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USN / USMC F-4B loadouts


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Hi all,

 

To keep the threads separate I'm also curious if I can arm the F-4B with anything outside of the usual Sparrow / Sidewinder / 500 pound bomb loadout. 

 

Any ideas on credible alternative loadouts would be welcome.

 

Thanks,

 

 

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The tire on the bomb rack is an old fleet thing that was done by many squadrons.

 

Airframes would make a special adapter so you could bolt a tire (usually a main mount) to it and then hang it on a bomb rack. It was used to fly a tire to another place where another squadron aircraft would be at awaiting a tire change. Usually there was people there to change the tire, they just didn't have the tire so the squadron would fly the tire to them, they change it, and both planes flew back. We use to do this all the time when I was A-7's back in the mid 80's.

 

An example would be a squadron have a bird doing a cross country, they land at some NAS to get gas and while fueling up one of the aircrew notices one of the main mounts has a huge slice in the sidewall. The OMD folks there can change the tire but they don't have a main mount for that particular aircraft so the squadron loads up one of their other jets with the main mount that they fly to the NAS on a "rescue mission". The OMD folks unbolt the main mount, change the tire, and bolt the bad main mount onto the adapter and both aircraft return home.

 

 

*OMD = Operational Maintenance Department - the NAS's transit aircraft line maintenance department and they also maintain the NAS's C-12's (or whatever the NAS's assigned aircraft).

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On 7/22/2021 at 2:06 AM, serendip said:

Hi all,

 

To keep the threads separate I'm also curious if I can arm the F-4B with anything outside of the usual Sparrow / Sidewinder / 500 pound bomb loadout. 

 

Any ideas on credible alternative loadouts would be welcome.

 

Thanks,


It also depends on which squadron and timeframe you're looking at specifically. Other than the AA missiles and 500lb bombs you mentioned, the other size bombs were also used (250, 750, 1000). Other common F-4B ordnance were napalm, 2.75" and 5" rocket pods (including the twin Zunis on the Sidewinder rails), cluster bombs (not early war), and HIPEG gun pod.

 

I started to create actual loadout charts for many USMC squadrons of what was actually seen (rather than generic loads that the F-4 could handle). Had the intention of updating them over time but haven't got to it since creating in 2019, scroll down to middle bottom area: https://www.aoadecals.com/48014/

 

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Not sure if this helps but I offer it for whatever it's worth. 

I was corresponding with a pilot who flew F-4B's with VF-84 in Vietnam in '65.  He said "We dropped everything from iron bombs (250-1000 lb.) to CBU, Napalm, Snake Eyes, Rocket Packs; carried Photo Pods, in-flight refueling pods, chaff pods, etc.  No Bullpups, Shrike or Gatling Gun."  He also had plenty to say about the equipment they lacked.

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On 7/22/2021 at 2:06 AM, serendip said:

Hi all,

 

To keep the threads separate I'm also curious if I can arm the F-4B with anything outside of the usual Sparrow / Sidewinder / 500 pound bomb loadout. 

 

Any ideas on credible alternative loadouts would be welcome.

 

Thanks,

 

 

lots of napalm (big tanks) and lots of 500 and 750lb. bombs. Some also flew with 1000lb. bombs on special bomb runs. Oddly not a lot of bombs with fuse extenders like everybody wants. A few yes, but not every mission. The A6's were the ones with the extenders regularly. I've seen them with gun pods and the round rocket pods quite a lot. 

 

If the airframe was going out by the fence, you would see missiles, but in country not so much. Even when they were bombing the Khe Sahn area, they used mostly 500 lb. dumb bombs and lots and lots of napalm. 

gary

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