The Airplane Thread

[Llarry]

During the Vietnam war, the U.S. established "covert" sites on tops of Laotian mountains to improve the electronic look into North Vietnam. One of these was Lima Site 85 on top of a mountain accessible only by helicopter or a difficult single-file path up the mountainside. The site had a nav radio transmitter and minimal living accommodations for a small staff (USAF people seconded to the CIA) and was resupplied by Air America (CIA) helicopters.

The site was not covert to the Vietnamese; it had a transmitter and they knew exactly where it was. And so they devised a bombing raid to take the site out in 1968. Four An-2 "Colt" biplane utility transports were assigned to the task. They were modified with rocket pods under the wings and mortar rounds that could be dropped like bombs.

The day of the raid, a local security guy with a rifle took out one of the four An-2s. One down, three to go...

As luck would have it, an Air America UH-1D Huey arrived at the site during the attack and the crew had M16 rifles onboard. The helicopter was faster than the biplanes and used the rotor downwash to stall out the upper wing of one of the An-2s; at the same time, a crewman on the helicopter fired at the cockpit of the Vietnamese aircraft, killing the pilots. The An-2 went into a flat spin and crashed. The other two biplanes got away but Lima Site 85 survived.

A couple of months later, Vietnamese troops took the treacherous trail up the mountain and destroyed Lima Site 85 the old-fashioned way.

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by Llarry

During the Vietnam war, the U.S. established "covert" sites on tops of Laotian mountains to improve the electronic look into North Vietnam. One of these was Lima Site 85.

Full story here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lima_Site_85

[Llarry]

Once in a while, someone mentions the amazing Lockheed A-12 and SR-71. I happened upon a couple of interesting SR-71 items on my computer.

The first is the trailer that transported the partially-assembled SR-71 from Palmdale to Groom Lake for the first flight of each aircraft. Talk about a wide load!

The second is an inboard profile of the business end of an SR-71.

Enjoy!

[other_evolved]

Originally Posted by Llarry

During the Vietnam war, the U.S. established "covert" sites on tops of Laotian mountains to improve the electronic look into North Vietnam. One of these was Lima Site 85 on top of a mountain accessible only by helicopter or a difficult single-file path up the mountainside. The site had a nav radio transmitter and minimal living accommodations for a small staff (USAF people seconded to the CIA) and was resupplied by Air America (CIA) helicopters.

The site was not covert to the Vietnamese; it had a transmitter and they knew exactly where it was. And so they devised a bombing raid to take the site out in 1968. Four An-2 "Colt" biplane utility transports were assigned to the task. They were modified with rocket pods under the wings and mortar rounds that could be dropped like bombs.

The day of the raid, a local security guy with a rifle took out one of the four An-2s. One down, three to go...

As luck would have it, an Air America UH-1D Huey arrived at the site during the attack and the crew had M16 rifles onboard. The helicopter was faster than the biplanes and used the rotor downwash to stall out the upper wing of one of the An-2s; at the same time, a crewman on the helicopter fired at the cockpit of the Vietnamese aircraft, killing the pilots. The An-2 went into a flat spin and crashed. The other two biplanes got away but Lima Site 85 survived.

A couple of months later, Vietnamese troops took the treacherous trail up the mountain and destroyed Lima Site 85 the old-fashioned way.

Thanks for sharing. My father, early in his career, worked with/for Air America in Laos. I have a substantial photo album from his years there and vaguely recall crazy stories such as this one.

[cliverman]

[Lady Jane]

Bartini Beriev VVA-14

Lots of pics here of the surviving hull: https://englishrussia.com/2010/09/06...-plane-vva-14/

[F87M2.]

last built 747 was delivered today

[Dang3r]

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by Dang3r

Great photo!

So has the F-14 been replaced in your heart by the -18?

[Lady Jane]

Blériot 125.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bl%C3%A9riot_125

[flybigjet]

The last 747 ever built was delivered yesterday.

The end of an era.

[BMWGUYinCO]

Originally Posted by flybigjet

The last 747 ever built was delivered yesterday.

The end of an era.

In case anyone might not know, the green outline of the crown and 747 was the actual flight path! How cool is that!!!!

[Dang3r]

Originally Posted by Llarry

Great photo!

So has the F-14 been replaced in your heart by the -18?

No way man! But sometimes the urge to show exact that pic was overriding the T-section selection
(LJ)

[Llarry]

The impressive Republic P-47 Thunderbolt of World War II. The secret to its good performance was an equally impressive air induction system -- Supercharger and turbocharger.

I suspect the air induction system itself weighed about as much as a typical Japanese fighter aircraft!

[Llarry]

Continuing my series on surveillance/Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft, here are a few from around the world.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force has modified a number of Y-8 transports into SIGINT collection aircraft. The Chinese have been pretty aggressively objecting to U.S. aircraft conducting intelligence collection operations in international waters off the Chinese coast. At least at present, the Chinese military does not have bases to support collection against the U.S. (They do apparently have a balloon floating over the U.S. at present, though.)

The Japanese have had surveillance aircraft for years. Their Navy's EP-3 are old; I'd expect something newer in the future.

Germany had a number of Atlantique aircraft modified for SIGINT duties but the airplanes succumbed to old age. They first planned to use U.S.-sourced Global Hawk drones for SIGINT, but then decided to use the Canadian-built Bombardier Global 6000, which is already in use by the UAE. Basically the Germans have allowed their airborne SIGINT collection capability to atrophy for 15+ years; the 6000s have been purchased but modifications are not yet completed.

The Russians had several types of SIGINT-capable aircraft during the Cold War era. In particular, as a Navy veteran, I remember Soviet Tu-95 and Tu-142 aircraft overflying our U.S. Navy ships as we transited the Pacific and Atlantic. These Bears (NATO codename) had a minimal SIGINT capability but we always assumed they were listening to us, as we were to them. I believe the primary Russian SIGINT aircraft these days is the Il-20M.

Another invaluable U.S. aircraft is the old standby, the Lockheed U-2. In the case of the U-2, the aircraft may have both antennas for signal collection and cameras/side-looking aerial radar. However, the "take" is downlinked (or uplinked to a satellite, then down) to a ground station.

Australia, France, Israel and others also have similar aircraft; this is just a sampling.

[freakystyly]

What about surveillance balloons?

[F87M2.]

[Lady Jane]

Narushevich Ring Wing. Crop duster from Belarus.

[3798j]

.

[Boomer 2019]

Originally Posted by F87M2.

.

It's absolutely true. I got a lot of ride alongs in Navy fighters and attack planes back in my day, and even when landing on the beach those guys address it like a carrier deck.

[Lady Jane]

Sikorsky X-Wing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_S-72

[Lady Jane]

In the news today: Regent Viceroy Seaglider.

https://www.regentcraft.com/seagliders/viceroy