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Camouflaged Aircraft and related topics
- Thread starter TheBubba
- Start date
Rafale M
Tell me more... are they operating for the duration of the cruise? I've heard of Rafales trapping on U.S. carriers but I thought it was kinda a pub stunt...
I guess I'd like flying off a Nimitz carrier if my only option was a ship named for Charles de Gaulle!
Tell me more... are they operating for the duration of the cruise? I've heard of Rafales trapping on U.S. carriers but I thought it was kinda a pub stunt...
I guess I'd like flying off a Nimitz carrier if my only option was a ship named for Charles de Gaulle!
So you thought they did it for $hits and giggles then?
Why not? That's why we do it. :icon_tong
The NAV experimented w/ camo schemes early in the War in an attempt to cut losses, of course.
It wasn't deemed worth the effort, as the majority of Navy targets were up north and most of the Navy-assigned "route packages" had a relatively short "feet dry" time compared to the longer AF flights coming out of Thailand or SVN, for example. But even then, some AF birds went w/ a '50's all aluminum look -- no camo.
The camo schemes appeared at one time or another on A-6s, F-4s, VIGIs, and of course, A4s seen in your picture ... another down side -- a big one -- was the fact that the camo-birds were harder to "see" at night on the roof. I think most of the camo experimentation took place in the KITTY HAWK and CONNIE squadrons early in the War.
Nice pix -- I've seen this one before, can't remember where, but I still alike it ... calm, cool, collected guys just waiting for the ball to drop ...
Here's a link to a formerly TS blurb put out by the CIA that talks about the Route Packs and the effects/anticipated effects of various "alternatives" to the early bombing campaign: SUBJECT: The Evaluation of Alternative Programs for Bombing North Vietnam
It wasn't deemed worth the effort, as the majority of Navy targets were up north and most of the Navy-assigned "route packages" had a relatively short "feet dry" time compared to the longer AF flights coming out of Thailand or SVN, for example. But even then, some AF birds went w/ a '50's all aluminum look -- no camo.
The camo schemes appeared at one time or another on A-6s, F-4s, VIGIs, and of course, A4s seen in your picture ... another down side -- a big one -- was the fact that the camo-birds were harder to "see" at night on the roof. I think most of the camo experimentation took place in the KITTY HAWK and CONNIE squadrons early in the War.
Nice pix -- I've seen this one before, can't remember where, but I still alike it ... calm, cool, collected guys just waiting for the ball to drop ...
Here's a link to a formerly TS blurb put out by the CIA that talks about the Route Packs and the effects/anticipated effects of various "alternatives" to the early bombing campaign: SUBJECT: The Evaluation of Alternative Programs for Bombing North Vietnam
Link no worky, boss. Do you have the doc number? Sounds like interesting reading.
Everything I've read about a/c camo is that dark/woodland schemes have almost never worked well, at least for fast-movers. It's much more likely to make a high contrast against the sky when seen from below, than it is to camouflage when seen from above.
After the AAF went from olive-green to unpainted aircraft later in WWII (the Luftwaffe was pretty much out of the fight, and getting rid of the paint saved weight and shortened production time), bomber guys began reporting much higher rates of midairs and near-midairs during rendezvous. Turned out, the bare shiny aluminum reflected the surrounding sky so well that it made excellent camo.
Try it now -- the one in my original post -- I think I cutted when I should have pasted ...
You would not BELIEVE the amount of weight saved on a 747 (for example) by going to an American Airlines polished aluminum scheme vice a Braniff-Calder paint scheme ... it was astounding. And of course, that means more fuel ...
But the all paint proponents said you have more maintenance w/ attendant corrosion problems with the "shiney's" in warm/tropical climes ...
So who is "right"??
/my threadjack to your threadjack to my busted link ...
The Stingers also came up w/ some good shit and rules to live by over the span of their Vietnam deployments ... most squadrons "borrowed" some of their lessons-learned -- some of the "wisdom" was humorous, some not-so-funny, and all were time-tested, tried & true, the bottom line always being:Found the Pic on the WIX site, VA-113 Scooters on the Shitty Kitty
THE OBJECTIVE IS TO HIT THE TARGET AND NOT THE TARGET TO HIT YOU
IN COMBAT STINGERS NEVER:
- LOSE SIGHT OF LEADER OR WINGMAN.
- FLY OVER THE BEACH ALONE.
- FLY BELOW 3,000 FEET OVER THE BEACH.
- FLY STRAIGHT AND LEVEL OVER THE BEACH.
- FLY BELOW 300 KNOTS OVER THE BEACH.
- RENDEZVOUS OVER THE BEACH.
- DUEL WITH FLAK SITES.
- MAKE MULTIPLE RUNS ON THE TARGET.
- RETURN TO THE TARGET WITH UNEXPENDED ORDINANCE.
- FLY NEAR THE TOP OR BOTTOM OF AN OVERCAST.
- BREAK WEATHER MINIMUMS FOR A MISSION.
- MAKE A LOW DELIVERY OR PRESS THE ATTACK.
Later in the War it was revised & updated:
YANKEE TEAM ENGAGEMENT SITUATIONS & RULES:
- 37MM & 57MM Flak Site = Assume one behind every tree.
- Attacking a Target = Make only one run or preferably none at all.
- Day Road RECCO = DO NOT go below 8,000 feet above the ground.
- Night Road RECCO = DO NOT go below 10,000 feet above the ground or preferably just do not go.
- Vinh Strike = Lower your seat, roll in at 25,000 feet above the ground - or above. Recover not below 10,000 feet above the ground.
- Than Hoa Strike = Down your aircraft before launching.
- Any Strike Above the 20th Parallel = Turn yourself into the Flight Surgeon for Administrative Discharge due to homosexual tendencies.
- Night Missions (general) = If Rule #4 does not apply, jettison ordnance immediately after the catapult, fake radio failure and proceed to the marshal point for landing.
- RECCO Route Juliet = Immediately jettison ordnance near Hon Mat Island and conduct RECCO of Route Yellow 10 or Route Yellow 20 (Route Yellow 10 is 10 miles off the beach).
- RECCO Routes Kilo and Lima = If you have been launched on one of these missions you have not conducted a proper preflight of your aircraft.
- SAM Site Search and Destroy Mission = Buy the Squadron Duty Officer watch - the price is no object.
Post 'Nam - Adversary squadrons through the years experimented with various camo paint schemes. Popular were the 2-3 tone gray or blue. Different ones worked well in different scenarios. VC-12/VFC-12 eventually settled on an all-dark-gray that worked fairly well much of the time. It was a compromise in visibility and maintainability; very easy to maintain. Visibility-wise, it worked well working over water, where 95% of our flying took place. Theory was, the prevailing tactic of the fighters once they were engaged in a knife-fight was to beat the wiley bogey down in energy, go vertical for separation, and get the shot. Problem for them was trying to visually re-acquire the small, dark, blend-in-with-the-ocean A-4 when looking down, hence the all-dark-gray color, which blended well with the murky Atlantic. Heyjoe can give you a better idea of how well it worked. Again, it was a compromise. Worked well for that scenario, stuck out like a sore thumb other times.
This photo was taken by Peter Mersky and was used for years as the farewell photo by VFC-12.
This photo was taken by Peter Mersky and was used for years as the farewell photo by VFC-12.
