The Airplane Thread

[Llarry]

The Imperial Japanese Navy had three types of fighter aircraft: Carrier fighters, land-based fighters and floatplane fighters. The latter two were meant to protect naval bases from enemy attack.

The carrier-based fighter category was dominated by Mitsubishi's A6M Type Zero carrier fighter -- Allied nickname "Zeke". By late World War II, the A6M was far overdue for replacement, yet unaccountably the IJN moved slowly. In the closing months of the war, Mitsubishi designed and flew an A7M carrier fighter (Allied "Sam"), but it was too late; only 10 were built as the Allied attacks on the Japanese homeland increased.

The Zero was also modified as a floatplane fighter. The Nakajima A6M2-N (Allied "Rufe") was produced from late 1941 to 1943 and saw combat in several operations, not achieving much success.

There were a couple of notable fighters in the land-based fighter category. Mitsubishi built hundreds of J2M Raiden (Allied "Jack") fighters. The J2M departed from the previous operational pattern; it was heavily armed (four 20 mm cannon) and fast, but less maneuverable that the Zero. None remain flying but see the attached photo of a J2M3 in a U.S. museum.

The other land-based fighter originated as a floatplane fighter and was designed by Kawanishi, producer of flying boats. The Kawanishi N1K Kyofu (Allied "Rex") entered service in 1943 and proved to have excellent flying qualities, but by then floatplane fighters were of limited use as airfields had been constructed on many Pacific islands.

Given the outstanding performance of the N1K, it was adapted for land-based use as the N1K-J and some 1,400+ were produced by the end of the war. The N1K-J was the best Navy fighter of the war and was even tested in prototype form as the N1K-A carrier fighter. The destruction of Japan's carrier fleet in 1942-44, however, made a carrier fighter superfluous. The land-based variants (Allied nickname "George") acquitted themselves well in the closing months of the war.

[B-1Pilot]

Originally Posted by Llarry

Practically every aircraft has the assigned name, but then the crews come up with something amusing or even mildly derogatory to call the plane.

The F-35 is a bit ... how to say this politely... porky. An enormous high-output afterburning turbofan engine, plenty of internal fuel, advanced systems and stealth combine to make the F-35 unlikely to be named a beauty queen.

Anyway, I do not know the origin of the new moniker, but I think it fits: The F-35C Battle Penguin!

Best F-35 nickname I ever heard was from a Viper guy who taught at the Weapons School with me: The Fat Kid with Magic

[flybigjet]

Originally Posted by B-1Pilot

Best F-35 nickname I ever heard was from a Viper guy who taught at the Weapons School with me: The Fat Kid with Magic

Oh, THAT was good!!!

[vreihen16]

US buys 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft from Russia's ally costing on average less than $20,000 each, report says

https://www.businessinsider.com/us-b...lly-20k-2024-4

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

US buys 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft from Russia's ally costing on average less than $20,000 each, report says

It has always seemed to me to make sense to use Su-27s and/or MiG-29s sourced from wherever as aggressor or adversary aircraft rather than using F-16s or F-5s, etc. Maybe parts support would be too hard...

[Llarry]

The first U.S. jet: The Bell P-59 Airacomet.

The P-59 was a true fighter, with armament included, but had significant drawbacks: slow acceleration, very short lifetime of the engines between overhauls, limited endurance, etc. But the 66 P-59s built gave many pilots their first taste of the future as improved jets were on the way.

The Army Air Forces loaned a couple of P-59s to the Navy during World War II. After the war, in 1947, my Dad did a tour at the Naval Air Test Center and one of the first orders of business is to get a few flights in the NATC's P-59B. He went on to fly the FH-1 Phantom, FJ-1 Fury, F9F-2 Panther, F2H Banshee and the TO-1 (USAF F-80C) during his three-year tour as a test pilot. Many of these aircraft had significant problems in common with the P-59 but progress was being made -- so much so that after his test pilot tour he went to VF-61 "Jolly Rogers" flying the Grumman F9F-2 Panther from a carrier deck. By the time the Korean War broke out in 1950, the U.S. had capable jets ready for combat.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by Llarry

It has always seemed to me to make sense to use Su-27s and/or MiG-29s sourced from wherever as aggressor or adversary aircraft rather than using F-16s or F-5s, etc. Maybe parts support would be too hard...

