,,,.1 Basic :"W ;#:,Yers l .:?"Aircraft v)l r-{- (1tI Fi, F o Ft M I LITARY lFl;:' -{ii a.! 3 i., I r'J -t -x --at F WILLIAM N GREE a, THE OBSERVER'S BASIC BOOK OF AIRCRAFT -MILITARY_ The most compact reference source to the entire spectrum of today's military aircraft for pocket or bookshelf, this volume of lhe Observer's BASIC Book of Airclaft illustrates the vast majority of the aeroplanes serving with the world's air forces and naval air arms, from attack bombers to assault transports; from strike fighters to support helicopters. For the first time in a book of this size com- parison silhouette drawings are provided to enable differing versions of one basic air- craft design to be readily compared. and tn addition to no fewer than 406 individual drawings and 140 photographs, the rcader will f ind an enormous wealth of information. much of which has remained previously unpublished, concerning the production status of each aircraft type. quantities built of each version, the air arms by which it is uscd, its characteristics and its history. Never before has so much fact been gathered l)etween the covers of so small a book. An indispensable companion to this volume is The Observer's BASIC Book of Aircralt devoted lo civil aircraft which illustrates and describes all the most im- portant long-, medium- and short-haul transports, feeder liners, cxecutive trans- ports and utility aircraft, agricultural, sporls and touring aircraft, and commercial heli- copters. Unrform with this volume. Pnntt'd ilt Gterl Bntrttl ,{ *l! 'ffi- - rl 'Il iJj ll fll THE OBSERVER'S il $ lr BASIC ' BOOK OF AIRCRAFT s' M ILITARY TFIB OBSERVER'S .l'..]: POCKET SERIES lli ui' r''.lill.i:rf t!*lu THE OBSERVER'S BASIC BOOK OF AIRCRAFT -MILITARY_ I THE OBSERVER'S i BASIC Tho Obsorver'e Books BOOK OF AIRCRAFT nltil)l wlt,l) l,LowERs Iul"rEnil.lBl 'l'lUil{s wll,D ANlMAll ull{iltwATER nIsHEs oBAttBt I )(XtS IIOTUr! ANI) lONlBr (lr('LooY MILITARY AtnenAFf IrtItNtt Anot I t1'Bo't'unE t,An(.ltill Mo'l'ns + BlfiP; t\tt,$t c ll Compiled by coMMoN lNlltc'l.t IilltIrBt ttt;cs I WILLIAM GREEN COMMON FT'N(II MOt$tttJ AtltoMonIt.rt WllA'lIIlriR i With silhouettes by I IlA[.WAY I,OCOM(r',llvlfi I|()NI) LII'I' DENNIS PUNNETT oAnDllN rLOWtilr l,AlN't'lNo cAc'rI HrA tftSrrrts rLAOt 0A'Lg se AND llt^tll(rttll AC't'noNoMY LIC!IIIN' MODNRN ART IrunNt'rullll cllURclllls SCULI'1'Unll COMMI]IICIAL VEHICLES lt^Fl(: AlllcltAlrl' cIvIL - lt^tilc Allt(;R^rl MILTTARY - lllilALDltY FREDERICK WARNE & CO. LTD. FREDERICK WARNE & CO. INC. LONDON NEW YORK O FREDERICK WARNE & CO. LTD ABOUT THIS BOOK LONDON ENGI,AND $67 Suplr-rr,rrNrrNc the annual Obseruer's Book oJ Aircraft, which, cach year, surveys the newest aircraft and the latest variants of