 |
| North American F-100C Super Sabre |
Armed with four .79-caliber Pontiac revolvers*, the "C" version pictured above added wet hardpoints under the wings for drop tanks and other refinements to make it a better fighter-bomber.
*I just love phrasing it that way.
And the Hun was a nasty pilot-killer until they enlarged the tail and got used to her handling quirks. One killed WWII Ace turned North American test pilot George "Wheaties" Welch, and another one almost got Hoover. Those things weren't a joke by any means. But by Vietnam, the two-seat F Model made for a great Misty FAC.
ReplyDeleteI want one.
All the century-series fighters have well-earned reputations as pilot-killers. They were the first jet fighters to be built from the ground up as jet fighters, and there was an awful lot of trial and error involved in their design. Sadly, some of the errors were lethal.
ReplyDeletere: "four .79-caliber Pontiac revolvers"
[appreciativesnicker.wav]
although I didn't think revolvers were supposed to fire explosive bullets...
Love the revolver quip, make mine a Ford-Mercury, not much of a fan of Pontiac.
ReplyDeleteAt least the "Ford" wasn't armed with "Pontiac revolvers," instead carrying the Colt Mk 12 20mm cannon.
ReplyDeleteWV = joyingsi the
"joyingsi the US Navy felt in 1956, upon fielding the F4D Skyray, the Navy's first fighter that could exceed Mach 1 in level flight."
I spent several years of my young life repairing and inspecting the F100 D aircraft. I do know that a few of the ones from where I was stationed wound up in the Atlantic ocean through no fault of my own (I think)
ReplyDeleteMyrtle Beach AFB in 1973 & 4, what a great place for a young man to learn about life.
I wikiwandered over to the F-106 and read that the first 12 pilots to eject from it were killed by the ejection seat. Ugh. What took them so long to figure that out?
ReplyDeleteRobert - no one left to explain what happened - that's why. :-(
ReplyDeleteIf you want to see the entire century series, lined up near their nominal opponents be sure to check out the Pima Air Museum - Lots of detail visible from you choice of satellite map applications - look at 32.140343, -110.867698
Always worth the trip - and if you have time there is a Titan missile silo you can tour about 35 minutes away. (Just in case the fighters and bombers aren't enough.)
The F-106 may be the only fighter where an example was left via bang seat and landed safely after.
ReplyDeleteApparently the Dart was in a spin, and the seat's impulse was enough to shove the nose down for recovery. It then landed wheels-up in a frozen field.
Next time you guys come through Wichita Falls give me a holler and I can let you climb all over all the airplanes you want including the latest and greatest.
ReplyDeleteAuric, people meanmouth the Mark 12, but it was the links that screwed it up, not the gun itself.
ReplyDeleteIf a pilot could get the redshirts to run all the links over a gage and reject the loose or sloppy ones, he wouldn't get binds after high-G maneuvers.
They were light, carried more rounds, and shot real fast. Plus, if you pulled the .50 cal sight setup out of an old FJ-2 or -3 and stuck it in your A-4 (they were interchangeable), you could get a 1,000 yard zero instead of 600.
See the F-106D burner takeoff from Otis on Cape Cod to intercept Soviet bear bombers flying down the East Coast on their way to Cuba. Picture the roar of a herd of T. Rex's on a feeding frenzy.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.f-106deltadart.com/101fis.htm
From the linked Wiki page on the M39 cannon (Specs sidebar, right side):
ReplyDeleteBarrels -- Single barrel (progressive RH parabolic twist, 9 grooves).
Parabolic? I'm not familiar with this term when applied to rifled barrels. Help, plz?
Video of four F-106D's giving a flight demo over OTIS in 1985, with one of the pilot's kids declaring that he was bored and "wanted to go home, now":
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QZ8tm9pLdU
I read this recently. The story about the Misty FAC group that flew the F-100 against the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Very good book!
ReplyDeleteBTW, Dick Rutan was one of the pilots in Misty.
http://www.amazon.com/Bury-Us-Upside-Down-Pilots/dp/0345465385
@DJ: The rifling in such a barrel increases it's twist rate the closer you get to the muzzle.
ReplyDeleteI thought that was the "progressive" (also called "gain twist" by some) part of the description; but you're saying the word parabolic is also part of the progressive twist description?
ReplyDeleteDJ,
ReplyDeletehttp://books.google.com/books?id=iTX3BYBnOTcC&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=parabolic+rifling&source=bl&ots=0q3Imucw58&sig=B1mJykxnw3fHEZCkafsRPH1iRpY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JUDMUabCLeO9yQGojID4DQ&ved=0CE8Q6AEwBw
One sharp shoulder to each groove.
I just learned something new myself.
"Gain twist is derived from the forming of a parabolic curve."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.colerainbarrel.com/gain_twist_rifling.html
The M242 Bushmaster and GAU-8 also use a parabolic twist rate, and if you look at the big muzzle pic on the GAU's wiki page you can see the individual lands and grooves. ;-)
In this case, "parabolic" is referring to a type of rifling, and not the twist rate, I believe. (See my link above.)
ReplyDelete( I mean, the curve of the progressive rifling may describe a parabola, but the rifling itself is also of the parabolic type.)
I'd never even heard of parabolic rifling until I read this and the link, but I'm guessing it's named for the shape of the groove and not a changing rate of twist.
ReplyDeleteJohn Boyd discovered how pilots on approach could avoid killing themselves while flying at low airspeeds and high angles of attack.
ReplyDeleteBriefly, "keep yer hands off yer stick"! (Well OK, the airplane's stick.)
He was laughed at until he flew to Edwards and demonstrated to the hot-shot test pilots there.
Ye who have not yet read this book, should.
Thanks to all!
ReplyDeleteWondering how I missed seeing any previous reference to that rifling type in all my years of firearms-related reading, etc.
Obviously, I need to crack the books more often...
John Boyd did everything well. His "Get inside his head" philosophy, what would you call it, his "reach the decision sooner" ethic, is the heart of Marine Corps NCO School, as well as training pilots around the world.
ReplyDeleteWikiwander to Revolver Cannon produced this: "Not to be confused with Rotary cannon." I lol'd, amusing my fellow TSA victims.
ReplyDelete(WV:amongst rprimor - I am amongst the more prim, how'd you know?)
And the very next WV required a comment of its own: carrying madbyJa - I try not to carry mad by anyone, it's bad for the blood pressure
ReplyDelete