Good Morning Da Nang 86 US SUPERSONIC FIGHTER :8 SCALE PLASTIC KIT intro by Brad Elward The McDonnell Douglas F-A Phantom II entered service with the United States Navy in December 960, replacing both the McDonnell F3H Demon and Douglas FD Skyray, which had served as the Navy s all-weather missile interceptors since the mid-950s. The F-B was the second in the Phantom II series and featured the more powerful General Electric J79-GE-8 engines (6,950-lb/75.kN thrust), a raised and enlarged cockpit to allow the backseater better visibility, and a more bulbous nose section to accommodate the Westinghouse APQ-7 radar. The F-B possessed a top speed in excess of Mach. and set many performance records in the late 950s. It could carry up to 8,000 lbs of ordnance on nine external weapons stations. Four stations were located on the wings, referred to as inner and outer stations, which could carry external fuel tanks (inner stations only), bombs, or missiles. A centerline station typically carried an external fuel tank although it could, but rarely did carry the Mk- 0 mm gun pod. Four additional stations were recessed on the aircraft s lower fuselage to house the radar-guided AIM-7 Sparrow III missile. Unlike other fighter aircraft of the day, the F-B did not have a gun, but relied on its long-range missiles for defense. Most missions saw the F-B armed with at least two AIM-9 infrared Sidewinders and two Sparrow IIIs. The Phantom II was crewed by a pilot and a Radar Intercept Officer (RIO Navy) or Weapon System Officer (WSO - Marines). The RIO/WSO in the aft cockpit assisted with navigation, communication, and operated the long-range APQ-7 radar. The RIO/WSO proved extremely valuable in combat, providing a second set of eyes for locating enemy aircraft or surface-to-air missiles (SAMs). F-Bs began entering U.S. Navy fleet service in July 96 with VF-7 Bedevilers, an Atlantic Fleet fighter squadron based at NAS Oceana, Virginia, and shortly thereafter by VF- Aardvarks, a Pacific based squadron at NAS Miramar, California. The Phantom II was used extensively during the Vietnam War by all three United States air services as a fighter-bomber. However, the F-B was used solely by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. When U.S. involvement in the war began in August 965, 3 of the Navy s 3 fleet fighter squadrons had already transitioned to the F-B. Indeed, two F-B squadrons, VFA- Ghost Riders and VFA-3 Pukin Dogs, were deployed aboard USS Constellation with Carrier Air Wing and took part in the opening U.S. air strikes against North Vietnam as part of Operation Pierce Arrow, which retaliated for the attacks against U.S. surface ships in the Tonkin Gulf. The Navy made a total of 5 F-B squadron deployments during the war, with the F-B accounting for of the service s MiG kills and two An- kills. Five F-Bs were lost in air-to-air combat. The Marine Corps also operated the F-B, taking initial deliveries of the aircraft in late 96. VMFA-53 Gray Ghosts were the first to fly the Phantom II and eventually took the F-B to Vietnam. F-B s of Marine Air Group (MAG) flew ground support missions out of Da Nang and Nam Phong, South Vietnam, while MAG-3 operated out of Chu Lai. Twelve USMC squadrons flew the F-B, eight of which served in Vietnam at some point during the war. The USMC also operated a tactical reconnaissance version designated as the RF-B, which served into the late 980s with VMCJ and VMFP squadrons. Although designed as an interceptor, F-Bs served well in air-to-ground and fighter roles, flying close air support (CAS), flak suppression, MiG Combat Air Patrol (MIGCAP), Barrier CAP (BARCAP), and Target CAP (TARCAP) missions. The latter three missions protected strike packages against North Vietnamese MiG attacks. Marine F-Bs flew more air-to-ground missions. A total of 69 F-Bs were built by McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis, Missouri, during a production run lasting from mid-96 through the end of 966, when it began being replaced by the improved F-J. DECALS AND COLOR PROFILES DESIGNED BY 86-NAV
