Hello,
I know nothing about the A4 sight on F86E, but I know a lot about the E-4 firecontrol system used on the F86D Super sabre.
The system consisted of a radar covered by a black radome over the air intake in the nose of the aircraft, a flight-data computer, a fire-control computer and in the cockpit a radar scope ( E-type ) and a joystick used to control the radar antenna during lock-on to the target. The system could operate in 3 modes: Search mode, lock-on mode and attack-mode.
In the search mode the antenna searched the horizon from side to side. When the pilot got a target on the scope he would switch the system to lock-on mode by pressing a knop on the joystick. In lock-on mode the antenna was controlled horrizontally and vertically by the joystick. When the pilot had aimed the antenna at the selected target, he would use a thumbwheel on the joystick to move a marker along the sweep on the scope. When the marker was placed over the target, the system would lock-on and switch to attack-mode.
In attack-mode the radar would automatically track the target in azimuth, elevation and range (the antenna was locked to the target). The scope would now show steering information instead of radar information. This information consisted of:
1) time until firing the weapons (a big circle, the size of which indicated the remaining time)
2) the rate at which the aircraft was closing in on the target ( a gap in the big circle. 12 o'clock = 0 kts, 3 o'clock = 100 kts etc. )
3) stearing information (a small circle and a litle cross which had to be centered within each other) The pilot had to maneuver the aircraft in the same direction the litle cross was moving on the scope.
4) Firing information. ( A big cross on the scope ). If the pilot had the trigger pulled at this time, the weapons woud be fired. If the weapons were 2,75" rockets, the rocket-pod placed in fuselage would lower automatically and the rockets would be fired.
5) Collision avoidence info. ( 2 circles forming the letter 8 ) the pilot had to break away in the direction given by the "8" to awoid coliding with debries from the target.
nop
Hello,
Thank you so much, Lunatic. Perchance, could you help me also with the way A-4 radar gun sight worked on F-86E? Regards.
Can anyone help me with the details about the way K-14 gun sight worked on P-51 Mustang fighter? Thanks and regards. Corbo, Naples, Italy
The K-14, MK. 18 (USN version), and Ferranti (British version) gyro computing gun sights used a gyro to measure rate of turn to give a lead compensation which was applied to the reflector gun sight. The pilot preset the gun sight with the wingspan of the target. He then used a twist knob on the throttle handle which would adjust the size of a sighting ring (reflected on the sighting panel) called a reticule (this varied in layout, but usually consisted of six diamond shapes) to the target wingspan. The further away the target, the smaller the ring. Matching the ring size to the target wingspan gave the range, which was fed into the analog computer to give the required lead compensation. When the target was in the ring the guns were aimed where the target would be when the bullets got to the targeted range.
So to use the system, the pilot put the ring on the target and held it there while shooting. It eliminated guessing how much lead was required - most pilots tended to grossly underestimate the required lead.
By Korea the human element had been removed, instead of twisting a knob a radar ranging system input the distance component.
Note: when engaging in aerobatics the gyro's needed to be caged. If the pilot forgot to do so the system would be damaged and useless. When the gyros were caged, the system acted as a simple reflector gun sight. So the pilot had to be well trained to cage and uncage the gyros during combat.
=S=