Air Force

Last Update Dec 2007

This is my Air Force page. No, not all of us in the AF fly, but its tricky finding anything particularly entertaining about electronic communications equipment. So here are the places I've been and some of the more memorable organizations.

The planes are here just because everybody likes airplanes. Be honest, what's more fun? Reading about the Three Nineteenth Bombardment Wing (Heavy), or the 804th Communications Squadron (yawn)?
Although there are some stories ...

Sources and Background Information

Official USAF Art
HISTORY OF THE USAF Wikipedia
The Cold War Wikipedia

GlobalSecurity.Org Military Systems
National Museum of the United States Air Force - Wright Patterson AFB, OH
USAF Unit Histories - Maxwell AFB
Designation Systems - MilitaryAviation Designations, U.S. Rockets and Missiles
Strategic-Air-Command.com - Aircraft, Missiles, Bases, Unit Information
Wikipedia-Strategic Air Commend
Elevon - Aviation on the Internet
Joe Baugher - Aviation Sites
Joe Baugher - Combat Aircraft

ICBMs - Bombers and Weapons - FAS Nuclear Forces Site
Minuteman Missile Historic Resource Study Excellent historical document on the Minuteman program and the Cold War.
Minuteman LCC inside photo
Silo World - A really interesting place..

Minuteman Site Diagram.
Missile crew changeover story As maintenance, what we communicators went through was pretty close to the second half of this story ... except we were usually lugging around 250 pound equipment racks that had been cold soaked in the back of a truck for 4 hours to about -25F, coated with frost, and dripping water. Oh. They didn't have handles, either. You try that once, it makes for an interesting trip

mIRC and Air Combat Command (archive)

1969	*United States Air Force*	1974
Air Force Commendation Medal	*Presidential Unit Citation* Outstanding Unit Award	National Defense Service Medal
	Missileer Badge ("pocket rocket") Staff Sergeant (E-5)

What does this stuff mean?

AFCM If you only knew... Let's just say it involved the Japanese Self Defense Force, a national forest, a beach, the U.S. Navy, and some Marines. You dont want to know. Really.	Presidential Unit Citiation Outstanding Unit Award for being in a couple of slick units when they did the right thing in the right place at the right time for the right reasons.	NDSM AKA the "good conduct medal". This is for making it through three years and staying out of jail most of the time.
Missile Badge Just being in a missile wing doesn't qualify. The "pocket rocket" is authorized only for those working in direct support of strategic missile operations. Very few of us communications electronics types got to wear these. Staff Sergeant's Stripes Four Years and 10 Months - Which happens to be as long as you could stay in S.E.A. and not be forced to re-enlist.)

Lackland AFB

Texas

3280th Student Squadron (ATC)

Learning to be a communications electronics tech. 47 more fun weeks in Texas marching to school at 4 am and generally harassing the rest of the permanent party. Somebody stole a basic training squadron sign (10 ft x 15 ft on poles) and put it in front of the post office with a stamp on it. We did not do that. Really. Somebody went over and tied up the sky cops (Security Police) learning to guard little aluminum airplanes. We didn't do that either. Lots of other things we didn't do. Really. Honest.

Ok well there was that time a (count em, one) sky cop (Security Police) arrested all of A-Shift at 4am. All 400 of us. He put three in his cruiser and told the rest of us to "wait until he got back". His plan was to take us to jail 3 at a time, I guess. Except he dropped the first 3 off at and told them to wait THERE while he went back for the others. They left too.

I'm not making this up. Nobody could make this up.

From Texas, I went North. Where it's cold and they have something called snirt.
Scenic Grand Forks, North Dakota. The people were nice. The trees .. well..
the trees were in Minnesota actualy...

