Military Aircraft Pictures & Stories

[zipmart]

That 8 plane echelon shot is the best I've ever seen.

[parcany2]

I know of a way to suck asphalt faster than taking pics. While stationed in Osan Korea in 72/73 I was to load a F-4 with a big bomb. We were getting ready to load it in a No Lone Zone. I walked up to the bomb and the SP pulled his M-16 and told me to get on the ground face down and hands in back on head. I asked why and he said I was not supposed to be by the weapon by myself. Well since there was 4 of us in the Tab Vee I told him I was not by myself. He told me to get on the ground again and I complied. Then I felt the M-16 right against the back of my head. A little while later my boss stopped his truck and got out of it and the Sp turned around and put a round in the chamber and pointed the gun at my boss. My boss went back into the truck and called to get this Sp boss out there. Well he showed up and started talking to this young [19] airmen and tried to get him to let me up. The Sp Boss finally took him away and came back and told me that he was sorry that this happened. To say the least I was not a happy person at that time. I told the SP boss that I hope that I never catch the young Sp on the base. After all this my boss came over and asked me if I wanted somebody else to load this bomb, told my boss no I will load it. After loading the bomb the Pliots came out and I turned the A/C over to them. Needless to say that night went to the club and got a little drunk. Come to find out later that the young SP was shipped off of Osan to the states that afternoon.

[FL420]

Originally Posted by FastEagle

VF-151 no, he was there after I departed. I went on shore duty orders to VA-125 at NAS Lemoore, CA two weeks before the USS Midway forward deployed to Japan in 1973.

He was the Commanding Officer of the USS America when I was aboard with VA-46 early to the mid 1980s.


Attachment 295462

I thought he was a pretty cool guy, especially compared to our XO at the time. I was sad to learn he passed away 10 years ago. He ended his career as a RADM in charge of the Naval Safety Center.
He was the lead pilot when we launched on an Alert 5 and intercepted a Russian Badger bomber in the Sea of Japan.
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f64/what-did-you-do-that-no-one-else-here-has-348059-post4053368.html

[Wborst]

I served as a aircraft electrician with VMFAT201 at Cherry Point, NC. In the last half of 1972, we had a shortage of officers in the squadron. They decided to get some of the enlisted men qualified to fly rear seat in the F4-J’s during non critical missions. I was one of the fortunate few selected for this duty. I few about 50 hour in the rear seat after completing NATOPS training and ejection seat training. I left the Marine Corps in January 1972 after 4 years of service.

Did anyone else on here serve in such a capacity as an enlisted man?

[MikenDebbie]

More stories and pics please! I really enjoy reading this thread!

[FastEagle]

Among other things, this picture could bring back "cold war" memories.

We found this U2 on display at Laughlin, AFB, Del Rio, TX.

[FL420]

Originally Posted by Mike in Austin

More stories and pics please! I really enjoy reading this thread!

I have a few more but too busy right now(DW is watching [emoji849]) but skypilot_1, Pigman 1, Beau388 and I went a little off topic into war stories starting about post #475 in this thread:
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f96/where-were-you-50-years-ago-today-187002.html

[F4Gary]

Originally Posted by FL420

I have a few more but too busy right now(DW is watching [emoji849]) but skypilot_1, Pigman 1, Beau388 and I went a little off topic into war stories starting about post #475 in this thread:
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f96/where-were-you-50-years-ago-today-187002.html

Cool link, I'll have to go through that thread.

I was a peacetime O-2A Nail FAC.
My backseater in Holland had been a Misty FAC I think. Fast FAC anyway.

[JohnRR]

The war stories enhance the pictures in my opinion.

[OurBreeze]

[ATTACH][ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH]

[OurBreeze]

I was a Flight Engineer in the Orion for 20 years.

[FL420]

Originally Posted by Wborst

Did anyone else on here serve in such a capacity as an enlisted man?

You guys were pretty rare. I never heard of an EM performing the duties of a RIO but knew of a very few who were ejection seat qualified. They were mainly very experienced Maintenance Department troubleshooters who could be flown to a broken down airplane and get it flyable again.
The only story I can relate about an EM riding in the back seat is a sad one that has bothered me for years. In the early 70's when I was in charge of initial training of new West Coast F-4 pilots in VF-121 I was called into the Operations Officer's office one day. He told me I was getting a new "special" student. What made him special was that he had come through the training before and had flunked out but he was being given a second chance. I had NEVER heard of that happening before or since. I was not happy about it and neither was my boss but he made it clear we had no choice.
It turns out the student was what we called a "perfumed prince" which meant his father was a high ranking officer who was smoothing the way for his son to have a successful career like he had. The son wanted to be a fleet fighter pilot so we were to make it so.
The Ops O told me to not pre-judge him and to give him a fair shot but if I felt he wasn't hacking it and would be a liability instead of an asset in a fleet squadron he would back me up. That was a load off my mind.
I did as I was ordered but it soon became apparent this guy had the wrong stuff. He was riding on his Dad's coat tails and his attitude reflected it. More importantly, he consistently made poor decisions. Probably the most important section on every grade sheet regardless of the phase of training was titled "Headwork."
I went to the Ops O and told him this guy has no business in a cockpit of any kind. The Ops O was true to his word and the guy was gone.
A few years later I heard that somehow, someway his Dad had gotten someone to say he was qualified to fly an F-4. Apparently no fleet squadron would take him so he found him a gig ferrying F-4s back and forth between squadrons and PAR(Progressive Aircraft Rework aka Paint and Return.)
The story goes he and an enlisted maintenance technician made a fuel stop on a ferry flight. He apparently felt the need to impress someone on the ground so he attempted to perform an Immelman on takeoff. Even with just the 13,700# of internal fuel an Immelman on takeoff in an F-4J requires a lot of extra airspeed on entry and the proper amount and rate of G application to be successful. Given his skill level and overconfidence success was unlikely. Given the extra 10,000# of fuel in 3 external fuel tanks success was impossible.
Neither one survived.
[emoji40]

[parcany2]

FL420 what is a Immelman. I loaded bomba on F-4s. May have seen it a few times but don't remember. Seen some crazy stuff that our pilots did. Thanx

[FL420]

Originally Posted by parcany2

FL420 what is a Immelman. I loaded bomba on F-4s. May have seen it a few times but don't remember. Seen some crazy stuff that our pilots did. Thanx

An Immelman is a 180° vertical turn started at a lower altitude and higher speed and ending at a higher altitude at a much slower speed. When inverted at the top of the half of a loop the pilot rolls the aircraft 180° to end the maneuver in level upright flight headed in the opposite direction. Airspeed is traded for altitude.
The comparable 180° vertical turn from a higher altitude to a lower altitude which begins with a roll to the inverted position is called a Split S. Altitude is traded for airspeed.