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ALQ-119 Jamming Pod Question


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Hi friends,

 

36 EF-4C Phantom ll conversions were completed in the late 1960s. They were in service as Wild Weasel aircraft for approximately 10 years, replaced by the F-4G in the late 1970s.

 

Originally, they carried ALQ-101 jamming pods in the forward RH Sparrow missile bay. After a midlife electronics upgrade, they switched to the ALQ-119. Photographs from the late 1970s time frame show that both long and medium length variants of this pod could be fitted. The photos below are both dated November 1977.

 

I want to model a Nellis AFB based aircraft circa 1975, when 119’s were first specified. Would it most likely have carried the long or medium length ALQ-119? Or would both have been in the inventory at that time, as they evidently were two years later?

 

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Edited by RichB63
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Afraid I don't have a definitive answer on service dates for you but I would think the "short" and "long" pods were largely concurrent in service, although the long pod definitely came first.  This is based on the "sub-variant" designations: the long pod was first in service as the ALQ-119(V)-1, at 143 inches.  The ALQ-119(V)-2 at 105 inches is the "short" pod.  And in looking into this, there is apparently also a "medium" length pod, measuring 115 inches, first in service as the ALQ-119(V)-3!!  Basic difference between the three is capability, the long pod being able to cover low, medium, and high frequency bands; the medium covering medium and high bands, and the short pod low bands only.  Later variants of each type were produced, sub-types designated as follows:

 

Long: 119(V)-1/4/7/10/15

Medium: 119(V)-3/6/9/11/14/17

Short: 119(V)-2/5/8/13/16

 

You may be able to find specific dates of sevice by googling the full designations.  Until researching this I had no idea there were three lengths, and I suspect the "medium" pod is usually mistaken for a short or long variant.

 

(Source for the above is the weapons & stores reference section of Jon Lake's F-4 Phantom: Spirit In the Skies).

Edited by Quixote74
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Quicote,

 

Thanks for all of those details...it helps a great deal.

 

I didn’t know either that they came in 3 sizes...I figured “short” and “medium” were terms used interchangeably. Funny, I have the cited reference book also, but overlooked the section on ordnance!

 

Cropping the above images to scale, I’m almost certain we’re looking at medium and long pods.

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