cxisting types that have appeared in the preceding twelve months or are expccted to appear during the currency of the edition, this volume of The Obserter's BASIC Book of AircraJt l'as a different purpose: it has been designed to provide the most com- pact reference source possible to the world's most important and most widely-used military aircraft, irrespective of age. Thus, on the pages that follow will be found attack aircraft ranging from the Douglas Skyraider, phased out of production in t957, to Ling-Temco-Vought's Corsair II which entered service ten years later, in 1967; fighters from the MiG-r5 and F-86 Sabre which met in combat over Korea, having appeared a score of years ago, to the variable-geometry F-rrr now being delivered t,ililrAll\' orr coNcltliss c,\'fALoG CARD NO. 66-17234 to the U.S.A.F.; and trainers dating back to the'thirties in the shape of the T-6 Texan and contrasting sharply with their suc- cessors of the 'sixties, such as the supersonic T-38 Talon. But although the piston-engined old stagers that rub shoulders on the follolving pages with the very latest military types differ radically in appearance and performance from their intended successors, the aircraft illustrated and described in this book have one common denominator: they are all serving with world's air arms in substantial numbers, or, in the case of the newest models, are in quantity production. To facilitate comparison between the widely-differing aircraft that make up the contents of this volume, they have been divided into the following broad categories: Ftcntrns Pages 8 7t Bol,rspns exo Alt.,tcx Arncnepr 7z 1o7 Parnor, ANtt-suulrlntNn aNl RncosNalssaNco Arncnent ro8 rzg Arn OnsenverloN Posrs I30-r35 Rutlcr P€l tii'lLtc'adn nitirl G1.rteda, tI irBorrittca inct nbd !l.ondon TnetNnns r36-r89 r li(3. r 66 TlaNsponrs 19o 239 I-Inr-rcoprnns z4o-267 ABBRDVIATIONS EMPLOYED IN THE TEXT cotJN l nY SERVICE TITLE ABBREVIATION bIna saicd ddietiotanil st oo fil ltuhsctrira tpinogrv car wpildiucr tvs,a rpicctryfo ormf aanirccerasf,t uty'epiegsh tsa nadn pdr odvimideinng- ll,lt).iblril,l,,,tr,iI .Dl CueIrmyFopu ededeza aAl vAEia6thcreiio6apn Ei aMcnui liaALtaor rr iFaDonoracnofnicaDa D!]c,iotuhma.. . A 4-.{F..tFr.'.. tions, The Obscrotr's IIA SIC Ilooh oJ Airctuft <tftcrs details of production Iriillilrrl Ihmvoimat lrio. A.F. quantitics, first fliglrt clrtcs, rncl thc principal variants of each type, as Iririlcc AJmac de I'Air Fr. A.ts. iwunsfeeol rl onarfs a itrlibiosbntir neigvni atsthoioc nsinrs r,ci rulal rnlr ccrnrxrtpl tolrlnnl)rncctr iiioltt noh .lsso, f bbrcuvcht niic nnh c ocforedlsleosrna r'styo: toin mclaukdee esxot emnsuivceh -{c,i00lorn-'nnarnl'yy ((Wli)) LdAtvviaafttteLuu ilAf d t,Lesir6rto grDnedaeirteuuk ttrsi{iqclfe uht eeel'nA Nd meBarvu6 anDclde Dednscr, eTpcuiblclik FOLru.. lllik..lni. yluit, trlrinediegcr der Bundesrehr Kriegsmarine \L sDccd Nhxinrurrr sDectl in Com, rad. Combat radius Ileeresuiegerei Fed. G. Amy lclel lliaht 'I'lc. rad, '.factical radius (;hana Ghana Air tsorce Chan. A.)'