Back to our Roots

I'm writing this on Friday, after having watched the County Fair parade, because CINCHOUSE Admiral of the Fleet Mrs J has issued the execute order for OPLAN MoveMBD.  Said OpOrd will be commence NLT 1230Z 24Aug19 and will terminate when mission goals (ALL boxes moved, unpacked, contents stored in final location and debris removed) have been met or forces are exhausted but NLT 2130Z 25Aug19. (Edited.  OpOrd successfully executed, all objectives met, friendly forces established in new AOR, tasked forces returned to base.  Request immediate resupply of water, rations and sleep.)

Since force exhaustion is the much (much, much) more likely condition, I decided to get ahead of the power curve and put this post in the hopper on Friday.

The parade was very nice, not too hot, which is unusual as Texans in August can usually grill hamburgers on the hoods of their trucks.  Which I might have to try the next time I run out of charcoal for the grill.

We had invited two new Texans to watch it with us.  They had emigrated from the People's Republic of Washington (western edition) and were settling in to small town Texas.  I think they enjoyed it,  Mrs J and I certainly did.

Now that we're all caught up on the highlights of the week, I thought I'd discuss a subject that, as of lately, has been sadly lacking on what should be the main topic of this blog.  No, Beans, not battleships!

I mean Really? SHIPS?

AVIATION!

3 of the 5 Authors, (Yes, Beans, I know LUSH has not actually authored a post....yet.  Sarge has high hopes though) are Aviators.  Sarge fixed Aviation Training Aids, and Beans....Well, his father was an Aviator, so there!

So...To bring us back to our aviation roots....we'll focus on the Airplane group of what Mrs J and I have referred to as the "Boat Trip".

Wait, what's that thing on the right doing in an AVIATION posting Source

Clearly a much better suited picture to the topic. (That's a Kleenex box reflected on the HUD if you must know, I sometimes get teary eyed when I see things like this.)

An F-4C, as one can clearly tell because it has only a single bump protrusion on the nose as opposed to the double bump protrusion the F-4D had.

F-4D See the extra bump on the bottom of the nose?
Source

What was that protrusion and what is the difference in capabilities between the two?  I think it was a non-functional (by the time I got to the airplane) IR detector so don't really have a clue.  Ask Sarge, he'll know right down to the 1.21 gigawatt power requirements.

Here's Sarge and I discussing it back one day at Kunsan. I'm the young one in the historically accurate video reenactment.

But, as we're wandering around the park, I notice something very near and dear to my heart.

Yes, she's in the position of advantage behind the "Half-a-Jet".

What's a Half-a-Jet, juvat?

Well, it's only got one tail, one engine, two missiles and half the range.  Ergo.... And No, the object in the top right is not a quad-o-jet (8 engines, a bunch of weapons, and more range than endurable).  It's a Target!

As I got closer, I saw something which made this jet special,  Two specifically.  I've got to admit, I spent a long time there staring at her, basically doing the pre-flight walkaround.  I could hear Murphy whispering in my ear,  "Do it!  You know you want to!"

But I honored the yellow, do not cross, tape.  Besides there were no engines in it.  Probably no gas either.  But, I can dream can't I?

OK,  Time for Quiz #1

What is this Aircraft?

Be very careful on your answer.

There was another of my Favorite Aircraft outside also.

Unfortunately, she wasn't in too good shape.

The F-105 was damaged in Hurricane Katrina, along with Bean's favorite, the F-84G, and both have yet to be restored.  She weathered the storm itself, but I was told the storm surge afterward banged her around quite a bit.  The docent said that both aircraft will be repaired  as funds become available.

I believe that will probably happen, as this B-25 was being restored with someone actually working on it as we walked by.  A museum can only do so much at any one time.  The docent says this Southwest Pacific AOR B-25 (note the guns on the front)  will be restored to replicate a bomber from the Doolittle raid.  I think it's cool as is, but....I'm not in charge.  Shut up, and color, juvat.

So, Mrs J and I have been walking around outside on a very H & H day, it's time to go inside and cool off with all the coolness there in.

But before, that ... Quiz Question #2

In Air Force Terms, what is this object?

Picture was taken on a Battleship.  The Navy uses something feline like in their terminology.

It was used to get this aircraft airborne. 

Right next door, and you can see how close next door is above, is this aircraft.  One of my favorites.

Now, as I said, Mrs J had been touring outside for quite a while.  See those seats right up front.  Yes,  we sat there and watched the entire video regarding the Tuskegee Airmen trying to get our core body temperatures down to non-lethal levels.

It (the film) was actually fairly interesting.  As I expected, "just doing my job" was a common statement.  "just doing my job extraordinarily well and much better than expected by most" would have been how I would have stated it.

I used the 5'4" Mrs J as a indicator of how massive the Spad is.  I'd seen one when I was a kid at Webb at one of the graduations, but the memory of how big it is was colored by the fact that I was 12.

There was quite a bit of subtle humor in this section of the museum.

The Spad's (the A-1's unofficially official name.  It actually was the AD-4N Skyraider to the Navy) weapon's load.

Next door to the P-51 was this beauty.  Now, much like the F-84G is to Beans, this F-86D is to me for the same reason.  Dad flew them at Hamilton, where he met and married Mom and 2 days more than 9 months later, I arrived.  We all then moved to Kadena AB Japan where he flew them for 3 more years.

A little more subtle humor.  Sarge, if your bionic eye can't enlarge the Top Line on the chart enough, it says "Engine runs better with this removed".  I would certainly think so.
  
BTW the thing sticking down from the fuselage behind the nose gear is a retractable rocket pod.  This model was the first in the line of fighters to suffer from a really bad decision by the Air Force.  It was the first air to air fighter to not have a gun, being armed only with these rockets.

I hadn't ever seen an F-8 Crusader other than a model I'd built as a kid.  Cool airplane.  It's mission was air to air.  It had a gun.  And missiles.

Also in the vicinity was an A-4.  I knew quite a few A-4 drivers in my day. All said that it was a fun aircraft to fly, but couldn't go very far, very fast, stay very long or carry very much.  Other than that...

Now, this aircraft on the other hand, didn't suffer from the same restrictions.  Well...except for the "go very fast" one.  Carried a metric crap ton* of ordnance a very long way and delivered it in almost any weather condition...accurately.  I say almost because I don't know how accurate it would be in the midst of a hurricane.



Which brings us to Quiz Question #3

What is this weapon?  You're cheating if you scroll in!

They also had an F-14 and F-18 on display.  There was so much stuff in the hangar, and those aircraft are so large, I couldn't get a good picture.  However, I do have pictures from another venue we visited and from which most of the Navy aircraft above were borrowed.

So, stay tuned.

Addendum.  While shopping for matériel for MBD's new encampment, I happened across this year's Christmas present for Sarge. It seemed appropriate.

Shhh! Don't tell him.


*Metric Crap Ton -  A very, very big weapons load.