champpitbull2

I figured since these pics are of military jets they should probably be in a seperate section. If anyone else has any pics of military jets please place them here. This thread is obviously inspired by the other cool shots in the commercial aviation section. Good idea Heavy and Bill-ay.

dboyd001

.....I always thought the military C-130 models look a bit "naked" without the wing tanks. The Saudi C-100 looks better with its wing tanks.
Dave (I'll have to scan some this weekend)

champpitbull2

To tell you the truth Dave I don't think I have ever seen any of the C-130's here at Niagara Falls without their tanks. If you look closely at that plane you can see all of the updated ECM equipment on it. Ther are two little bulges above the cockpit and a very large one aft of the wheels on the aft part of the fusalage. What you see there arent the actual counter measures themselves just the mounts for them. They only put them on in real world missions. They enable the C-130 to defeat IR missiles. These planes were in Iraq for quite sometime and haven't been back for very long.

Phantom Phan1200

Nice shots

dboyd001

.....My point. I've never seen a military C-130 without wing tanks with one exception. The one exception was the C-130T USMC "Fat Albert" that is assigned to the Blue Angels. Every other one (USAF, USN, USMC) all have the wing tanks.
Dave

champpitbull2

I think the addition of the tanks makes them look more stout. I like the look of the KC-130's and the Spec Ops planes that usually carry 4 reserve tanks. It would be cool if Dragon or Gemini came out with a few of these.

CFTGEFAN

Hey Garth,

This one is for you buddy, my Military and Ex Military collection of Goliaths!..

Sorry for fuzzyness of camera..

champpitbull2

AHHH looks good with its new company. An A380F should complete the lineup of heavy lifters.

dboyd001

.....OK, here's my first contribution. Excuse the grainy Phantom shots as they were taken from slides and high speed film of the day just wasn't available.

• The two F-4J Phantom II shots are from 1971 aboard the USS America (CVA66) while deployed to the Mediterranean. Love afterburners going full throttle at night!
• The wave skimming F-14 was from the USS Saratoga (CV60) taken from the USS Anzio (CG59) which I was doing surveys on as it cruised to its homeport of Norfolk, VA from the builders in Pascagoula, MS.

.....More cool shots to come.
Dave

champpitbull2

Dave, Those pictures are F-in sweet. I can almost feel the thunder shaking my bones. There used to be F-4s at Niagara Falls and the older guys told me that the afterburner would cause the stabilators to catch fire sometimes. I can see why.

Phantom

Not a Herc-expert, but doesn't it depend on the C-130 version whether or not it carries wing-tanks?

Hellenic AF C-130B do not (cannot AFAIK) carry wing-tanks, while I can't remember seeing the C-130H without, while they sure can be removed, can't they?
The RS Hercs I see almost daily on their run Ramstein-Grafenwöhr and back always carry those tanks as they are H's.

champpitbull2

I'm not a Herc expert either but I know I've seen Vietnam era photos where C-130's have the external tanks. I'll walk across the taxi way in couple of weeks during our airshow and ask the C-130 mechanics that very question.

gospodin

Really like the pics, all. Garth, nice that the Ramstein Lilliputians came to visit in their C-130. The carrier shots were awesome...how come you never show these war pics, Dave? I'm sure you have a few more laying in a drawer someplace. I wish I'd thought to take pictures of all the bases I've been to, but I just never did. Got some boring pics of my last assignment, but I didn't take any pics of the Jagdbombergruppe base where the Tornadoes were flying. The Germans were a little touchy about that, especially since the planes were carrying "special" loads on occasion.

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Steve

I either want less corruption in government, or more opportunity to participate in it.

champpitbull2

Here's some German F-4's and a Georgia ANG B-ONE taking off from Nordholz, Germany. If you ever get to witness the B-1 take off, bring your ear protection!

gospodin

I've seen a Bone in flight, but never taking off. I hear that they're considering relegating all the Bones to either Guard units or inactive reserve, to save money, since the damn things are so expensive to maintain.

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Steve

I either want less corruption in government, or more opportunity to participate in it.

champpitbull2

Guard units would make sense. It would make sense because Guard units tend to fly more than the active units believe it or not. One of the things I hear about that jet is the more it sits the more things break on it. They also maintain their planes better because they have mechanics in some instances who have been working on the same plane for over 20 years. In the Guard it is very common to see a Master as a dedicated crew chief. In the actives once you're a Tech they want to start putting you in an office. They're doing the same thing with the C-5's.

Phantom

Steve, weren't those "special" weapons under the command and responsibility of USAF units? AFAIK from the Starfighter era, the base's special areas were guarded by US staff.
Not sure how things changed when the Tornado arrived. If I remember correctly, you've been with the JaboG34"Allgäu" at Memmingen, correct? One of the last units to convert from the 104G to the IDS in the later 80's. Didn't know they were still in the "special" assignment at this point.

Not sure if they can be considered "cool" or just average, but here are a few shots I made:

D-AIHC

No, never got a chance to see a Lancer took off before but got I buzzed once in southern Utah. I approximated it's altitude at no more than 500 ft and its speed at about 300-350 knots.

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D-AIHC

That last shot is a classic - sure miss the smoke trail of the Phantom! Living up to your username, eh!

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Lufthansa - Star Alliance member since 1997

champpitbull2

Phantom, those are some nice pictures. The pic of the Eurofighter and the F-4 is impressive as well as the F-4 above the lights. That must be a rush with the planes coming that close to you. I've done the same thing before and I think it's an awesome experience being that close to that much power.

gospodin

I was with a USAF MUNSS unit that was in charge of the "special" weapons there for the JaboG...surprised you've heard of the "Allgau" or Memmingen AB. All of the weapons that we could neither confirm or deny had MUNSS units attached when the nationals flew with them. JaboG34 was assigned as a tactical strike/ground attack unit, so they were given a certain amount of latitude if the US made a decision to go "weapons free" against a Soviet invasion. I checked into what's up now since I retired from there, and the base is gone. The MUNSS closed a couple of years after I left when we pulled the "special" weapons from the European Theater. That was about 1996, IFAIK.

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Steve

I either want less corruption in government, or more opportunity to participate in it.

champpitbull2

Steve, something just dawned on me. Shouldn't you have a few pictures of some BUFFS laying around?

AimHigherJets.com

Champ,

Any chance of C-17 pics with the aircraft and the GeminiMacs!?!?!
Jeff

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champpitbull2

Not yet, but I will in about three weeks. August 10,11, and 12th there is an Air Show at the base I work at and I know a C-17 will arrive. Hopefully it is one of the units I already have. I'll post some of the better pictures. I'm going to look pretty weird walking around with all of those little planes but oh well. The pictures will be worth it.

dboyd001

..... This will never happen again. If it did they'd be a lot of unpleasantly soiled pants on the ground.
..... Don't ask where I got this photo. Let's say lost in the mists of time.
Dave

gospodin

Dave, you have a picture of the Empire State Bldg after the B-25 plowed into it in 1943?

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Steve