. MNI.. ccrliumisbc NMlaaxxiimmuumm cartutaisininsapgbclecd CSr'.I 'rOlnLg c SChruoirst intagk era-nogffe alanndding GCI{ua[^iinitieemaala IfFuICieooorryzcryaaesl AAdE66'edrrileevleaDiad ndtceie o AndGe iurd a G'ltH'euomairnciafteoila R0CHu.uaEaiint.t.A.. .AAAII....0FI... MNMIlao..n rr.ega cncn rcdg.r. e. MNMLooaanrxxgmii-mmraaulun mcgnre u cr iasnccincnrlluigugmicr sabisnn pcgrcaccted VSIsn..Tl ..c Occli.lL. VSSIneeeiarwtti iailccelae vlc e cltliaemkilbein-goffl mandding I]IIHInr.Iroadua(liDBoiqlrdngueamsryias AngkIam!t'ua1ne)e zfrUMnIjaradda al iaAqarIyrrniaa aa Ar rnaAR iira Lei rHn6pF g FouoiAoenrbcrridlcedriku e FeIonflrdacoenesla lHlrAIrum.aao.tUqn.nrF.i... A ,AAAA.I....FF.FI..... spced AAM Air-to-air missile Irelanal frilh Air CoryB r.r.c. Dcon. cr. Economical cruising ASM Air-to-surface missile Israel Eeil Avir Le kr&l LD.r''/A.F. sPccd IIVAR High-velocity Airrcorcakfett I-Itvdaoolyr-y CoaBt AtrY'Aoireacrozo iDoAnadeurit eipcnaen re tl raIdi liMeL xaCrre6i nteIat . dxM'lIivialiontaiarree IIIttvaa. ll,.C AN.A.aF.Fv..y Japan Japan Ar Seu-Defence Force J.A.S.D.F. Japan Maritime Self-DefeDce Force J.M.S.D.F. -do- Japan Ground geu-Defence Force J.G.S.D,t'. AIR FORCE ABBRDVIATIONS JKoerdnayDa RoyaKl eJroryrdaa Aniairn FoArcire Force JKoern, .A A.n.F.. The air arms currently operating each aircraft type are listed in abbrevi- KKoorre@a ((gN)) KoreanB elepoupblelic's oA{ mKoerdm l'oAricre sF oArcior Force lR{..PO.A.K.F.A.A.F.F.. ated form on the following pages under "Operators", and the abbrevia- Kuwait Kuwait Air Forco Kuw. A.F. tions employed for each service are as follows: Laos n,oyal Lao Air Forco Lnos A.F. Lebanoq tr'orce Aerieme Lib&naho Leb.4.ts. CONTRY SERVICD TITLE ABBREVIATION Libya Iibyan Air lorce Lib. A.ts. lr l{,Or1ll!s Ill.All'itii.,rPrloerlRi(iFI,(rvrnIlr Ie, rI y\,'rtllr,ull\ir0rtro)o0ffo,(+laa,,'e/ro rrer' A'x'iprIyrrurLl\cLrxlr'irlrrq lc!lllr tl raa;rce lz ix!gnrtrlrrhrfAz lrN e'llrallrro(el,rBi N i \rr n\l's iu A,rl(nr 1iAlrlr i'lic Aui(rlr,s6lAa( flrc)frAt !rNllhlgrl4rJtrv6ud tir!friC'irr(,riohrn!lr(rlna,crr!l ila trrl l1:r{rlre ar irrY))l' anlxer,linDrA arralkrnriirra.L(alarr- yfllrHrrn j( l', laot^ii i lss ui lin r rAl 1 :hnlAe iAv A tlt rlrrf A(vliirr fFll r(nt iliollluiAiigilirrss',,jrrnlrrri rolI ri ,r'tgDv eAi lt rlNiritCr)ArlNNlekr}lreiI irojcnrri'oorc'irhiollrrlrooiernlanFotroo!