imatt88 Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 WOW, this is way cool!! I was just wondering how to arm my rebuild Scooters. I now know that they carried plenty of bombs and Bullpup missles...but what else did they carry in Vietnam? Zuni pods....Sparrow missles... did any Scooters carry napalm canisters? Does any company make aftermarket TERs for the inboard pylons? Cheers, Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rex Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 no on the Sparrow,,,,,those are Shrikes yes on the Napalm but, if you want to load AIM's on some,,,,you can put Sidewinders on rails added to your pylons mostly used by detatchments on CVS's though, for CAP purposes,,,,but, they were cleared on the basic A-4, so, in theory, they could have been loaded on any A-4, anytime,,,,,,I'd go by pics, though Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a4s4eva Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 (edited) No 500lb bombs on the inner pylons when they are on Stns 2 and 4 as they will foul the main landing gear doors. I'd also expect to see tanks somewhere in the loadout. After all range the A-4 wasn't great. The loadout in the original Pic Gary posted looks like 2 TER's on Stn's 2 and 4 with 2 Mk 82's on each, A 300 Gal (or 400 gal?) on the C/L and another 2 Mk 82's on Stn's 1 and 5. Ok not SVN and not US but here's some shots of some Kiwi A-4's armined up This one shows why there was no MK 82 on the inner position of a TER on STN 2 and 4. This shows the rear of Stn 2 with a TER and 2 Zunis fitted. Again no store on the inner position of the TER due to size The rest show MER's on the C/L and Stns 2 and 4. If you want to fit a MER to STN's 2 and 4 then it can have 5 MK82's, the fwd inner position cannot have a bomb due to the clearance with the MLG doors. In my experience a MER would usually be fitted on the C/L, not on 2 and 4. Edited July 21, 2009 by a4s4eva Quote Link to post Share on other sites
theemodelstarter Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 I'll say this once more. 500 pound bombs CAN be hung on ALL three stations of the TER, especially the NPT type. It is however, less likely to see them that way for a number of reason listed throughout the tread. They were difficult to load this way for the Ordenance personel, the easiest way being to clip on a pre-loaded TER. Yes it is very close to the landing gear door, bit it fits and has been done. There are picture that show ithem this way, from the mid/late 60's and early 70's after which you don't see it any more because the practice was discontinued. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gerard Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 I KNEW there was a reason that I kept my 48 HA A-4K RNZAF kit ( and the USN A-4E/F too ). Thanks for the nice photos. Just think what one of those could do now, if wired for GBU-38 / 39 / 12. Would then be able to carry 1 or 2 fuel, and also enough weapons. Fit the F-16 or whatever radar, a more modern engine, and you'd have a cheap, lightweight fighter for anyone with smaller carriers. Regards, Gerard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rex Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 (edited) Keith,,,,,threads like this one always make me miss the old days, and the way we would have settled this "bet" we would have gotten the six packs or money from each involved in the wager, stacked it up in a corner of the Gunny's office,,,,,grabbed 6 Inerts,,,,,and loaded them up,,,,and got a pilot to fly over Lake Michigan a short while,,,landed,,,,,,and then shared the beer with the losers of the bet,,,,anyone know why old guys don't call Inerts "smurf killers"? problem is,,,,,a lot of us didn't take pictures of everything, daily,,,,,,,but, pics do exist,,,,they are just not on the internet,,,,,they're in old out of print books, so, even if you point right at a pic on your desk, the people that don't have that same book just say,,,,,"I don't see any pic" the snowplow we had in Glenview would be considered a fake now, because it's "not on the internet",,,,,the paint cheat sheets on the side of the Gunny's file cabinet,,,,fake, because no one thought to preserve a copy so, if it's in a reg dated 1982,,,,,it must have always been done that way,,,,back to 1955, lol yep, it was done,,,,it was changed,,,,and it stopped being done,,,,,,,,as did a lot of things as for me,,,,I'm not posting in anymore of these "how did they do it?" threads,,,,,,all the things I have to "prove" that I'm not making it up are in copyrighted books published by companies no longer in the biz or so old they won't ever revive the titles (the Skyhawk in Action is from 1973), or in my head,,,,or in some other older Jarheads photo boxes or cruise books,,,,and if it's not on the internet,,,,it ain't real edit: forgot to mention the very best example of something extremely popular, then stopped,,,,,,,rocket pods on carriers Edited July 21, 2009 by Rex Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lgl007 Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Bloody marvelous reference pics here... thanks so much for posting them :-) -Greg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