Grand Forks Air Force Base Official Site Wikipedia

Grand Forks experienced several major c hanges during 1971 to 1973. The Aerospace Defense Command inactivated the 18 FIS on 15 April 1971. In its place, the command stationed the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Grand Forks on 30 July 1971. The squadron kept F-106 Delta Darts on alert at Grand Forks. Meanwhile, SAC transferred the 4th Strategic Aerospace Division to Francis E. Warren AFB, Wyoming, on 30 June 1971. The command tasked the 321 SMW to assume command over the 804th Combat Support Group and host unit responsibilities on 1 July 1971. The 804th Combat Support Group was inactivated on 31 July 1972. During this period construction began for the 321 SMW to upgrade to Minuteman IIIs, a project that wascompleted on 8 March 1973.

804th Comm Sq (SAC) My Page

4th Strategic Air Division

319th Strategic Bombardment Wing (Heavy)

319th Background

46th Bomb Squadron
1 Feb 63 to 30 Sept 89

B-52H Stratofortress

321st Strategic Missile Wing

SMS Field Local

321st Background

446th, 447th, and 448th Strategic Missile Squaadrons

Dec 64 to Aug 24 2001

Minuteman III

SAC organized the first Minuteman II wing, the 321st Strategic Missile Wing (SMW), at Grand Forks AFB in Nov 1963. April 25, 1966, the 447th Strategic Missile Squadron and 50 Minuteman II missiles were operational and on December 7, 1966, the 446th, 447th, and 448th Strategic Missile Squadrons comprising the 321st were fully operational.
Project “Long Life II,” rigged test missiles to travel a couple hundred yards or so in tests. However, the first try in October 1966, the second try, and even the last try in August 1968 all failed. (Another great idea that wasn't so great, it seems).
The 321st SMW competed in SAC’s first Missile Combat Competition at Vandenberg AFB in 1967. From December 1971 to March 1973, the wing converted to Minuteman III missiles with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles.The implementation was complicated - in 1972 over 250 separate nuclear weapon convoys travelled around North Dakota!

18th Fighter-Interceptor Sq 1 May 60 to 15 Apr 1971

F-101B Voodoo

460th Fighter-Interceptor Sq Jul 71 to 1974

The 460th FIS was activated in March 1954 at McGhee Tyson Airport with F-86Ds. In August 1955 the unit designation was transferred to an F-89D squadron at Portland Airport. The squadron transitioned into F-102As in May 1958 and was deactivated in March 1966. In September 1968 the squadron was reactivated at Oxnard AFB with F-106's from the 437th FIS, which had just been deactivated, keeping the same tail flash colors as the 437th FIS, which had been carried over to them from the 456th FIS. The squadron moved to Kingsley Field in November 1969 and then to Grand Forks AFB in April 1971. During its time at Grand Forks AFB the originally assigned F-106s were sent to the 186th FIS at Great Falls MT ANG in April 72 and were replaced with the F-106s from the discontinued 319th FIS from Malmstrom AFB MT. The 460th FIS was deactivated on 15 Jul 74 with the majority of the F-106s reassigned to the 194th FIS Fresno CA ANG.

F-106 Delta Dart

B-52H Stratofort

Minuteman III

F-101 Voodoo

F-106

Delta Dart

Air Defense Command
18th Fighter Interceptor Squadron

Forty four years of continuous vigilance and readiness
in service to the United States of America, 1954-1998

GRAND FORKS AFB 1954 - 2003

1954 Dept of Defense chose Grand Forks as a new installation.
8 Feb 1957 Air Defense Command (ADC) activated 478th Fighter Group.
1 Sep 1958 Strategic Air Command (SAC) activated the 4133d Strategic Wing
1 May 1960 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (FIS) was stationed at Grand Forks AFB with its F-101B Voodoos.
29 Apr 1962 30th Bombardment Squadron received its first B-52H Stratofortress.
1 Feb 1963 319th Bombardment Wing (BMW) (Heavy) organized at GFAFB. Base command transferred from ADC to SAC.
19 Aug 1964 SAC activated the 804th Combat Support Group (CSG).
1 Sep 1964 4th Strategic Aerospace Division stationed at GFAFB.
1 Nov 1964 321st Strategic Missile Wing (SMW) organized at GF AFB
Dec 1966 321 SMW operational with the Minuteman II missile.