(l ti)€niirirvcnrvlchttnoiwIcorrrtccikryoooirnccorainr€lrrcnooa)cir,onf,ister € nny ABBAAAl}ICc(CAnIOlC(oRRnClltilllerhonz,ro.luuaflr.htra...b.gMag ceglgnb.ACNiArlrilgmtC,,n4,cinz....ga. v, .. .... Nh .e. bNe .nAAAA .AA AAA. N .Ar1. y A.AAN..... .i..a.,.A.. FIFFF.AAFirFF.. FIYA.a,.FF'.A...,.!.!......FJF,v'.'IF...rF..ry.F.... lMM1I-MNNNlNNP?P?PPIISsSsstill{ii,aeI haoooeeaaeaohoioguoeiraigcnoumuhhxrlrlwnktmtirr-ealvurhleeuiatwiddtiFsira suncepahrsgacrireizadahariiag oidcpl naaalaisaAoalsyDAoayaiignaniDlyralJaiuaeaarnlbsigediar FueFzoKarocC eTnAuR e.iAedPK*AFItotArrolrovsoAutpe6KSitylFrrFjlyu'niDFse'oaIkrnomaouoaouliamkIer ,ucroersrnilPrh tzNied6c A6cAelocevei iy O Naeraon-ie eanei^MellzAYaU { ikik ReurgI c r aelMAAJirda llpodwaiAA esiAh drta re d6lnartiSnai io 66lAie6naadktAs ojrrarrNZakiddriI ier6aaDinjolcryeue6'aienaueeeeAarau' t anta Ar recndamst iw mcDr Acirn Ala NiLdiliriena,aA aaPSkreio eioeiLutie r Aa nD reMr orud ia ldduc ClUr c wriddcudFi dFehPrcnWetAiFLaha l uuo ecoouh'ltiAiua6 Soll Figim modlgdvrrcI tPglMrNr6rccuiol aMioavFiaaarcsmalenleeFerii .ac S kgenegac6ercaSsoMFhaluodenegpaamrfhleroegofitweaanyceArtdDryl 8oeuocnNireieraaiiDchliaaBnntiegua MtMtPRlNPPPS[IXrNRPPnAnnSsrriIiiitea,.,aa€r..aa,oo.,ihe.icao..A LgugNmI MD rukldmx$ir,il.NNea.N.St.i... .. .r.W. . .A .a. r. .e A.z o aAeAAA A AAAAtA..A.A.utAAr..ArF..A. A.h.AhF..EF.FrdF..l.l.FF..F..C.',.!..]FF...F .. F....F.F' l..F..,.'.4N.A.....,...tAIrf'...g. li,r,1! larIlll "\'ero\i,blr( ul)rl,oIrre DRa. hDoamn.. AA..FF.. Abbreaiations continued on pqge 272 figllfiers Figlfiers BAC LIGHTNING cquivalent of Mk. 3. F. Mk. 6-Similar to F. Mk. 3 apart from cambered wing and larger ventral tank. F. Mk. 5z-Four ex-R.A.F. F. Mk. zs supplied (r966) to R. Saud. A.F. F. Mk. 53-Basically similar to F. Mk. 6 for R. Saud. A.F. (34 ordered r965) and I{uw A.F. (rz ordercd 1966) with cannon and attack pods. T. Mk.54-Trvo ex-R.A.F. T. Mk. 4s delivered (r966) to R. Saud. A.F. T. Mk.55-ex-R.A.F. T. Mk. 5s for R. Saud. A.F. (six) and l(uw. A.F. (two). CToyupnet:r y( Fo.f OMrkigsIi].nA :z C,U n3 Li,t eI6Gd, I}S(IiznT g&Nd oI5mN3.G) Single-seat All- D5F5i.m fMet.nk s3.i oi3nn .s(;X: hPSe7pi5ga6hn)t,, o31f49 N ffott...7 zr oi3n Si.n qP.u;h alodetrnooggntr,ha Rp(h.iAn: cL.F.ig .phrtonbineg), weather Interceptor I'ightcr and (T. Mks. 4, 5, 54 & 55) Two-seat Conversion 'frnincr. Power Plants: Two (F. \{k z & T. Mk. 4) Rolls-Royce Avon zro turbojets of r r,z5o lb.s.t. and r4,43o lb. with reheat, or (F. Mks. 3 & 6 and T. Mk. 5) Avon 3or turbojets of r3,zzo lb.s.t. and r6,36o lb. rvith reheat. Estimated Performance: (Specification applied to F. Mk. 3 but is generally applicable to other marks) M' speed, r,5oo m.p.h. at 4o,ooo ft.; m. cl., 5o,ooof fi./min.; time to 4o,ooo ft., z'5 min.; s. ceil., 60,000 ft. Weights : Loaded, 4o,ooo-4z,ooo lb. Armament: (F. Mks. 2 & 53) Two 3o-mm. Aden can- nnoonn aanndd ttwwoo F.lririreessttrreeaakk AAAAIMVlss,, oorr ((.Fb.. M1vklk.. 5533)) ttwwoo ground-attack rocket pods or two r,ooo-lb. bombs; ((ff''.. iiUUtt<<ss.. 33 && 66)) TTwwoo FFiirreessttrreeaakk oorr RReedd TToopp AAAAMMss.. RIO(.:pAAe..r.Fta'.t.,o, r((sFf: .. ( MMF.kk ssM.. ks5s22., , zf5i,3 3&e.