F-111A and Mk.20 Rockeye

[Finn]

4 hours ago, mrvark said:

You're right and I can't explain it. I know that MERs were used early on before the BRUs showed up, but I did ask the question through an intermediary of the Combat Lancer Det commander, Col. Ivan Dethman a number of years ago and the answer came back that that they used BRUs. The image title says it was taken during Combat Lancer.

 

 

Jim since the F-111 was new at the time of Combat Lancer it is possible that they only had a x number of BRU-3 racks with them when they first deployed,  then when they had losses, each aircraft lost had at least two racks on the pylons, so any spare a/c  that showed up may not have had any BRU-3s available for them. They probably had to "borrow" some MERs from other units in order to meet the mission requirements.

 

Speaking from personal experience i was stationed in Baden West Germany in the mid 80's when the then new CF-18 first showed up the first Alert load i did was 2 AIM-9s on the wing tips and one BL-755 on each outboard pylon, no inboard pylons and a c/l tank as we didn't have any VERs, extra pylons, or extra fuel tanks, no chaff/flare, we couldn't even do a gun load as the parts weren't available.By the time i left Germany we pretty much had everything for full loads except AIM-7s which arrived after i left.

 

Jari

[mrvark]

51 minutes ago, Murph said:

Better than the Durandal mission.

 

Lakenheath QUICKLY sluffed THAT crazy mission off on Upper Heyford! Laser bombers with a standoff capability had better things to do with their time than fly down the bad guys' runways like ducks in a shooting gallery. During Desert Storm the F-111Fs stood off from the Iraqi airfields and hit the taxiway-runway intersections with GBU-24s. Worked just fine! And a LOT less scary than the Tornado missions with JP233!!

 

Did you know that the first time they dropped Durandals off a Vark at Eglin, one of them fired its motor before the parachute got its nose pointed at the runway? Quite exciting to be chased by a bomb you just dropped!

[mrvark]

5 minutes ago, Finn said:

 

Jim since the F-111 was new at the time of Combat Lancer it is possible that they only had a x number of BRU-3 racks with them when they first deployed,  then when they had losses, each aircraft lost had at least two racks on the pylons, so any spare a/c  that showed up may not have had any BRU-3s available for them. They probably had to "borrow" some MERs from other units in order to meet the mission requirements.

 

Plausible. We'll probably never know for sure how that all played out. One more of life's little mysteries!

[ElectroSoldier]

16 hours ago, Murph said:

 

Jim,

 I can recall seeing pictures of Mk 20s loaded up on BRU-3A/As which were being trucked out to a Vark at a TDY location after the infamous "axe murders" incident at the Korean DMZ back in 1976.  I always assumed they were destined for ground targets.

 

 

 

 

Better than the Durandal mission.

 

Regards,

Murph

 They were already loaded onto the BRU-3 on a bomb trailer?

[mrvark]

1 minute ago, ElectroSoldier said:

 They were already loaded onto the BRU-3 on a bomb trailer?

 

NOT an Ordie, but I seriously doubt the bombs (not sure if you're referring to Mk 20s or BLU-107 Durandals) were normally preloaded on BRUs. I say that because they seem to have preferred to leave the BRUs on the jet once they were installed and passed all the continuity checks. We flew around all the time with empty BRUs on the outboard stations. And when I went into the ordnance hangar where they practiced loading bombs on jets, they were loading bombs on BRUs that were already on the jet, not loading pre-loaded BRUs on the pylons.

[Gary F]

Just curious but were preloaded MER/TER/BRU’s not a standard USAF practice or was this just F-111 related?

[Finn]

Here is a F-111 getting a pre-loaded BRU with Rockeyes, load training but it was done:

 

 

Jari

[ChesshireCat]

On 5/19/2020 at 11:14 AM, mrvark said:

 This link should help.

 

Here is a pic of the M117s with MAU-91 HD fins. After several accidents, the TFR low level attacks were canceled and the Combat Lancer jets flew a few high altitude missions before returning stateside. That is probably when the photo in the previous post was taken.

 

When you see a picture with BRU-3A/As on the inboard pylons, its a pretty safe assumption they were doing a high level mission.

 

A interesting variation was the F-111Es during Op Proven Force (Desert Storm missions flown out of Turkey). Those aircraft were often configured with 14x Mk 82/BSU-49 Air Inflatable Retard (AIR) fins, with the outboard pylons loaded with six bombs and the inboards with a single bomb parent-loaded to the pylon.

 

 

 

 

the reason the idea didn't pan out had nothing to do with the weapons load or style. It was the TFR signal. This was soon learned by the Russians who setup radar to pick up the signal miles away. When the F111 got there, they were waiting with radar guided 57mm AA. I guess all of them used the same frequency wave length. The actual airframe was as solid as an M1 tank, and held up well. 

gary

[ElectroSoldier]

23 hours ago, mrvark said:

 

NOT an Ordie, but I seriously doubt the bombs (not sure if you're referring to Mk 20s or BLU-107 Durandals) were normally preloaded on BRUs. I say that because they seem to have preferred to leave the BRUs on the jet once they were installed and passed all the continuity checks. We flew around all the time with empty BRUs on the outboard stations. And when I went into the ordnance hangar where they practiced loading bombs on jets, they were loading bombs on BRUs that were already on the jet, not loading pre-loaded BRUs on the pylons.

I know how they are normally loaded onto a BRU, which is already on the pylon, Ive seen it many a time. Thats why I asked. The way I read it Murph said the bombs we already loaded onto the BRU, But I know the BRU will already be on the jet waiting to be loaded.