15 Apr 1971 Air Defense Command inactivated the 18 FIS.
30 Jun 1971 4th STRAD transferred to F.E. Warren AFB, WY
1 Jul 1971 321 SMW assumed host unit duties from the 804 CSG.
30 Jul 1971 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (ADC) with F-106 Delta Darts stationed at GFAFB.

8 Mar 1973 321st SMWing upgradef to Minuteman III.
1974 ADC inactivated the 460 FIS.
1986-1987 319th Bomb Wing converted from B-52G Stratofortress and KC-135A Stratotanker to the B-1B Lancer and KC-135R Stratotanker.
1 Jun 1992 Air Force inactivated Strategic Air Command and reassigned Grand Forks AFB to Air Combat Command.
26 May 1994 The last B-1B Lancer departed from Grand Forks AFB, marking the end of over 30 years of bombers at Grand Forks.
2 Jul 1998 The 321 Missile Group inactivated after 34 years of service at Grand Forks AFB.
6 Oct 1999 The first missile silo was imploded under START..
24 Aug 2001 The last missile silo was imploded.

On the way to the Pacific there was a little side trip

first a few weeks at

U.S. Naval Electronics School, Mare Island, CA

and then a short visit to

U.S.Marine Corps Base, Twentynine Palms, CA

Then they sent me to Japan ..
to support the US Navy (WESPACNORTH)
(don't ask .. just don't ask...)

Det 7

1956th Communications Group
(PACAF)

Shingu, Japan

33N, 130E

Near

Itazuke Air Base

F-86 Sabre

(Korea)

near Shimonofu, Shingu Wells national forest
- we were on the little spit of land to the northeast.
That didn't last long enough, so the Department of Practical Jokes
then sent me to Thailand ...

UDORN Royal Thai Air Force Base

F-4

Phantom-II

We All earned this!	Operating Location E, 1974th Comm Group (PACAF) Chiang-Mai, Thailand

National Museum of the Air Force
SAC's Bombers
Stratofortress.Org

B-52 Stratofortress - "BUFF"

The B-52 is an intercontinental jet bomber, with a large and flexible swept wing, a fuselage incorporating enormous bomb bays, and eight engines in pairs of two. Later the B-52 was modified to carry stand-off missiles, including the large 'Hound Dog', on pylons under the wing. The B-52 saw combat dropping conventional bombs in Vietnam and lately in the Gulf. Increasingly vulnerable in a modern combat environment, the B-52 still offers unique bomb-carrying capacity; several plans to replace it were found to be too costly. It entered service in 1955 and will probably stay until at least 2000! The B-52 also played a role with NASA as launch aircraft, carrying into air the X-15 and others. The B-52 also was employed for recce tasks as the RB-52. -Gustin-

Baugher's | USAF | S-A-C | B52H Baugher

Specifications

Powerplant: Eight Pratt & Whitney J57-P-43WB turbojets, each rated at 13,750 lb.s.t. with water injection.

Performance: Maximum speed 636 mph at 20,800 feet, 570 mph at 46,000 feet. Cruising speed 523 mph. Stalling speed 169 mph. Initial climb rate 5450 feet per minute. An altitude of 33,400 feet could be reached in 19 minutes. Service ceiling at combat weight 47,000 feet. Combat radius 4100 miles with 10,000 pound bomb load. Ferry range 7976 miles. Takeoff ground run 8150 feet. Takeoff over 50-foot obstacle 10,400 feet.

Dimensions: Length 157 feet 7 inches (later increased to 160 feet 10.9 inches), wingspan 185 feet 0 inches, height 40 feet 8 inches, wing area 4000 square feet.

Weights:168,445 pounds empty, 302,634 pounds combat, 488,000 pounds maximum takeoff.