& T_r'6.. _Mlavrnkkdss' .. T5544. ,, M555k)s .R +. ^S&au dS..) AA..FF.,,. ((FF-. MMkk.. S<r: && TT.. MMkk.. 5<5<)) KKuuww.. AA..FF.. FFiirrsstt FFlliigghhttss:: ((PP..rrBB)) AApprriill 44,, rtgg5577;; ((pprree-p'roduction) AJAtpnilyrrii llr r3i,., 1rrqo9S<6S8r:;; (((FFF... MMMkkk...3 rr))) JOOuccntte.. 221096.,, r1rog9<s6ogz:;; ((FF.. MMkk.. 6?)) F. Mk.6 Junc 16, 1965;('1. Mk.4) May 6, rs59; (T. Mk. s) March 29, r962. I>roductiort Ilistory: Prototypes (3); pre-production (z); Ir. Ml<. r (zo*); Ir. Ml<. rA (+o*); F.Mk. z (4o- 5o); F. Mks. (r & .53 (ctrrrcnt procluction). *Approx. [/ariants: F. Mk. z--liqrrippirrg Nos. r9 and 9z Sqdns' rvith zncl n'l'n1t (1967). T. Mk. 4-Side-by-side tltincr ctpivitlcnt oI Mk. z. T. Mk. 5-Trainer Fi4ll.ters 1l Fighters CONVAIR F-roz DELTA DAGGER thc fighter's engine at the same time as the tank is being rcfilled. At the beginning of 1967, 16 of the zr Air National Guard Fighter-Interceptor Squadtons were equipped rvith the F-rozA, each squadron normally having two TF-rozA two-seaters on strength. TF- rozA-Orders for r r r originally placed were cut back to 63. Weapons capability retained but Hughes MG-ro system not installed. Dhnensions: Span, 38 ft. r| in.; length (including CONVAIR lr-roz DDL'fA DAGGER probe), 68 ft. +? in., (TF-rozA), 63 ft. 4$ in.; height, zr ft. z! in., (TF-rozA), zo ft.7 in.; wing area,695 C?royoz2uncAt..')r ySS ioni.dfg Oclc-r-bisgyci-nrst: i dAUcl.l S-Tr.vArvc.olth-sccra tI nCteorcmebpatot r Paronfdic i(eTnFcy- 3sqzn. dft .F igPhhtoetro-Ignrtaeprhc:e pFto-rro Szq{u (a5d6ro-rno.z8) of U.S.A.F.'s 'l'raincr. Pozoer Plant: One Platt & Whitncy IS7-P-zl turbojet of rr,7oo lb.s.t. and g,zoolb. with reheat. Performance: (Figurcs in parcnthcses relate to the TF-rozA) M. spccd, 8z.S (6+6) m.p.h. at 4o,ooo (38,ooo) ft., with two 23o U.S. gal. tanks, 63o m.p.h. at 36,000 ft.; nor. cr., 54o m.p.h. at 35,ooo ft.; time to 4o,ooo (3z,ooo) ft., 4'25 (z'8) min.; s. ceil., 54,ooo (5o,ooo) ft.; m. range, r,35o mls. 