Cold Warriors

[TBO]

0:42 - 01:11

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[SC Tiger]

15 hours ago, tous said:

Aardvark was the official, Air Force name.

There was also an electronic warfare variant named Raven

Most folk don't know, (or remember) that there was a naval variant as well;' it had a hook! 

Another DoD attempt at, Same aircraft for all of the services; one airplane to rule them all.

The F-14 Tomcat shared many parts and design from the F11B, including a pilot and a GIB (well, guy to side) and the then awesome Pratt and Whitney TF-30s.  The Tomcat may be regarded as a smaller, lighter Aardvark.

The F-111 was not configured to fire the AIM-54 missile, but is still an awesome aircraft.

 

We didn't make it, but if McDonnell Douglas doesn't make it, Grumman is the next best thing. 

 

I did not know that.  I always saw the F111 referred to without an "official" designation.  Apparently it was bestowed upon the F111 when it was retired:

'The F-111^{[N 1]} was in service with the USAF from 1967 through 1998. The FB-111s were operated by Strategic Air Command from 1969 before conversion to F-111G and transferred to Air Combat Command (ACC) until their retirement in 1993.^[68] At a ceremony marking the F-111's USAF retirement, on 27 July 1996, it was officially named Aardvark, its long-standing unofficial name.^[67] The USAF retired the EF-111 electronic warfare variant in 1998.^[69]'

 

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-111_Aardvark#Early_requirements}

[BillKilgore]

Several aircraft in this thread remind me of the old cliche'.

If it's ugly, it's British.

It it's weird, it's French.

If it's ugly and weird, it's Russian.

 

[willie-pete]

On 7/11/2018 at 2:00 PM, SC Tiger said:

 

Range - 2 miles

Blast radius of warhead - 3 miles

Hey - wait a damn minute...........

 

Not quite that bad; fatal doses out to about about 1/4 mile.

 

 

[Eric]

[Eric]

[Eric]

I love the BUFF.

[Eric]

[Eric]

[Eric]

[Eric]

[willie-pete]

10 minutes ago, Eric said:

 

That blowtorch is how they tried to signal the F-111 that was lost on the Libyan raid in case he had lost position and comms.

[tous]

Not a Cold War weapon, but for me, the X-15 project was the neatest thing ever until the Shuttle program.

A re-usable spacecraft, soaring to over 100,000 feet at MACH 6+. 

In 1967.

[Batesmotel]

3 hours ago, Eric said:

B-50?

[tous]

It is indeed a B-50, amigo. 

Note the much taller vertical stabilizer and smaller nacelles housing updated Pratt and Whitney radial engines.

Most have never heard of it, but it served in various roles with the Air Force for 20 years.

 

Yes, I am a nerd. 

Edited July 13, 2018 by tous

[Collim1]

I’ve always thought both of these were good looking aircraft. 

When I was growing up I was into flight sim, and Chuck Yeager’s Air Combat was the premiere combat flight sim software  

it heavily featured the duels between these two aircraft  

 

[furetto7]

7 hours ago, Batesmotel said:

B-50?

My best man’s father was one of the two radar operators on the B-50A Lucky Lady II, that made the around the world, non-stop flight in 1949.  He had some interesting stories to tell but would constantly kid me about having been Army Airborne before I joined the Air Force, he frequently observed that only two things fell from the sky, bird crap and damned fools he said he would ride the biggest piece down even if it was the gas cap.

[Eric]

 

[Eric]

[tous]

NB  VX squadrons are test an evaluation squadrons.

It appears that VX-4 was testing and evaluating vibrant paint schemes.

 

[Glocks4Freedom]

[Eric]

[Rocketsteve]

[Eric]

[Eric]