Armament: Four 0.50-inch M3 machine guns with 600 rpg in tail turret. Maximum offensive payload 50,000 pounds. Up to 20 Boeing AGM-86 ALCMs could be carried, eight internally and three on each underwing pylon. Internally, a clip of four B83 free-fall nuclear weapons could be carried as well as earlier B-53 9MT Devices.
In the conventional role, could be configured with the Heavy Stores Adaptor Beam on the wing hardpoints so that nine 2000-lb Mk. 84 bombs could be carried under each wing, with a further 27 internally. Alternatively, 27 750-lb M117 or 1000-lb Mk. 83 bombs could be carried internally, with a further 24 on underwing positions fitted with the redundant Hound Dog pylon and multiple ejector racks.

B-52 Weapons Systems

Historical US Nuclear Weapons

AGM 28 Hound Dog Air Launched Cruise Missile

The AGM-28 Hound Dog was 42 ft long with a wingspan of 12 ft. powered by a single Pratt & Whitney J52-P-3 turbojet engine of 7500 lb.s.t. It had a maximum speed of Mach 2.1 and maximum range at high altitude of about 700 nm, although this was reduced to 200 nm at low level. The Hound Dog was guided by an inertial system assisted by an astrotracker. The inertial guidance system was updated by the B-52's onboard system just before launch. Since the inertial guidance system relied on no external signals, it could not be jammed. The flight path could be profiled for tree top level or for altitudes as high as 55,000 feet. The AGM-28 carried a single W28 thermonuclear warhead, with a 1 megaton yield. The J52 jet engine of the AGM-28 could be used for extra power during takeoff, and the inertial navigation system of the AGM-28 could even be used as a backup for the B-52's own system.

AGM-69A Short Range Attack Missile (SRAM)

In 1970, the Air Force decided to equip the B-52Gs to carry the Boeing AGM-69A short-range attack missile (SRAM) with the 42nd Bomb Wing in March of 1972. Each B-52G could carry up to 20 SRAMs, 12 externally on the underwing pylons and 8 on a rotary launcher inside the rear of the bomb bay. The SRAM was 14 feet long, 17.5 inches in diameter and weighed about 2300 pounds. It was powered by a Thiokol SR-75-LP-1 restartable solid-fuelled two-pulse rocket motor which gave a maximum speed of Mach 2.5. A General Precision/Kearfott inertial guidance system was fitted. The missile could be flown at either supersonic or subsonic speeds, and could follow either a high-altitude semi-ballistic trajectory or a low-altitude profile. It was designed to attack targets ahead of the launch aircraft or could turn in flight to attack installations to the side or behind the bomber. A 170 kiloton W69 nuclear warhead was carried.

B-83 (Mk-83)
High Yield Thermonuclear Weapon

The megaton class B-83 is the most modern nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal. It is the second highest yield weapon now possessed by the U.S. and has options for variable yields.
B-83 Characteristics Available Yields Low Kiloton Range / 1200 Kilotons Weight 2408 lb Length 12 ft

Body Diameter 18 in Number In Service 650

Design Features

Two stage radiation implosion weapon.

High yield strategic bomb with variable yield options ("dial-a-yield" or DAY), and flexible fuzing and delivery options. Designed for high-speed external carriage and low altitude delivery. A major design feature for the B-83 is its capability for accurate, low-level supersonic delivery (up to Mach 1.4) against hard targets (ICBM silos, etc.).

