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Question on A-4 loadout(s)


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Good day ARC,

 

First, I hope everyone is healthy and well.  I have question about A-4Es in Vietnam, if I may. I'm building a USMC Skyhawk and want it to carry a typical CAS load. I want to build my Scooter with 12 Snakeyes, or 10 Snakeyes and 2 napalm canisters. My question is this, did the A-4 carry 12 Mk. 82 Snakeyes? I've seen pictures of A-4s with 1 Snakeye on stations 1 and 5, and 5 hung from MERs on stations 2 and 4. (See below.) The problem is, I can't tell if that's a real load of Mk. 82s, or if the bombs I'm seeing in the pictures below are Mk. 81s. 

 

A1WeCkU.jpg

 

8iqqMAB.jpg

 

o4ONfqc.jpg

 

Vq48pOo.jpg

 

Yet, this ad from Douglas and this loadout diagram show that the -E could carry up to 6 Mk. 82s on stations 2 and 4. (I know that 5 were typical because of the gear door.)

 

bswmpbF.jpg

 

o0ozvGP.jpg

 

So, could someone tell me please if 10 or 12 Mk. 82s is doable?

 

Thanks!

-O

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Jari,

 

Thanks for the information. I looked for Mk. 81s in 1/48. Eduard makes sets of 6, but two sets to complete my Skyhawk would cost more than the kit itself! I think I'll go with napalm on stations 1 and 5, TERs with Snakeyes on 2 and 4, and gas on the centerline.


Cheers!

-O

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6 hours ago, oortiz10 said:

Jari,

 

Thanks for the information. I looked for Mk. 81s in 1/48. Eduard makes sets of 6, but two sets to complete my Skyhawk would cost more than the kit itself! I think I'll go with napalm on stations 1 and 5, TERs with Snakeyes on 2 and 4, and gas on the centerline.


Cheers!

-O

Hasegawa's weapon set A had a bunch of MK81s in it.  I have a dozen laying around here if you want them.  Actually, I have a dozen slicks and another dozen high-drag.  Your choice.

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I agree with all of the above. Here's a couple of other tidbits that you may find helpful:

 

It's easy to tell 250-lb. Mk 81 Snakeyes from 500-lb. Mk 82 Snakeyes: The Mk 14 fin used by the Mk 81 lacked the 'notch' in the fin found on the Mk 15 fin used by the Mk 82. So, all the photos in the first post above are Mk 81s.

 

For 250-lb Mk 81, 500-lb. Mk 82 and 1,000-lb Mk 83 warheads were authorized with optional 18 or 36-inch fuze-extenders (daisy-cutters). The Mk 81 and Mk 82 could be fitted with either low-drag conical or high-drag Snakeye fins. The Mk 83 and 2,000-lb. Mk 84 were only fitted with conical fins. Gerry points out that the MAU-91 was used as a high drag fin on the Mk 83. That is true, but I can't prove or disprove if it was used by the Scooter. For that matter, I don't recall having seen pictures of any kind of Mk 83 being used operationally.

 

A-4 outboard wing stations could only carry parent-mounted stores (i.e., no MERs/TERs).

 

Mk 81s could be: 1) Parent-mounted to all five stations, 2) TER-mounted with three on the centerline and inboard pylons, 3) MER-mounted with all six racks loaded on the centerline station and all but the front inboard racks loaded on the inboard stations.

 

Mk 82s could be: 1) Parent-mounted to all five stations, 2) TER-mounted with three on the centerline and only the bottom and outboard stations on the inboard pylons (slant-two), 3) MER-mounted with the front bottom and aft shoulder racks loaded on the centerline station and front bottom, aft inboard and front outboard racks loaded on the inboard stations.

 

Mk 83s could be: 1) Parent-mounted on the centerline and inboard wing stations, 2) TER-mounted with three on the centerline  (on the centerline, only 18-inch fuze extenders could be optionally fitted).

 

A single Mk 84 could be carried on the centerline station and only 18-inch optional fuze extenders could be fitted.

 

Edited by mrvark
Additional Mk 83 information
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On 4/6/2020 at 3:25 PM, oortiz10 said:

Good day ARC,

 

First, I hope everyone is healthy and well.  I have question about A-4Es in Vietnam, if I may. I'm building a USMC Skyhawk and want it to carry a typical CAS load. I want to build my Scooter with 12 Snakeyes, or 10 Snakeyes and 2 napalm canisters. My question is this, did the A-4 carry 12 Mk. 82 Snakeyes? I've seen pictures of A-4s with 1 Snakeye on stations 1 and 5, and 5 hung from MERs on stations 2 and 4. (See below.) The problem is, I can't tell if that's a real load of Mk. 82s, or if the bombs I'm seeing in the pictures below are Mk. 81s. 

 

A1WeCkU.jpg

 

8iqqMAB.jpg

 

o4ONfqc.jpg

 

Vq48pOo.jpg

 

Yet, this ad from Douglas and this loadout diagram show that the -E could carry up to 6 Mk. 82s on stations 2 and 4. (I know that 5 were typical because of the gear door.)

 

bswmpbF.jpg

 

o0ozvGP.jpg

 

So, could someone tell me please if 10 or 12 Mk. 82s is doable?

 

Thanks!

-O

Welcome to Chu Lai!!  The use of snakeyes  will depend on the time frame you have in mind. The first use of snakeyes out o Chu Lai was around the end of March or very early April 68. They normally carried just regular 500lb. bombs. Incidentally, that event was right on the coast line and about four hundred yards south of the trash dump at the very south end of the runway. Those planes probably had six or eight bombs with no napalm (Napalm dump was still not working after Tet). Plus eighteen to twenty four bombs was plenty enough for a three hundred yard area. Another factor I noticed from my look out point on Gator was that a fully loaded A4 must have used a minimum of 8,000 feet of the 14,000 foot runway to clear the tree line on the north end of the runway (may have been 10K feet). Your photos are post September 1967, and kinda look like early 68 before they blew up a bunch of stuff near the south end. You can tell that by the weather.

gary

 

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to add to my post:

Remember the more junk you carry under the wings the lesser range you have. If my time frame is correct, those A4's are headed north east to Khe Sahn. From Chu Lai a Phantom had 20 minutes loiter time before he had to turn back. There was no refueling for Marine and Navy planes out there. Only Air Force over on the otherside of the fence, and a few miles south. That's why the B52 was king

gary

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