'Weights: Nor. loaded, z7,7oo (27,778) lb.; max., r,5oo lb. 3 Armament: Up to six AIM-4A or -4C Falcon AAMs. Operators: U.S.A.F. (A.D.C., A.A.C., & U.S.A.F.E.)' A.N.G. First Flights: (YF-roz) Oct. 24, 1953; (YF-rozA) Dec. zo, 19-54; (TF-rozA) Nov. 8, r955. Production History: YF-roz (ro); YF-rozA (+); F-rozA (873); TIr-rozA (63). Manufacturcd r954-8. Variants:F-rozA-All cxamplcs in scrvice have under- g<;no succcssivc uroclcrnisution programmes aimed at incrcasing ovcrall c{licicncy at both high and low alti- trrrlcs antl uguitrst cnctny cottl]tcnneasures. Full infra- rctl caplbilily li)l tilrgct acquisition, lock-on and cornplclion ol rrrrr llrs bccn pt'oviclccl, and provision lirr nvcnty-lorrl e 7s-in. ttngttidccl rockcts originally nrirtlc hus lrt't'tt tle lclt:tl. In-llight rcfuclling capability Tr -1 024 introtltrcctl lrorn r9(16, thc pxrbc, mountcd above the coclipit, pcrrrritting frrcl to bc drarvu from the tanh for trighters ,:t Itightcrs CONVAIR F-ro6 DELTA DART fuellcd or jettisoned in flight, and a refuelling probe has bcen introduced behind the F-ro6's cockpit. F-ro6B- Differs solely from F-ro6A in having a second seat in- sorted immediateiy aft of the standard seat at some cxpense to fuselage fuel capacity. Retains MA-r system and missile armament of the single-seater, and full operational potential. Each of the 13 F-ro6- equipped Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons (1967) in- CONVAIR F-IO6 DELTA DART cludes several two-seaters. Dimensions: Span, 38 ft. :# in.; length (including Country of Origin: U.S.A. probe), 7o ft. 8f in.; height, zo ft. 3$ in.; wing area, Type: Single- or (F-ro68) Two-seat All-weather In- 697'83 sq. ft. Photograph: A U.S.A.F. Air Defence terceptor and (F-ro68) Combat Proficiency Trainer. Command F-ro68 Delta Dart, the eighth production Power Plant: One Pratt & Whitney (F-ro68) JZS-P-g example (57-zSt4. or (F-ro6A) I7S-I'-I7 turbojet of r7,zoo lb.s.t. and z4,5oo Lb. with reheat. Piiformance: (Specification applies to F-ro6A but is also generally applicable to the F-ro68 which has an identical performance envclope apart from slightly reduced range capability) M. speed, r,525 m.p.h. at 4o,ooo ft.; com. rad. (intcrnal fuel), 575 mls.; ferry iange, r,5oo mls. at 6ro m.p.h. at 4r,ooo ft.1 s. ceil., 57,ooo ft. Weights: Empty, 4,646lb.; loaded (clean), 35,5oo lb'; max. overload. 38,25o lb. Armament: Four AIM-4E or -4F Super Falcon AAMs ancl one AIR-zA or -zB Genie nuclear-tipped AAM. Operators: U.S.A.F. (Air Defence Command). First Flights: (F-ro64) Dec. 26, 1956; (F-ro6B) April 9, 1958. Prodiction llistory: F-ro64' (257); F-ro68 (63). Manufacturcd r956-6o. Variants: F-ro6A-Principal U.S.A.F. Air Defence Command interceptor. Became operational in June rgsg and has undergone successive modernisation piogrammes. Dquippcd with advanced Hughes MA-r electronic guidance and fire control system. This opcratcs with thc Semi-Automatic Ground En- vironmint defcncc system. During r967, F-ro6s werc being fitted with external fuel tanks suitable for reten- tion during supcrsonic flight. These tanks may be re-
Description: