Donivanp
Lieutenant Colonel
F-111 test radar/nose on the B-58
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F-111 test radar/nose on the B-58
Not quite:F-111 test radar/nose on the B-58
Yes, exactly. Just as if you tried to stuff a TF-33 into a J-57 cowl by adding on scoops and bulges. It seems that the Spey's history outside of British designed aircraft was less than stellar. The A-7D had a Spey and the USAF got so disgusted with it they got rid of it a whole lot earlier than the USN. Based on what I saw and heard at the depot it appears AFLC tried to dismantle a custom-assembled engine that used match drilled components, and then put it back together as if it did not matter which part went with which engine. Add in the depot maintenance guys doing things like substituting grease for a very large O-ring they had trouble getting in the groove and you have the biggest time bomb engine since the Jumo 004.The basic fuselage had to be redesigned for the Spey.
I believe this Lightning now resides at Bruntingthorpe with her sister XR728. Fully functioning (so to speak) but nowhere to go.
And the reason the USN kept their A-7Es with the TF41 (improved Spey) in service so long is that the USN maintainers actually followed the maintenance manuals and did things the way they were supposed to be done - unlike the USAF depot maintenance morons.Yes, exactly. Just as if you tried to stuff a TF-33 into a J-57 cowl by adding on scoops and bulges. It seems that the Spey's history outside of British designed aircraft was less than stellar. The A-7D had a Spey and the USAF got so disgusted with it they got rid of it a whole lot earlier than the USN. Based on what I saw and heard at the depot it appears AFLC tried to dismantle a custom-assembled engine that used match drilled components, and then put it back together as if it did not matter which part went with which engine. Add in the depot maintenance guys doing things like substituting grease for a very large O-ring they had trouble getting in the groove and you have the biggest time bomb engine since the Jumo 004.
View attachment 813262
The source: the Internet.
No, not F-111 radar - the Hughes AN/ASG-18 radar intended for the F-108 and later for the YF-12A.F-111 test radar/nose on the B-58
On October 17, 1958, Convair received a contract from Hughes and the USAF to manufacture two special pods for GAR-9 (redesignated AIM-47 in 1962) and to modify one B-58 for AN/ASG-18 testbed work. B-58A #55-0665 was selected for the modifications.
The Hughes AN/ASG-18 Fire Control System was a prototype airborne fire control radar system for the planned North American XF-108 Rapier interceptor aircraft, and the Lockheed YF-12 for the USAF. It was the US's first Pulse-Doppler radar, giving it look-down/shoot-down capability, and was also the first track while scan radar (could track one target at a time). This was paired with an infrared search and track (IRST) system. Range of the radar was estimated at between 200–300 mi (320–480 km), with reliable detection of bomber-sized targets at 100 miles (160 km). The installation itself was massive, weighing 2,100 pounds (950 kg), and taking up most of the nose of the aircraft. The system was to be used with the Hughes AIM-47 Falcon missile, which also had a range of about 100 miles.
While development work was done with the XF-108, the AN/ASG-18 and Falcon missiles were first tested on a highly modified Convair B-58 Hustler bomber. To fit the radar, the nose was lengthened nearly 7 feet (2.13 m), and the infrared sensors were mounted on either side of the forward fuselage. The resulting nose shape led to it being nicknamed "Snoopy". A single missile was housed in a specially built pod underneath the fuselage.
Before the test "Snoopy" could fly, the XF-108 program was cancelled, and the proposed Lockheed YF-12 interceptor was to instead receive the radar/missile system pair. Tests of the system were conducted first in 1960 and until 1963 only on the modified B-58, with the last GAR-9/AIM-47 launches from the B-58 in February 1964. After this the YF-12 took over until the cancellation of the whole program in 1966.
After the completion of the ASG-18/GAR-9 test program, the special modifications were removed from 55-0665. However, the long nose was retained. 55-0665 was eventually placed out in the open on the photo test range at Edwards AFB.
The F-4s were given to us by Ronald Regan we didn't buy them and if we needed a carrier he would have given that as well. I believe the F-4s were ex U.S. Marines and included the bunny. The grey they used had a slightly bluer tinge maybe 74 Squadron had them? The F-4s at Stanley were UK F-4s, the American F-4 a superior machine to the UK F-4Ahhh, the F-4K. When the TSR-2 was cancelled the British aviation industry was given a consolation prize in the form of the F-4K. It would be an F-4, but made as British as possible. It would have not only British avionics but RR Spey engines, modern turbofans rather than those old 1950's J-79's, and that would greatly improve the Phantom's notoriously short range. It sounded so great that the USAF was even considering retrofiiting its own F-4's with Speys.
The reality was that the RN ended up with the shortest ranged, slowest, and most expensive F-4's in the world. When the Falklands war showed the RN to be sorely deficient in air defense (even described as "pre-BoB") they bought USN surplus F-4J's to operate out of Stanley. Crews were warned, "This is an American Phantom, not a British Phantom and these things are awful bloody freakin fast, so be careful!"
In 1975 I was a member of the Norfolk Naval Air Rework Facility's P-2/C-118/F-8 depot support engineering group. There weren't many C-118s by then, but we sure supported them!Flew on a C-118 from Tinker AFB to Wright Patt AFB in 1975. Glad I got to do that, because it was not around much longer. FOUR R-2800's roaring away outside the windows!
When I got to Tinker AFB in 1974 and for a few years thereafter they had a C-118 that flew from Kelly AFB to Tinker AFB to Wright Patt AFB and I think then to Andrews AFB and then return, every week. Not sure when they got rid of it, but it probably was around the time they got rid of the T-29's we had as hack transports at Tinker.There weren't many C-118s by then, but we sure supported them!
At that time they were maintained in the same configuration as Pam Am 707's because of the airline's world wide logistics system.Three commercial 707-153 bought by USAF as VIP transports.