better avionics and other technologies, it is still remarkably similar to the F-4C.

On November 18, 1968, a 37mm anti-aircraft fire struck an F-4D #66-0249 from 433rd TFS, Ubon RTAB, Thailand, rendering the aircraft unstable. 1Lt Robert “Kenny” Boone, the weapons system officer (WSO), was given the order to eject by Pilot Major Ben “Ray” Battle.

Following the ejection, Major Boone performed a gear-up landing at Ubon as the aircraft regained control. Boone was recovered from the Laotian jungle unharmed, and Battle survived the landing.

Ray Battle recalls;

“Kenny Boone and I were flying a fast-mover FAC mission along the Ho Chi Min trail in Laos. It was an orientation ride for Kenny, as he was newly assigned to my unit. We were at 4000 feet, and Kenny was flying the airplane when I heard an explosion, the aircraft shuddered, and the front windscreen was covered in what turned out to be hydraulic fluid. My sensation was that the aircraft as out of control, and I ordered Kenny to eject, which he did. Instinctively, I took the stick and throttles in hand, and to my amazement, the aircraft was flyable. I called for help for Kenny and headed back to Thailand where we were stationed. I was given the option of ejecting or landing gear up as the landing gear would not come down. I elected to land gear up and catch the runway wire with my tailhook… I have 150 aircraft carrier landings and thought I could easily make an arrested landing on the runway. I pulled the power off just as I touched down, and the aircraft settled onto the wire, cutting it. The aircraft slid down the runway and veered off to the right before fish-hooking to the right and stopping. It caught on fire and I jumped out safely. As you know, Kenny was recovered after spending a nervous night hanging in a tree in Laos. In retrospect, my ordering Kenny to eject was a mistake which I have always regretted. I felt at the time I was saving his life, and I intended to eject after he did. We both survived the incident for which I am grateful.”

F-4D emergency landing

As reported by Sierra Hotel Aeronautics, F-4D #66-0249 was eventually repaired, needing a new nose cone, some paint, and a new seat for the guy in the back. She was returned to service two years later, in February of 1970, and went on to enjoy a long career. Sadly Ol’ #249 saw her end with a plunge in the Florida Gulf, flying out of Tyndall AFB in 1985.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

March 4, 2024 0 comment

The high loss rate of the F-105 over Vietnam can be attributed, according to the F-105 pilot, to the SAC bomber philosophy

by Till Daisd March 3, 2024

written by Till Daisd

‘At Takhli we liked the pop-up tactic as we felt we got better target coverage with less exposure and fewer losses. Lots of folks agreed until new PACAF C-in-C Gen John D Ryan arrived in Honolulu with his high-altitude, straight-and-level B-17 experience and his SAC bomber philosophy,’ 388th TFW Vice Commander Jack Broughton

Throughout the 43 months of Operation Rolling Thunder, pilots of the F-105D Thunderchief flew against North Vietnamese targets day after day, up against the most impressively concentrated air defenses in history.

Twenty-five upgraded QRC-160A (later AN/ALQ-71) pods were ordered in mid-1966 for the Thai F-105 wings in an attempt to reduce the losses for the F-105 wings, which had lost 126 jets in 1966, according to a story written by Peter E. Davies in his book F-105 Thunderchief Units of the Vietnam War. Tougher than the 1965 test models, they contained jammers for the ‘Fan Song’ SA-2 guidance radar elevation and azimuth frequencies, as well as the ‘Firecan’ radar directing 57 mm and 85 mm AAA.

Crews from EB-66C evaluated the techniques that Project Vampyrus developed for deploying these new pods between September 26 and October 8, 1966. For maximum protection against jamming, a variety of “formations” were tested. Early combat results in late October revealed that an “echelon up front the leader” formation offered sufficient jamming power to prevent accurate guidance of both SA-2s and heavy flak.

All threat frequencies were initially covered by two pods carried on the F-105’s outboard pylons; but, due to increased MiG activity, one pod had to be swapped out for an AIM-9B Sidewinder.

Brig. Gen. William Chairsell, commander of the 388th TFW, approved of the pods as they let F-105s make dive attacks from medium altitude, rather than ‘popping up’ in 30-degree, 4G climbs from lower altitude, where the jets were easier AAA targets. However, a `Fan Song’ could ‘burn through’ the pods’ emissions and lock onto an F-105 inside eight miles’ range.

When the jet banked or turned more than 15 degrees, it diverted its radiation away from the radar that the pod was trying to cover, which decreased the pod’s efficacy. Pods may potentially cause issues with the F-105’s own RHAW system and Shrike guidance. Both sides engaged in a “battle of the beams,” where they changed formations, tactics, and frequencies constantly.

A particular hazard for the F-105s was ‘passive tracking’ where the NVA ‘triangulated’ data from a number of sites and launched missiles at a point calculated to be the center of the attack formation. Later in 1967, the improved AN/ALQ-87 (QRC-160-8) pod that could jam both the SA-2’s position beacon and ‘Fan Song’ was introduced.

F-105-Bombings — Specialized RB-66s helped F-105s bomb in North Vietnam’s frequently poor weather conditions. Top Image: F-105 crews played a key role in ROLLING THUNDER.

The Korat tactics, which involved extremely close formations striking from between 15,000 and 18,000 feet, with roughly two minutes between the formations, were not the same as the 355th TFW’s approach to “pod” formations. This placed them above the lighter AAA, but loaded F-105s’ maneuverability against SAMs and MiGs was hindered by their tight formations and relatively high altitudes. According to Vice Commander Jack Broughton of the 388th TFW,

‘At Takhli we liked the pop-up tactic as we felt we got better target coverage with less exposure and fewer losses. Lots of folks agreed until new PACAF C-in-C Gen. John D. Ryan arrived in Honolulu with his high-altitude, straight-and-level B-17 experience and his SAC bomber philosophy. He directed a study that produced the phoniest, untrue results possible, and despite much wailing from the veterans of the Hanoi environment, he ordered us to adopt the bomber approach. He seemed to feel the advent of ECM pods would solve all the problems up north, which they did not. We continued to appeal our case, without much hope, but in the interim, many of us never quite “understood” the General’s direction, thus we did not get to fly the bomber patterns. We tried it one time and it was an obscene mess as far as we were concerned. The end of Rolling Thunder signaled the end of our attacks into RP VI, and therefore an end to that controversy.

‘We liked to have as many pods as maintenance could provide, and we used them along with our pop-up tactic. Korat units liked that straight and level stuff, which may be why their loss rates were higher than ours and their bombs-on-target rates lower.’

F-105 Thunderchief Units of the Vietnam War is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

March 3, 2024 0 comment

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