Unique Military Weapons

[Easy 6]

Cant recall ever seeing a thread on this topic so i thought it was time we had one... this thread is dedicated to military weaponry of any kind, from any era or nation.

There is a seemingly endless array of novel, fascinating, revolutionary or even ill-fated hardware out there so subject material shouldnt be a problem.

First entry coming up shortly...

[Delaney37]

Originally Posted by notorious

Old guy stuff is the coolest. Just got a book delivered about the Thud. Just finished one about the B-36.

I love reading about gear from the 50s-80s. Your mention of the A-4 perked me up.

If you haven't already, check out the SAC museum in Nebraska. They have a Peacemaker on display along with several other aircraft from that era. Worth the trip!

Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum

[Delaney37]

Originally Posted by Coyote

A-4s and Blacksheep Forever. Bumper stickers I’ve probably still got. VMA-214.

Have a A-4 tailhook above my bar. Neighbors have no clue what it is. Was a gift from flightline shop when I left the last squadron I flew Scooters for (VX-5 now gone/absorbed)

I got to meet the legend himself, Greg "Pappy" Boyington, when I was a member and volunteer at the Combat Air Museum here. They had him come in to do a guest appearance at an airshow. He was telling some great stories to us as we gave him a tour around the museum!

[MIAdragon]

Originally Posted by Delaney37

I got to meet the legend himself, Greg "Pappy" Boyington, when I was a member and volunteer at the Combat Air Museum here. They had him come in to do a guest appearance at an airshow. He was telling some great stories to us as we gave him a tour around the museum!

He was an F4U flyer right?

[Delaney37]

Originally Posted by MIAdragon

He was an F4U flyer right?

Yup flew Corsairs after transferring back to the Marines after a stint with the Flying Tigers to command VMF-214 "Black Sheep Squadron".

[notorious]

Originally Posted by Delaney37

If you haven't already, check out the SAC museum in Nebraska. They have a Peacemaker on display along with several other aircraft from that era. Worth the trip!

Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum

I have flown people to Eppley at least 20 times and never made it down to the SAC base.

Sigh.

[Radar Chief]

Originally Posted by Delaney37

I got to meet the legend himself, Greg "Pappy" Boyington, when I was a member and volunteer at the Combat Air Museum here.

Cool.
Black Sheep Squadron and Rat Patrol were two of my favorite shows growing up.

[Fishpicker]

whats cooler than a m-113 APC in da nang in '69

someone fill me in on the mods.

[Bowser]

Just because it's stuck in my head now -



And for Radar -

[Randallflagg]

Originally Posted by Fishpicker

whats cooler than a m-113 APC in da nang in '69

someone fill me in on the mods.

My Brother was in Da Nang in '68 - Marine Corps. Hell, he retired years later (Master Gunny)

I saw one of the APCs we had attached to us hit with an RPG in the side. Killed everyone on board, the TC and the driver, too. They were fine against 7.62 rounds, but anything bigger usually went right through them.

[Coyote]

Originally Posted by Delaney37

I got to meet the legend himself, Greg "Pappy" Boyington, when I was a member and volunteer at the Combat Air Museum here. They had him come in to do a guest appearance at an airshow. He was telling some great stories to us as we gave him a tour around the museum!

That was some years ago. I have a print signed by most WW II Marine Aces but Boyington, as he was dead by 1991. Lame excuse. I’ll catch him in Valhalla. He was a wild ass and controversial accordingly. Forced P.O.W. Sobriety actually improved his health he claimed.

“Boyington was a tough, hard-living character known for being unorthodox. He was also a heavy drinker, which plagued him in the years after the war, and possibly contributed to his multiple divorces. He freely admitted that during the two years he spent as a P.O.W. his health improved, due to the enforced sobriety. He worked various civilian jobs, including refereeing and participating in professional wrestling matches.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pappy_Boyington

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by Coyote

Favorite= A-4M Scooter. Hottest= F/A-18 V tail bandit
Most fun=AH-1 Whiskey. most unique= AV-8B Jump jet followed by MV-22 Protor.
I worked a lot of operational testing and then got senior enough where I joyrided a lot of other folks stuff. All Navy/Marine stuff prior to the F/A-35. Old guy stuff mainly.
Subjective of course.

