Pictures of Cold War aircraft. (4 Viewers)

Donivanp · May 29, 2025

Viking1066 said:
Lockheed F-94B Starfire 101 FIS/102 FIW 1957 AIRHView attachment 833736

Kelly Johnson had a keen eye for design.

Viking1066 · May 30, 2025

VF-101 Grim Reapers F4D-1 Skyray AP-113 bolters on USS Saratoga, CVA-60, 11 September 1957. VAW-12 Bats AD-5W Skyraider BuNo 132762, GE-70, in the right foreground FLIK

VF-101 Grim Reapers F4D-1 Skyray AP-113 bolters on USS Saratoga, CVA-60, 11 September 1957. VA...png

Thumpalumpacus · May 30, 2025

GTX said:
View attachment 833727

B-29B (44-84121) modified during the late-1940s for tests involving the "Stratovision" airborne television project developed jointly by Westinghouse Electric Co. and the Glenn L. Martin Co. The antenna beneath the aircraft folded back for landings and take-offs.

I should hope so, that'd be some interesting landing gear otherwise!

cammerjeff · May 30, 2025

Just to keep the beautiful F4D's going, how about this shot? I do not think I have ever seen a F4D painted up as a Target tower. And as a bonus a Scooter and a Vig in the background, among others.

Source Tailhook Topics
The source also has color B-26 & A-1's painted up for towing.

Taking a look at the blown up photo again I noticed that what I thought was a RA-5C is in fact one of the 59 produced Bomber A3J-1's. As it does not have the raised fuselage behind the cockpit used for additional fuel storage on the A3J-2's and RA-5C's. I know I am a bit of a Vigilante snob to notice such things. Also I see not 1 but 2 C-121's in the background, one looks to still be Navy Blue.

Sabrejet · May 30, 2025

Another Dart tug Skyray. IIRC El Toro used them too.

Airframes · May 30, 2025

"Low-level jet attacked by paper aeroplane .........."

cammerjeff · May 30, 2025

Also on the picture I posted it looks like a second towed target is on a trailer behind the Skyray

Viking1066 · May 30, 2025

Republic F-84B (45-59577) of the 37th FS at Dow AFB, Maine in 1948 USAF

GreenKnight121 · May 30, 2025

GTX said:
View attachment 832932

F9F-2 or F9F-2P Panthers of CVG-19 over USS Princeton CV-37. Taken during one of three Korea deployments 1950-52

GreenKnight121 · May 30, 2025

Airframes said:
Hats off to all who work on carriers.
I'm an ex-Para, so not particularly bothered about potential dangers, but there is no way in this World that I would want to be anywhere near a carrier, except maybe looking at one from afar (in a pub, on TV, with a pint in front of me !).
And as for landing on one - F**k right off !!

While most of my 8 active-duty years in the USMC were spent on land bases, from Nov 1985 to Dec 1987 I spent some 360 days aboard CV-61 Ranger (2 x 2-month trips to South Korea/Japan, 1 x 6-month trip to the north-western Indian Ocean, & some training time off San Diego, CA).

Most of my work was in an avionics shop below decks, but I did end up on the flight deck during flight ops 4 or 5 times... a rather "interesting" experience.

One time was bringing a repaired FLIR turret up for installation in an A-6E being prepped for a mission during our time providing aerial escort for tanker convoys in the Persian Gulf in Sept-Oct 1987 (and to take the broken one they had just removed back down)... the turret was moved between the flight deck and my shop via an ordnance elevator - my shop was outboard of the hull in one of the sponsons 2 decks below the flight deck - it was originally a bomb assembly space so it had overhead rails between the shop and the ordnance elevator which let us move the 300lb turret through open hatches etc..

Another was bringing up some gear and compressed-gas cylinders of ultra-pure helium for the A-6E FLIR system we were transferring to USS Midway CV-41 as we left the NW IO and Midway took over the duty.

I also got to be on the LSO platform (in the space reserved for "observers") one evening during landing ops.

Location of my shop on the starboard aft overhang - the inner red square is the aft bulkhead of my shop - the overhang is between the starboard two aircraft elevators aft of the island. Just above the mobile crane on the lowered elevator is a balcony that allows access to the shop spaces - the F-14 TARPS recon pod maintenance shop was there in addition to the FLIR shop (S-3As & A-7Es also had FLIRs we maintained). The aircraft elevator was used to move the TARPS pod - it would stop even with the balcony and the pod (in a transport cart) was rolled in or out through the doors.

The Forrestal class had two elevators aft of the island and one forward to starboard and one to port at the fore end of the flight deck angle - which was not an ideal location, as using it blocked both landing ops and launch ops from the two waist aircraft catapults. In my entire time aboard Ranger the port elevator was only ever moved from the "up" position twice - both in port in San Diego while maintenance was being performed on the elevator.

All later supercarriers had the port elevator at the aft end of the angle where it didn't interfere with anything, and the starboard elevators were arranged two forward of the island and one aft.

GreenKnight121 · May 30, 2025

What a curious mixed plane. What is it? A De Havilland experimental?

GTX said:
That one is the Hawker P.1081

It started as the P.1052, which was a swept-wing version of the Sea Hawk, still with the split tailpipes. The two prototypes conducted carrier trials aboard HMS Eagle in May 1952.

Australia expressed interest in an improved non-carrier variant, so the second P.1052 prototype was given swept tail surfaces and a single tailpipe in the aft fuselage. Australia almost ordered this in 1950, but due in part to Hawker being "too busy to complete development of the P.1081 type" the RAAF started the CA-27 "Avon Sabre" project in 1951 instead.