Edited May 22, 2020 by ElectroSoldier

[Falconxlvi]

16 hours ago, Finn said:

Here is a F-111 getting a pre-loaded BRU with Rockeyes, load training but it was done:

 

 

Jari

Awesome picture Jari, thank you!

[Finn]

You could always go with a practice nuclear shape:

 

 

Jari

[mrvark]

19 minutes ago, Finn said:

You could always go with a practice nuclear shape:

 

I LOVED dropping shapes! Small scale practice bombs could have a slightly bent fin that could cause them to miss the target and cost one quarters. Shape results were tracked up the chain of command, so they were well maintained--nobody wanted to be the cause of a miss. Those suckers would hit what you aimed at!

[Finn]

Here is the video the still came from, a couple of F-111s drop shapes:

 

https://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675062068_air-mobile-assault_Supersonic-F-111_officials-gather_laser-guided-bombs

 

Jari

[GW8345]

4 hours ago, mrvark said:

 

I LOVED dropping shapes! Small scale practice bombs could have a slightly bent fin that could cause them to miss the target and cost one quarters. Shape results were tracked up the chain of command, so they were well maintained--nobody wanted to be the cause of a miss. Those suckers would hit what you aimed at!

Rule #1, don't tick off the Ordies or they will bend the fins on your practice bomb to make them land in the neighboring state. 🤣

 

Never heard of the AF guys loading PASE Weapons, it was more a PITA than the time it saved so we rarely did it.

 

PASE - Pre Assembled Suspension Equipment

[mrvark]

1 minute ago, GW8345 said:

Rule #1, don't tick off the Ordies or they will bend the fins on your practice bomb to make them land in the neighboring state. 🤣

 

Never heard of the AF guys loading PASE Weapons, it was more a PITA than the time it saved so we rarely did it.

 

PASE - Pre Assembled Suspension Equipment

When the aircrew showed up at the jet, the bombs were already loaded, so I can't say it never happened, just that I never saw it.

 

The one time I did attempt to witness bomb loading was at a Red Flag. When carrying live weapons, the jets were loaded on the far side of the airfield. I want to get some pics of our F-111Ds loaded with high drag Mk 82s. I arrived as the ordies were about to load the bombs when the Thunderbirds decided to do a practice show--in the middle of a Red Flag! Because our F-111s were just barely within their danger zone, the bombs couldn't be loaded until the no-notice air show ended. By the time those glory hounds got done showing off, the crews just barely had time to preflight their jets and taxi. I can't remember for sure, but I think they may've even missed their takeoff slot and couldn't even fly the mission without the bombs, which were still loaded on trailers, not on BRUs.

[Finn]

I got to load F-111s when i was in Germany, part of our WTA - War Task Assignment - in case of war was to load other NATO a/c that showed up,  at that time i was a MJ-1 driver and a bit different putting up 20 Mk-82 Snakeyes one by one  when you are used to doing a max of 5 on the CF-104.

 

Jari 

[Finn]

Stiring up an old thread, here a F-111A in SEA with a full load of Mk-82s on MERs, note the sway braces and other features common to a MER:

 

 

Jari

[IAGeezer]

Those are BRUs

Edited June 13, 2024 by IAGeezer

[Gary F]

I thought the bru’s didn’t have sway braces for the individual bombs … they seem to be there on the outboard rack?

[ElectroSoldier]

 

11 hours ago, Gary F said:

I thought the bru’s didn’t have sway braces for the individual bombs … they seem to be there on the outboard rack?

The nose and tail is more aerodynamic. 

[Finn]

Here is a BRU on a F-111, note the distinctive hump at the top, elongated faring on the lower position and lack of sway braces:

 

 

Jari

[mrvark]

Here are a couple of pictures. One is the BRU-3A/A mounted on the outboard pylon. Note that there are no sway braces for the individual bombs, just for the BRU mounted to the pylon. The second is a detail shot of the 'T' suspension lug. The combination of the lugs and the BRU-3A/A tightened the bombs as the jet taxied to the runway. This mechanism precluded the need for individual bomb sway braces.

 

Edited June 28, 2024 by mrvark

[Finn]

Back to the subject of Rockeyes:

 

 

Jari

[Niels]

On 5/18/2020 at 8:00 PM, mrvark said:

The first deployment of F-111As to SEA, Combat Lancer, carried loads of 12 x M117/MAU-91 High Drag bombs on the outboard pylons, the gun in the right bay and a single AIM-9B loaded on the trapeze in the left bay.

This is new information to me, and something that would be cool to replicate on a model!  I mean I have known of the gun, however always wondered what otherwise occupied the internal bay on the F-111. 

[RCarlson]

I have another question about how the bombs mounted to the rack. I'm building "a handful" of hasegawa F-111's currently and I've noticed some differences in pictures on how the bombs were orientated on the racks. I apologize if this was discussed and I missed it. Also, please excuse my crude drawing, but I was trying to figure this out before I start drilling holes for my mounting pegs.

 

My question is that in some pictures it appears that the mounting of the lugs would have the fin in more of a vertical and horizonal position as in drawing 2, but the way the lugs are presented would have them more like drawing 1 in more of looking like an "X" straight on? I know that the drawing is crude and the angles aren't quite right, but i couldn't find a definite answer.

 

I'm doing one of the kits as a F-111A from the second Vietnam deployment with 24 Mk.82. I'm also doing an F-111F with the 8 Mk.82 with the air inflatable retarded fins and am curious if the configuration would be the same between the rack for the A carrying 6 bombs on a rack and the F carrying 4? 

 

Hope this all makes since and thanks for any clarification.