GAM-72/AGM-20 Quail Decoy

The B-52G could carry up to four McDonnell GAM-72 (later AGM-20) Quail decoy missiles internally in the extreme rear of the weapons bay. The GAM-72 decoy missile was designed to simulate the radar cross section, infrared signature, and flight profile of the B-52. This was done by careful use of radar reflectors, electronic repeaters, chaff and infrared simulators. The Quail could be programmed to perform at least one change of cruising speed and two turns. The Quail was 12 feet 10.6 inches long, the wing span was 5 feet 4.5 inches, and the height was 3 feet 3.5 inches when the aerodynamic surfaces were deployed. The Quail was powered by a single General Electric J85-GE-7 turbojet. Maximum speed of the AGM-20 was Mach 0.85 and the range was 460 nautical miles when flying at 50,000 feet. When flying at 35,000 feet, maximum speed was Mach 0.8 and range was 393 nautical miles.

AGM-86B Air Launched Cruise Missile

In the early 1980s, 98 B-52Gs were modified to carry the Boeing AGM-86B Air-Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM). The ALCM is powered by a 600 lb.s.t. Williams F107-WR-100 turbofan, which is fed by an inlet which folds out on the top of the missile. It is 20 feet 9 inches long. The ALCM is carried with the engine air intake, the wings, the elevons and the vertical tail surfaces all folded up into the body of the missile. The ALCM is equipped with a single W80-1 nuclear warhead with a selectable yield in the 150-170 kiloton range. The missile can fly at very low levels and can skim over mountains or down valleys in order to avoid detection. Maximum range of the AGM-86B is about 1500 miles and gross weight is 3200 pounds. The B-52G could carry six AGM-86Bs on each of the two underwing pylons.

B-53 (Mk-53)
High Yield Thermonuclear Weapon

High yield strategic thermonuclear bomb. Yield 9 Megatons Weight 8850 lb Length 12 ft. 6 in (150 in) Diameter 50 in Number In Service About 50

The Mk/B-53 is the oldest and highest yield nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal. It is currently being removed from service as it is replaced by the B61-11.
Design Features: Two stage radiation implosion weapon Basic warhead design the same as in the W-53 warhead deployed on the Titan-II ICBM (now out of service). Rear portion of bomb consists of parachute system, weighing 800-900 lb. Although there is only one reported yield for this weapon, the two variants produced - the "dirty" Y1 and the "clean" Y2 - suggest that two different yields may exist.

The Nuclear Weapon Archive
Trinity On July 16, 1945, at 5:29:45 am, the first atomic explosion was detonated at Trinity Site in New Mexico, U.S.A

Ivy Mike

Ivy Mike - the world's first true thermonuclear explosion

Castle Bravo

The largest US detonation was the 15 Mt Castle Bravo test -Wikipedia-

A sea launched Polaris with a live warhead was also tested (Frigate Bird). Bet you didn't know that did you?.
The largest bomb ever exploded, the Soviet Tsar Bomba had a yield of 50 Mt, almost all produced by its final fusion stage.
Since 50 Mt is 2.1x10^17 joules, the power produced during the burn was around 5.3x10^24 watts.
This is more than one percent of the entire power output of the Sun."

Boeing LGM 30G Minuteman III USAF

Minuteman Missile Historic Resource Study

Washington Post article on the Park Service memorial Local Copy

The LGM-30 Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile is an element of the nation's strategic deterrent forces.

Features: The Minuteman is a strategic weapon system using a ballistic missile of intercontinental range. Missiles are dispersed in hardened silos to protect against attack and connected to an underground launch control center through a system of hardened cables. Launch crews, consisting of two officers, perform around-the-clock alert in the launch control center. A variety of communication systems provide the National Command Authorities with highly reliable, virtually instantaneous direct contact with each launch crew. Should command capability be lost between the launch control center and remote missile launch facilities, specially-configured EC-135 airborne launch control center aircraft automatically assume command and control of the isolated missile or missiles.

