Mk.82 Thermally protected

[Mustang381]

Hello,

 

Does anyone know...does NAVY F-4B ever carried Mk.82 gp bombs w/Mk.15 Snakeye fins, that didn't have thermally protected coating? Becuse I have some,of these that don't have thermall coat, and will it be realistic to atatch them on my model kit,with aircraft markings from Vietnam war era?

Thank you in advance.

Edited February 22 by Mustang381

[Crash Test Dummy]

Thermal protection wasn't introduced until after the Forrestal fire in 1967. Even then it wasn't an overnight change. I watched a video last week that had Skyhawks in 1972 using thermally protected Mk82, but non-protected Mk83 sometimes on the same plane. 

 

I don't know how common Snakeye fins were on Phantoms from carrier decks. 

 

The USMC on the other hand:

Edited February 22 by Crash Test Dummy

[Crash Test Dummy]

From Wikipedia: A U.S. Navy McDonnell F-4B Phantom II (BuNo 152210) of Fighter Squadron 32 (VF-32) "Swordsmen" in flight during the Vietnam War. VF-32 was assigned to Attack Carrier Air Wing 1 (CVW-1) aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) for a deployment to Vietnam from 21 June 1966 to 21 February 1967. The aircraft is armed with Mk 82 Snakeeye bomb

[Mustang381]

Thank you, "my" aircraft that I have chose is from 1965,which you can see from this photo, it is paint scheme that marks aircraft from VF-84, so it can have Mk.82, but still have to find some evidence that it had Snakeye Mk.15 fins.

My other option is to put Mk.20 CBU, since I have seen that NAVY used them on A-4, but never seen them on F-4B from this period and in this paint scheme.As far a I know, Mk.20 CBU don't have TP.

[GW8345]

For Non-Thermally Protected (NTP) Mk 82 with Mk 15 Snakeye fins, they were authorized for the F-4B during the Vietnam war so I know they were carried (maybe not in theater but at least in training before the squadron deployed). NTP Bombs were used right up to the end of the Vietnam War (73) since they were still being introduced to the fleet. You would see a mix of TP and NTP bombs starting in 72 and NTP's were removed from carrier operations at the end of the war.

 

Remember, Snakeye's don't have to release with the fins opening, there are "Pilot Option" fins, which means the pilot has the option of delivering the weapon wither low drag or high drag.

 

As for the Mk 20 Rockeye, for the time frame you are doing (1965), they would not be carried since the Rockeye didn't hit the fleet until the late 60's (around 68/69) so it would be accurate for the aircraft you are doing.

[Mustang381]

4 hours ago, GW8345 said:

For Non-Thermally Protected (NTP) Mk 82 with Mk 15 Snakeye fins, they were authorized for the F-4B during the Vietnam war so I know they were carried (maybe not in theater but at least in training before the squadron deployed). NTP Bombs were used right up to the end of the Vietnam War (73) since they were still being introduced to the fleet. You would see a mix of TP and NTP bombs starting in 72 and NTP's were removed from carrier operations at the end of the war.

 

Remember, Snakeye's don't have to release with the fins opening, there are "Pilot Option" fins, which means the pilot has the option of delivering the weapon wither low drag or high drag.

 

As for the Mk 20 Rockeye, for the time frame you are doing (1965), they would not be carried since the Rockeye didn't hit the fleet until the late 60's (around 68/69) so it would be accurate for the aircraft you are doing.

Thank you sir.

From this statement, I can conclude that, best option for my model,which I want to present in markings that I have shown is previous post is to arm it with regular Mk.82 without TP, and without Mk.15 fins.

 But, what is most important,that will be accurate load for that year and paint scheme.

 Please correct me if I am wrong.

[GW8345]

7 hours ago, Mustang381 said:

Thank you sir.

From this statement, I can conclude that, best option for my model,which I want to present in markings that I have shown is previous post is to arm it with regular Mk.82 without TP, and without Mk.15 fins.

 But, what is most important,that will be accurate load for that year and paint scheme.

 Please correct me if I am wrong.

You can do Mk 82's without TP with Mk 15's or with conical (regular) fins, both would be accurate for the markings you are doing.

[Mustang381]

41 minutes ago, GW8345 said:

You can do Mk 82's without TP with Mk 15's or with conical (regular) fins, both would be accurate for the markings you are doing.

Thank you very much.

[Finn]

Here are some F-4Bs with Mk-82 Snakeyes:

 

 

 

 

Also the early thermally protected bombs had the coating on the inside, it was a rubbery type goo from what i've read, the only way to tell from a distance was the second yellow stripe:

 

 

only near the end of the war did the external coating come online, it was probably easier, and cheaper to do it that way, the pic is from the USS Hancock 73-74 cruise book: 

 

 

Jari

[Mustang381]

Dear Jari, this is fantastic references.Thank you very much.

[Spinnaker]

On 2/22/2024 at 4:09 PM, Crash Test Dummy said:

Thermal protection wasn't introduced until after the Forrestal fire in 1967. Even then it wasn't an overnight change. I watched a video last week that had Skyhawks in 1972 using thermally protected Mk82, but non-protected Mk83 sometimes on the same plane. 

 

I don't know how common Snakeye fins were on Phantoms from carrier decks. 

 

The USMC on the other hand:

  At 55:35 Skyhawks with laser guided bombs on the outboard stations. I had seen a few photos but never film of them,thanks for posting that.