RAGATIGER Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Hi there I was reading some Osprey Phanton books (Iranian and USAF Phantoms) and both of them mentioned that part of their success at air success was related to some equipment devenloped after 6 days War (the Israeli supply the Iff transpoders from URRS planes, so they can interrogate planes without any radar emmision) so wondering if someone has photos of the cockpit showing those equipment Also in 21 Century F-4D mentioned the equipment Best day Armando Quote Link to post Share on other sites
11bee Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Hi thereI was reading some Osprey Phanton books (Iranian and USAF Phantoms) and both of them mentioned that part of their success at air success was related to some equipment devenloped after 6 days War (the Israeli supply the Iff transpoders from URRS planes, so they can interrogate planes without any radar emmision) so wondering if someone has photos of the cockpit showing those equipment Also in 21 Century F-4D mentioned the equipment Best day Armando I'd be interested in seeing any pictures as well but I'd also be surprised if any are out there. This gear was heavily classified back in the day and these aircraft kept a very low profile. I think the only external difference was a warning marking on the exterior that referenced the explosive charge that was supposed to destroy the gear in the event that the crew ejected. Pretty interesting story about how effective it was. Towards the end of the war, USAF F-4D's were getting some very impressive BVR kills. That Osprey book is a good resource. Regards, John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott R Wilson Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 (edited) I'd be interested in seeing any pictures as well but I'd also be surprised if any are out there. This gear was heavily classified back in the day and these aircraft kept a very low profile. I think the only external difference was a warning marking on the exterior that referenced the explosive charge that was supposed to destroy the gear in the event that the crew ejected. Pretty interesting story about how effective it was. Towards the end of the war, USAF F-4D's were getting some very impressive BVR kills. That Osprey book is a good resource. Regards, John I don't know if it was the same as the "Combat Tree" set, but the F-4Es I worked on had a Soviet IFF interrogator called the APX-81 system. There was a receiver-transmitter, the RT-961, located inside Door 19 behind the rear cockpit, and it shared a control head with the APX-76 IFF/SIF interrogator system, the APX-76 being also located in Door 19 but consisting of the RT-868, SA-1568, and SN-416B. The control head was located in the rear cockpit on the lower part of the rear main panel, just above the WSO's left knee. The control head was labeled "APX-80", which I believe may have just been a sort of average of the designations APX-76 and APX-81. I don't believe there ever actually was an APX-80 system. The APX-81 specific switches were labled something similar to "Type 1" and "Type 2" (can't recall the exact verbage just now), and both switches were three positioned: OFF, PASSIVE, and ACTIVE. Both APX-76 and APX-81 displayed their data on the radar scopes; there wasn't an independent display. Both APX-76 and APX-81 shared the "T" shaped dipole antennas mounted on the radar dish, four on the F-4E and I believe 8 on the F-4D. The APX-81 didn't have a destruct charge when I worked on it, and I was assigned to flightline maintenance so never got to see the inside of the RT-961, so I don't know if there was provisions for a destruct charge inside. To get to the point, there might not have been any really obvious cockpit differences for a Combat Tree F-4D, I've never seen any cockpit photos or diagrams calling it out as a separate system. My guess is it also used the APX-80 control head, if it wasn't the APX-81 system I worked on. Scott Wilson Edited December 31, 2009 by Scott R Wilson Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mongoose Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Scott, You're correct. You couldn't tell a Tree bird from any other Phantom. Slat birds, LORAN Ds, NWDS Es all had obvious bumps & racks. A lot of "magic" stuff just wasn't as obvious to the casual observer. If I tell you any more, I'll have to kill you. Ken Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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