These were all non-functional planes per the article.

The article speculated that they might be bound for Ukraine, either as parts for their existing Soviet-era fleet or for use as ground decoys.

I'm wondering if the USA didn't just pull another Tomcat deal, buying them for destruction so that Putin didn't get his hands on them for parts to keep his own fleet flying?

In any case, I'm sure that I am not the only aviation geek who would love to have one of these planes as a lawn ornament for under $20k.....

[Lady Jane]

[shannon1]

"We were.. inverted!"

[snowbimmer]

Bull "cough" shit "sneeze"

[M-technik-3]

extend foreign relations

[vreihen16]

Sorry. I hate when it does that.

[Llarry]

The thousands of Grumman TBF and Eastern TBM Avengers provided the basis for a large variety of postwar variants, remaining in service for years after World War II.

Here's an excellent photo of the anti-submarine configuration of the TBM-3. This TBM-3S (Avenger A.S. Mk 3) of the Royal Canadian Navy has lost its gun turret but gained an observer/radar operator position at the same location. It carries a search radar under the wing. A number of navies used the TBM-3S. This one belongs to the RCN's VS 881 operating from the carrier HMCS Magnificent in 1953.

[Llarry]

Ahh...the smell of fresh paint. Here's a newly restored Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat in the markings of Lieutenant (junior grade) Alex Vraciu, 1944. Vraciu served with several fighter squadrons, ending the war with 19 victories. In December 1944 he was shot down over the Philippines and fought with Filipino guerillas for a period. He stayed in the Navy after the war and ended up commanding a couple of fighter squadrons before his retirement in 1964.

[Lady Jane]

Not sure if airplane material or LOL...

[Llarry]

Tomcat Thursday!

[Llarry]

Some Navy F-4 Phantoms:

1) An EF-4J of VAQ-33 at Key West 1980. The several EF-4s were used for fleet electronic warfare training.

2) A YF-4J of the Naval Aerospace Recovery Facility, El Centro, California in 1978. Note the missing rear canopy transparency; this aircraft was used for ejection seat testing with a test dummy in the back seat. This was one of the first F-4J prototypes and was retained for test purposes, never serving with a fleet squadron.

3) An F-4B CAG aircraft of VF-111 "Sundowners" in 1976. -111 still survives, but as a Naval Reserve adversary squadron. This F-4B is taxiing in after landing with braking parachute still attached.

[MADBMWX5MC]

^Nice!

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by Lady Jane

Not sure if airplane material or LOL...

Target radar and IFF in a FedEx cargo plane?

I know that the competition is fierce in the shipping business, but UPS and DHL don't stand a chance in that arms race.....

[Llarry]

A view inside the hangar bay of the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) with a couple of maintenance techs atop the radar radome of an E-2D of VAW-115 "Liberty Bells." Visible in the background are storage racks with external fuel tanks for F-18s.

[Llarry]

The Northrop Grumman E-2D Hawkeye is a bit of an unsung hero of the carrier air wing. It's not fast or stealthy but is key to most missions of the wing. Each CVW is assigned one airborne command and control squadron with just five E-2Ds; an E-2D is generally aloft during operations.

The airframe itself is a '50s design. The initial Grumman W2F-1 (E-2A) first flew in 1960. The E-2As brought great capability to the fleet but suffered problems mainly due to problems in keeping the electronics cool. The E-2A was succeeded by the E-2B and then the E-2C and some export sales were made as well. Details can be found in the Wikipedia article.

The E-2D first flew in 2007 and has almost completely replaced earlier E-2s in the air wings. It has a crew of five: Two pilots up front and three radar officers in the rear. Its endurance is six hours; in a move to extend endurance, newly built E-2Ds are coming from the factory with aerial refueling probes and earlier E-2Ds are being refitted with probes to allowed extended time on station -- see photo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northr...an_E-2_Hawkeye

[Llarry]

Royal Canadian Air Force Grumman CSR-110 in 1963: Bay or lake? No problem! Airfield? No problem! Snow-covered ice field? No problem!

I must admit the third option would make me a bit nervous...