theemodelstarter Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 ...anyone know why old guys don't call Inerts "smurf killers"? Rex, That is definitely one I've never heard before, but it sure sounds like a good story. Maybe over one of those beers someday. I've been building over 40 years, like a lot of the other folks here, but have only recently started participating in some of the forums. You're definitely right, I wish I had a camera way back when, for so many reasons. Thanks for the brief reality check, I know it's not a contest but you just can't compare apples to oranges, well, some folks try. I'm feelin your pain but need to go through the learning curve initiation first. Besides, I may actually give someone a missing piece of info he's really needed. I'll be a bit more sedate in future posts though! I am still looking for an old photo I've seen. Semper Fi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a4s4eva Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I KNEW there was a reason that I kept my 48 HA A-4K RNZAF kit ( and the USN A-4E/F too ).Thanks for the nice photos. Just think what one of those could do now, if wired for GBU-38 / 39 / 12. Would then be able to carry 1 or 2 fuel, and also enough weapons. Fit the F-16 or whatever radar, a more modern engine, and you'd have a cheap, lightweight fighter for anyone with smaller carriers. Regards, Gerard Kinda like this Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thegoodsgt Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Is that a Maverick under the outermost starboard station in the bottom photo? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a4s4eva Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Yeah . We could use AGM-65G and B versions of the maverick. To be 100% accurate that is a TGM-65G though Plenty more photos of Kiwi A-4's HERE Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mrvark Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 (edited) Ok not SVN and not US but here's some shots of some Kiwi A-4's armined up All the bombs shown in these photos are 250-lb Mk 81s with Mk 14 Snakeye or conical fins. Edited July 23, 2009 by mrvark Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rex Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I guess I've stepped on toes by trying to answer the original question when it gets to the point that bombs with 4 fins (slicks) are called snakes,,,,,I don't have anything more to say on the topic just remember one thing about all of this,,,,,there is a reason we have multiple books on any given subject when dealing with the past,,,,,,,,things changed over the course of years so, you'll see 2 tanks on the fuselage of Demons,,,,,,then, the practice was stopped you'll see a loadout chart from a Marine that includes a TER with 3 500's on it,,,,,then, sometime after that,,,,the loadout was changed to the Slant 2 you'll see sidewinders on A-4's, and the number of stripes on bombs change, due to a difference in the coating and you'll see orders coming down to the fleet saying that the name of Lt Gull Gray was changed to Lt Gray,,,,,even though, supposedly, no names were allowed to be used for colors in 1971 when the order was published just use photos a lot when you pick how to build and arm your models (and bring copies to any contests) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a4s4eva Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 All the bombs shown in these photos are 250-lb Mk 81s with Mk 14 Snakeye or conical fins. The bombs in the first B and white images look very much like Mk 82's to me. The Colour ones do look like MK 81's Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ST0RM Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I just want to thank you guys for posting first hand experience of the Scooter loadouts. As you've said, before the digital age, references came from old Kodak pics, cruise books or the words of men who were there and did it. These are truly priceless and I appreciate you sharing it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thegoodsgt Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I'll echo STORM's comments. Thanks, a4s4eva! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 This has been one of the more enlightening threads I've read in a while! Thanks for the info guys! Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Finn Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Here is another mixed weapon load on a Scooter: http://www.skyhawk.org/5e/g151022/html/151176c.htm Jari Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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