The Minuteman weapon system was conceived in the late 1950s and deployed in the early 1960s. Minuteman was a revolutionary concept and an extraordinary technical achievement. Both the missile and basing components incorporated significant advances beyond the relatively slow-reacting, liquid-fueled, remotely-controlled intercontinental ballistic missiles of the previous generation. From the beginning, Minuteman missiles have provided a quick-reacting, inertially guided, highly survivable component to America's nuclear Triad. Minuteman's maintenance concept capitalizes on high reliability and a "remove and replace" approach to achieve a near 100 percent alert rate
Minuteman III - Wikipedia

Power plant: Three solid-propellant rocket motors; first stage, Thiokol; second stage, Aerojet-General; third stage

Thrust: First stage, 202,600 pounds (91,170 kilograms)

Length: 59.9 feet (18 meters) Weight: 79,432 pounds (32,158 kilograms) Diameter: 5.5 feet (1.67 meters)

Range: 6,000-plus miles (5,218 nautical miles)

Speed: 15,000 mph (Mach 23 or 24,000 kph) at burnout Ceiling: 700 miles (1,120 kilometers)

Payload: Re-entry vehicle: General Electric MK 12 or MK 12A Warheads: Three (downloaded to one as required by the Washington Summit Agreement, June 1992)

Guidance systems: Inertial system:

Unit cost: $7 million

Warhead: W-78/Mk-12A Warhead/Reentry Vehicle Package Yield 335-350 Kilotons Weight 800 lb RV Length 71.3 in Base RV Diameter 21.3 in. Warhead Length 67.7 in Dia 21.3 in.

McDonnell F-101 Voodoo - "One-Oh-Wonder"

Wright Patterson USAF Museaum

The Alberta Aviation Museum has a very fine artcle on the Voodoo and its checkered history.

Also from fighter-planes.com

F-101B Voodoos from the 18th FIS GFAFB, ND

xxx

The F-101 was heavy and large, but also powerful and fast, with an impressive range. Due to continuously changing requirements, the F-101 had a checkered development. Its original role was to be that of a 'deep penetration' long-range escort fighter. Instead, it served as nuclear attack fighter, all-weather interceptor, and reconaissance aircraft. Although it once equipped the majority of USAF interceptor units, it never was a major type in the US inventory, because of some control problems which limited its effectiveness. The F-101 was also flown for a long time by Canada. The reconaissance version was much used in Vietnam. 807 built. .-Baugher F101- Baugher F101B

Specification of the F-101B:

Two Pratt & Whitney J57-P-55 turbojets, 11,990 lb.s.t. dry and 16,900 lb.s.t. with afterburner.

Dimensions: wingspan 39 feet 8 inches, length 67 feet 5 inches, height 18 feet 0 inches, wing area 368 square feet.

Performance: Maximum speed 1134 mph at 35,000 feet (Mach 1.72). Initial climb rate 49,200 feet/min. Service ceiling 58,400 feet, combat ceiling 51,000 feet. Normal range 1520 miles, maximum range 1930 miles.

Weights: 28,970 pounds empty, 45,664 pounds gross, 40,853 pounds combat weight, 52,400 pounds maximum takeoff.

Fuel: Maximum internal fuel load was 2053 US gallons, housed in five fuel cells in the upper fuselage and three in each wing. A total of two 450 US gallon under-fuselage drop tanks could be carried, bringing maximum fuel load to 2953 US gallons.

Armament: Armed with six Falcon AAMs (usually 3 GAR-1 (AIM-4) semiactive radar homers and 3 GAR-2 (AIM-4B) infrared homers) in internal ventral weapons bay. In later versions, two unguided AIR-2A Genie unguided rockets with nuclear warheads could be carried on external attachment points.

F-106 Delta Dart
Flown by the 460th FIS, Grand Forks AFB
Much information at f-106deltadart.com

Wright Patterson USAF Museaum

The Alberta Aviation Museum has a very fine artcle on the Voodoo and its checkered history.