A-4M Skyhawk - single engine Pratt & Whitney, delta wing first flew in 1954. Nuclear capable at low altitude using a “loft” technique. Combat action in Vietnam, Yom Kippur war and the Falklands... still being used by Argentina, lol

F/A-18 - one stop shop for all things death from above, highly capable air to air and air to ground. Twin engines with legendary durability to withstand brutal carrier takeoffs and landings. First flight in 1995. Many changes over the years such as switch from oval intakes on Hornet, to rectangular on the Super Hornet... proven stud in countless actions

AH-1 Cobra - twin engine attack chopper, the first of its kind iirc. First flight in 69’. Too much action to list, a true legend and if I had to guess it’s the Apaches daddy... does the pilot/s sit in anything like the titanium “bathtub” as Apache crews for survivability?

Osprey - is this thing the death trap it’s made out to be or what, just how stable is that thing, really?

[Coyote]

Originally Posted by Delaney37

Yup flew Corsairs after transferring back to the Marines after a stint with the Flying Tigers to command VMF-214 "Black Sheep Squadron".

Lot of work. I learned how to fly on the last of the military recip airplanes- T28s. Glad I did it in hindsight but at the time it was punishment by a Sailor for being a Marine. My buddy and I were the only Marines in the class and coincidentally were assigned the 2 T28 spots.

No simulators. After 5 flights you were cleared for Solo. Held 16 gallons of oil and burned over a gallon in a hour flight. You saw the Corsair video start in a cloud. Vacuum Tube radio always failed. Cockpit usually open for some air and to clear the oil soot/funk. Made you expect problems. During acro hops and post maintenance student authorized checks (yeah did those back then not that bright) we would ask for an unrestricted takeoff and manually set max MAP (supercharger boost pressure), Suck the gear, hang it on the prop and beat the jets (T-2s) to 10000 feet so I could only imagine a Big old Corsair.

Particularly trying to bring it aboard the boat. That’s why the Navy gave the Corsair to the Marines early and Marines kept them for the Cactus Air Force (island fields) at first.
https://flynata.org/content.aspx?pag...dule_id=241059
https://www.antsairplanes.com/downlo...tsHandbook.pdf

[Coyote]

Originally Posted by Easy 6

A-4M Skyhawk - single engine Pratt & Whitney, delta wing first flew in 1954. Nuclear capable at low altitude using a “loft” technique. Combat action in Vietnam, Yom Kippur war and the Falklands... still being used by Argentina, lol

F/A-18 - one stop shop for all things death from above, highly capable air to air and air to ground. Twin engines with legendary durability to withstand brutal carrier takeoffs and landings. First flight in 1995. Many changes over the years such as switch from oval intakes on Hornet, to rectangular on the Super Hornet... proven stud in countless actions

AH-1 Cobra - twin engine attack chopper, the first of its kind iirc. First flight in 69’. Too much action to list, a true legend and if I had to guess it’s the Apaches daddy... does the pilot/s sit in anything like the titanium “bathtub” as Apache crews for survivability?

Osprey - is this thing the death trap it’s made out to be or what, just how stable is that thing, really?

Hornets were way earlier. First combat use in 86. Libya. I know. Marines had Iron Hand role shooting HARMs (also first combat use- tested live against Libyan SA5s) Super Hornets are whole nuther aircraft really. Navy will have limited Stealth accordingly.

AH-1s Zulu (given name Viper to avoid the connotation of your Granddad’s Cobra) is a hell of an evolution from original Cobra and advent of attack helos. more in common cockpit wise with F/A 35. I thought didn’t go far enough. I lost but argued for a single seat attack Osprey

Protors or Ospreys are James Bond like capabilities. Maintenance intensive still. Improving. Safety? Got a rep early and tough to shake. Some mechanical mishaps. Pilot Error for others. Lost a good friend early and he diagnosed the problem correctly and then had a fight with the 3 flight computers all the way down.

It costs a lot of capital any way you want to count it, chasing innovation. Making helos go far and fast (Ospreys) and jets hover (Lightning IIs & Harriers) Particularly when you’re the smallest service. But the other girls are usually looking to control our aircraft operationally. Innovate or die.

[srvy]

Didn't know where to put these so here they are Blue Angel's in KC. We were just ariveing back home from out town and saw Hornets pass and bank over the I -29 I-35 split. I headed to open high parking lot and quickly grabbed my dslr. Find have time to mess with lens or settings just snapped as the made their passes towards Downtown airport.

typed with my trusty nose picker using Tapatalk

[Coyote]

Good pics. Thanks.

Yeah, the Marine typically gets the slot. Toughest to hold form, and worst during join up. Plus trapped by Rustpickers so feels like the ship. Getting all the bad air from lead, -2 and -3. If -5 and -6 join the diamond like in your pics, really doesn’t bug you.

https://www.blueangels.navy.mil/team/officers.asp