Jabba29 Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I am in the process of making a F-4C of the Michigan ANG from the early 1980s period. I have the wing and under fuselage missiles sorted along with the wing tanks, but I am wondering what if anything to put on the fuselage centreline pylon for a normal alert aircraft. If anyone can help I will be very grateful. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kstater94 Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Considering the area they were tasked with protecting (and judging by most photos of them I ever saw) don't put anything on the centerline. Although QRA jets for some countries (the RAF for example) carried three tanks, the distance the Michigan jets were covering was not as expansive and did not require the same configuration. Cheers John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 (edited) This is from a former Michigan ANG F-4 (and F-106 and F-16) pilot in response to my question about armament they carried while sitting on alert at Seymour-Johnson: "Early on, they carried 2 wing tanks & 4x AIM-7s, later in the C model era, they went to the single centerline & 2 rear AIM-7's. No gun or AIM-9's -ever. Doug" When they went to the single centerline tank, it was the 600 gallon F-15 style tank. Note no AIM-9s ever. I'm sure that made the Bear crews feel a lot safer, given the reliability of the AIM-7 :) Edited July 22, 2011 by Jennings Quote Link to post Share on other sites
F4DPhantomII Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Jennings Sounds like Doug Barbier. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Brown Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 My first thought when I saw the original post was, "I'll ask Doug about this." :D Ben Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DonSS3 Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Not Michigan ANG but I found these in my collection: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Doug Barbier, indeed. An A#1 guy in my book. Just don't get him started on the Monogram F-102 or the Trumpeter F-100 :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Brown Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Doug Barbier, indeed. An A#1 guy in my book. Just don't get him started on the Monogram F-102 or the Trumpeter F-100 :) +1! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jabba29 Posted July 29, 2011 Author Share Posted July 29, 2011 So 2 wing tanks and 4 Sparrows it will be. Seems strange to see a fighter Phantom without sidewinders. Thanks for all the help. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JackMan Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Doug Barbier, indeed. An A#1 guy in my book. Just don't get him started on the Monogram F-102 or the Trumpeter F-100 :) Hello Jennings, Sorry to sidetrack from the topic but I tried to PM you but the PM won't get through to you.... I was curious about when you mentioned about Mr Barbier & the Mono F-102. Could I ask what you meant by that? The reason is because I've taken a recent interest in the Dart & the Dagger. I have a 1/48 F-102 on the way to me & so I'd like to know as much as I can about the kit. Any tips/help/advice appreciated :) p.s. You can PM me if you like so that we don't sidetrack from the Michigan ANG F-4C thread. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Doug has been wrestling with the Monogram F-102 for some time. Suffice it to say, it looks like an F-102, but it has some serious problems, particularly in the missiles and missile bay/launcher areas. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JackMan Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Ah, I see. Yes, I've heard about the bay area problems. Thank you Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott R Wilson Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 This is from a former Michigan ANG F-4 (and F-106 and F-16) pilot in response to my question about armament they carried while sitting on alert at Seymour-Johnson: "Early on, they carried 2 wing tanks & 4x AIM-7s, later in the C model era, they went to the single centerline & 2 rear AIM-7's. No gun or AIM-9's -ever. Doug" When they went to the single centerline tank, it was the 600 gallon F-15 style tank. Note no AIM-9s ever. I'm sure that made the Bear crews feel a lot safer, given the reliability of the AIM-7 :) I think later AIM-7s were a far sight better than the Vietnam era missiles. The reason the Michigan ANG didn't carry the two forward Sparrows when they went to the High Perfomance Centerline tank was that with a centerline tank loaded the forward missile launchers were locked out. If you did manage to trip the locks and shoot from the forward missile wells, the missiles would hit the tank. After we started using the HPC tank at Ramstein around late 1984 or early 1985, when a jet was being prepped for QRA we'd download the HPC centerline and upload 370s on the wings. Prior to the HPC we only flew 370s day to day, with the old Royal Jet centerline only uploaded for cross country flights. At Ramstein QRA F-4Es carried four AIM-7E-2 or AIM-7F Sparrows and four AIM-9P-3 Sidewinders, with 20mm TP ammunition carried in the nose gun at all times whether the jet was on Zulu or not. We flew with the safety pin and holdback tool installed on noseguns of non-alert jets for safety reasons though. In a "bolt out of the blue" attack any airborne F-4Es on training sorties would've had a full load of 20mm TP but no way to shoot it. QRA jets had the gun safeties removed when they were prepped for alert of course. During "Creek Klaxon" from 1986 to I think 1988 when the ANG took over QRA duties at Ramstein during the 86 TFW's changeover to F-16s, the ANG F-4Ds carried the same missile loads we did plus a centerline SUU-23 gun pod. When I was reassigned to McChord AFB in 1986 I was surprised to see the 318th FIS QRA F-15s carried only two Sparrows in a diagonal configuration (One side front, opposite side rear), and no Sidewinders. Scott Wilson Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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