Also from fighter-planes.com

Delta Darts from the 460th FIS GFAFB, ND Courtesy of www.f-106deltadart.com/460fis.htm

The Convair F-106A Delta Dart is regarded by many as being the finest all-weather interceptor ever built. It served on active duty with the US Air Force for almost 28 years, much longer than most of its contemporaries. armament was housed internally in a spacious ventral weapons bay that was closed by pneumatically-operated double-folding doors. The all-missile armament consisted of a single Douglas MB-1 (AIR-2A or 2B) Genie unguided missile equipped with a 1.5 kT nuclear warhead plus four Hughes GAR-3 Falcon radar- homing or GAR-4 infrared-homing (later redesignated AIM-4E and AIM-4G respectively) air-to-air missiles
Baugher F106

Specification of the F-106B:
Engine: One Pratt & Whitney J75-P-17 turbojet, 17,200 lb.s.t. dry and 24,500 lb.s.t with afterburning.
Performance: Maximum speed: 1525 mph at 40,000 feet (Mach 2.31), 1327 mph at 35,000 feet. Landing speed was 173 mph Initial climb rate was 42,800 feet per minute. Service ceiling was 57,000 feet. Combat radius was 575 miles.
Range with maximum external fuel was 1809 miles. Maximum ferry range was 2700 miles at 610 mph at 41,000 feet
Weights: 23,646 pounds empty, 38,700 pounds combat weight, 35,500 pounds gross, and 41,831 pounds maximum takeoff.
Dimensions: wingspan 38 ft 3 1/2 in, length 70 feet 8 3/4 in, ht 20 ft 3 1/4 in, wing area 697.8 sq ft. Maximum fuel load 1440 US gallons.
Armament: One Douglas MB-1 (AIR-2A or 2B) Genie unguided missile with a nuclear warhead of 1.5 kT yield and four Hughes GAR-3 or GAR-4 (later AIM-4E and AIM-4G) radar or infrared-homing missiles. All these missiles were housed within the internal weapons bay. Later installations, a single 20-mm M61A1 rotary cannon replaced the Genie nuclear-tipped missile in the internal weapons bay.

F-106 launching a Genie nuclear tipped air-to-air missile....

The Genie missile was carried in the rear half of the missile bay. It was powered by a 36,600 lb.st. Thiokol TU-389 rocket motor and was unguided, relying on its 1.5 kT nuclear warhead to ensure a kill. Launch weight was 822 pounds and maximum velocity was Mach 3.3. Snap-out fins gave the missile stability during flight. Range was about 8 miles, and flight time to target was about 12 seconds and a blast radius of about 1000 feet..

F-101 and F-106 Weapons Systems
AIR-2A (MB-1) Genie Nuclear Air-to-Air Missile W25 warhead, yield: 1.5 kt weight: 833 lb, length: 9' 6", warhead diameter: 17.4" 1956 to 1962 produced (several thousand) The McDonnell Douglas AIR-2A 'Genie' Rocket On the other side of the revolving weapons pallet from the AIM-4D's, the Voodoo usually mounted one or more 'Genie' unguided rockets. First entering service in 1957, this rocket weighed in at 820 to 882 lbs.(depending upon which engine was used) and was powered by a Thiokol TU-289 or Thiokol SR49-TC-1 solid fuel rocket which would drive it at about 2,000 mph (Mach 3) to a range of slightly more than 6 miles.It was 9 feet 7 inches in length and had a 17.35 inch body diameter and a fin span of 39.5 inches (extended). Since it was tipped with a 1.5 kiloton nuclear warhead with a total destruction radius of just under half a mile and a 'dent it real good' radius of considerably more - a guidance package was deemed unnecessary. You would just lob it in the general direction of the enemy and let the radar proximity fuse trigger it while you scrambled out of the way .The actual attack procedure for this weapon was to approach head on starting at 45,000 feet at full afterburner. At 15 miles range the aircraft was pulled back in a zoom climb to about 55,000 feet where you would point the nose and launch the rocket. Once it has fired (a 'rocket away' light was not needed since there was lots of smoke and fire) the Voodoo would be rolled inverted and pulled through to a reciprocal heading at about 10,000 feet to put as much distance between you and the explosion as possible. Repeat if necessary.	Hughes GAR-3/AIM-4B Infrared Guided GAR-4/AIM-4 Radar Guided Air-to-Air MissileThe Hughes AIM-4D 'Falcon' Guided Missile Developed in 1947, this was the first air-to-air ugided missile in the world. It had an infra-red guidance system that worked pretty well and was driven by a solid fuel Thiokol M58A2 rocket motor which would take it to about 2,640 mph (Mach 4) with a maximum range of around 6 miles. They were 6 feet 6.75 inches long and 20 inches across at the base of the fins with the body being about 11 inches across. Weight was 150 lbs and they were mounted on the aircraft on launch rails on the 'conventional' side of the weapons bay door. When fired, these rails would extend (see picture - below) to clear the missiles from the aircraft. They were set up as a one-shot launch - which means that you would trigger them and both missiles would swing down and launch - the second missile automatically following two seconds after the first one went. With this type of missile you pushed the 'arm' switch and there would follow a thirty second 'initialization' phase during which the thing would wake up and hunt around for what you were shooting at and lock on to it. This made it useless for dogfighting but it was fine for attacking bombers.
VULCAN M61 Cannon (F-106 Only)

McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom-II (flown by the 555th) *"Old Smokey"* Baugher's
The big F-4 fighter-bomber was gradually evolved from the F3H, with which it had no more than a configurational similarity. Despite its size and bulky look, the F-4 had excellent performance and good manoeuvrability; it was adopted by both the USN and the USAF. Early F-4's had no fixed gun, but this was corrected after combat experience in Vietnam showed the need for one. Over 5000 were built, making the F-4 one of the most numerous modern combat aircraft. Many are still in service. Now and then, plans are announced to upgrade the F-4 with new engines and electronics. The RF-4 is a recce version of the F-4 fighter with a camera nose. -Gustin-	Specification of the F-4C: Two General Electric J79-GE-15 turbojets, 10,900 lb.s.t dry, 17,000 lb.s.t. with afterburner. Maximum speed 1433 mph at 48,000 feet, 826 mph at sea level. Inital climb rate 40,550 feet per minute. Service ceiling 56,100 feet, combat ceiling 55,600 feet. Combat range 538 miles, maximum range 1926 miles with maximum external fuel. 28,496 pounds empty, 51,441 pounds gross, 38,352 pounds combat weight, 58,000 pounds maximum takeoff weight. Wingspan 38 feet 5 inches, wing area 530 square feet, length 58 feet 3 3/4 inches, height 16 feet 3 inches. Maximum internal fuel was 1986 US gallons (1343 gallons in fuselage, 630 gallons in wings). Maximum external fuel load was 600 US gallons in centerline tank underneath the fuselage and 740 US gallons in two underwing tanks, bringing total fuel to 3313 US gallons. Armed with four AIM-7D or-7E Sparrow semiactive radar homing missiles in underfuselage recesses. Inner underwing pylons could each accommodate a pair of AIM-9B/D Sidewinder infrared homing missiles. In ground attack mode, could carry as much as 16,000 pounds of ordnance on centerline pylon underneath the fuselage and on four underwing hardpoints.
AIM-9 Sidewinder Infrared Guided Air to Air Missile The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a supersonic, heat-seeking, air-to-air missile carried by fighter aircraft. It has a high-explosive warhead and an active infrared guidance system. The Sidewinder was developed by the U.S. Navy for fleet air defense and was adapted by the U.S. Air Force for fighter aircraft use. Early versions of the missile were extensively used in the Southeast Asian conflict.	AIM-7 Sparrow Radar Guided Air to Air Missile The AIM-7 Sparrow is a radar-guided, air-to-air missile with a high-explosive warhead. The versatile Sparrow has all-weather, all-altitude operational capability and can attack high-performance aircraft and missiles from any direction. It is a widely deployed missile used by U.S. and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) forces.

And now a minor rant ..

About the new Air Force Logo

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