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A F-B 59, VF-8 Jolly Rogers, USS Independence, 965 VF-8 se stala po sedm měsíců součástí Carrier Air Wing 7 a zúčastnila se v jeho řadách operace Rolling Thunder. Tato operace, probíhající od. března 965 do. listopadu 968, spočívala v bombardování cílů v komunistickém severním Vietnamu. Cílem bylo omezit podporu, kterou severní Vietnam poskytoval povstalcům v jižní části země. Během tohoto nasazení provedla VF-8 celkem 507 operačních letů a působila z tzv. Yankee Station v Tonkinském zálivu. Za vynikající službu byla jednotka vyznamenána ceněným Battle E (Battle Efficiency Award), jeho symbol je nakreslený na obou vstupech vzduchu k motorům. V této fázi války se mezi squadronami zařazenými do CVW-7 stal populárním emblém Tonkinského jachtklubu, také on byl namalován na trup letounu. H39 39 58 H 73 6 8 6 59 9 6 6 65 7 H35 35 57 7 7 H 63 H 69 3 56 Mc Mc3 H39 39 H H35 35 9 Mc 67 8 58 Mc 58 H H39 39 58 Mc3 58 H39 39 7 70 57 H35 35 7 66 6 6 9 59 60 8 6 68 73 H H Mc Mc3 DARK IRON Mc 56 H LIGHT GULL H35 35 YELLOW H39 39 RED H BLACK 5 H 63 eduard 3
B F-B 538,VMFA-5 Bengals, Da Nang Air Base, jižní Vietnam, 966 Letoun označený WH- sloužil po dvě operační túry, odsloužené na základně Da Nang v letech 965 a 966, pod přezdívkou Tiger Lead třem velitelům této squadrony. Stroj u této jednotky odlétal více než 00 operačních letů, než byl přeložen k VMFA-33. V barvách této squadrony padl v roce 967 za oběť protiletadlovému dělostřelectvu. Povrch letadla byl značně poznamenán provozem, viditelné byly úniky hydraulické kapaliny a četné kontroly koroze letounu. 07 0 H 05 6 97 H 06 6 H 98 76 H35 35 95 0 99 H 3 0 3 0 H 09 Mc Mc3 H H35 35 9 Mc 5 8 Mc H Mc3 08 03 95 00 96 H35 35 76 H 98 H 6 6 05 H H Mc Mc3 DARK IRON Mc 09 H LIGHT GULL H35 35 RED BLACK H H 5 3 eduard
C F-B 558, VMFA-33 Death Rattlers, Chu Lai Air Base, jižní Vietnam, 967 Death Rattlers byla jednou z řady stíhacích-bombardovacích jednotek námořní pěchoty, jež se zúčastnily války ve Vietnamu. Specializovala se na blízkou leteckou podporu (CAS Close Air Support), tedy na přímou palebnou podporu pozemních jednotek mariňáků. Mezi roky 966 a 969 tento letecký útvar absolvoval celkem tři operační túry, během nichž ztratila jedenáct Phantomů. WS- byl skutečným tažným koněm, odlétal řadu misí. Po ukončení války prošel přestavbou na QF-N. Na povrchu letounu byly zřetelné stopy způsobené intenzivním provozem, zejména stopy po kontrolách koroze draku. 90 9 H H 6 8 H 6 88 H H35 35 78 93 76 H 87 80 86 H 83 3 9 Mc Mc3 H H35 35 Mc Mc H 9 90 Mc3 90 79 8 8 78 76 H H35 35 88 H 6 6 85 H H 89 Mc Mc3 DARK IRON Mc 9 H LIGHT GULL H35 35 RED BLACK H H 5 86 80 H eduard 5
D F-B 5300, VF-6 Chargers, USS Midway, květen 97 Osádka tohoto letounu ve složení pilot LCDR Donald McKeown a operátor LT John Ensch dosáhla v jeho kokpitu dvou sestřelů. Oba nepřátelské letouny, jednalo se o MiGy-7, poslali k zemi 3. května 97. LT Ensch usedl do kokpitu tohoto letounu také o tři měsíce později, dne 5. srpna 97, tentokrát společně s pilotem LCDR Michaelem Doylem. NF00 však byl během tohoto operačního letu nad vietnamským Nam Dinh zasažen protiletadlovou raketou typu SAM. LCDR Doyle zahynul, LT Ensch měl více štěstí a přežil. Padl však do zajetí, v němž strávil zbytek války. H 0 H H35 35 + H 8 7 H 7 3 9 8 Mc Mc3 H H35 35 6 5 Mc 0 7 Mc H 6 Mc3 3+5 3 H 8 H35 35 H 3 6 H 9 0 Mc 6 Mc3 DARK IRON Mc 8 H LIGHT GULL H35 35 RED BLACK H H 5 7 eduard
E F-B 5309, VF- Sundowners, USS Korálové moře, březen 97 Letoun má celkem bohatou minulost. Přímo z výrobní linky putoval v roce 966 k VF-3. U této jednotky s ním osádka LT David McCrea / ENS David Nichols sestřelila v noci dne 0. prosince 966 letoun identifikovaný jako An-. Tento sestřel byl v podobě žluté hvězdičky zaznamenán na oba oddělovače mezní vrstvy. Další úspěch letoun zaznamenal u VF-. Dne 6. března 97 s ním sestřelila osádka LT Garry Weigand a LTJG William Freckleton jeden MiG-7. Na tuto událost upomíná černá silueta MiGu, opět nakreslená na obou stranách letounu. 9 36 35 H 5 5 33a 3 5 7 H 9 6 H35 35 H 3 5 H 53 S 6 3 H 30 Mc Mc3 H H35 35 6 7 Mc 8 0 7 8 Mc 7 H 9 Mc3 38 39 9 H 37 5 H H35 35 H 6 8 6 3 6 33b H 55 50 0 Mc3 Mc DARK IRON Mc 30 H LIGHT GULL H35 35 FLAT RED BLACK H H 30 7 S 5 eduard 7
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