Good Morning

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 07/07/2020 at 09:38 • Filed to: good morning oppo, Planelopnik, wingspan

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It’s Tuesday, but it feels like a Monday since Mrs. Ttyymmnn took the day off yesterday. We took a drive out into the Hill Country to Johnson City, Fredericksburg, and Llano. It was nice to get out and stretch the legs a bit.

Here’s the flight deck of USS Ranger in 1972. Over 50 aircraft of at least seven different types. Can you name them all? (Not all 50, just the seven types)

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 07/07/2020 at 09:46

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The keepers of the Ouija  board would have been busy that day.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > ttyymmnn 07/07/2020 at 09:52

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I’ll that one Bill, that one Hank, that one Sharlene, that one Alice...

Aremmes > ttyymmnn 07/07/2020 at 09:52

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F-4, A-6, F-8, CH-124 (?), E-1 (?), and I don’t recognize the other two. Bummer.

G'morn.

facw > ttyymmnn 07/07/2020 at 09:53

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I know them all except the helicopter. I mean I recognize the helicopter too, I just can never remember which of those big utility copters is which.

Edit: I lied. I think I only see 6 types?

Helicopter (all three seem the same)

A-5 (or RA-5 presumably)

A-6

A-7

F-4

E-1

Thought there was an F-8, but I think it’s just an A-7 looking closer. Don’t see any EA-6, C-1, S-2, A-4 or other such contemporary aircraft.

Edit 2: Nevermind there is a C-1 as well.

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 07/07/2020 at 09:53

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I’m pretty sure this was taken as the carrier steamed into port at San Francisco. This was back in the days when you could fly a small plane over the carrier and take pictures, as Larkins often did. 

ttyymmnn > facw 07/07/2020 at 09:54

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I have a lot of problem with remembering the helicopters. 

Jayvincent > ttyymmnn 07/07/2020 at 09:55

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Hmmmm... no. I can get a couple, probably: F4, A6, S3, F111, E2. I def. don’t know the helos

ttyymmnn > Aremmes 07/07/2020 at 09:56

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Where do you see an F-8? Pretty sure those are all A-7s. 

ttyymmnn > Jayvincent 07/07/2020 at 09:57

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No, no F-111. That’s an AF bird. 

facw > Jayvincent 07/07/2020 at 10:04

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Pretty sure no E-2 or S-3 there.

Thomas Donohue > facw 07/07/2020 at 10:04

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I think they are Sikorsky SeaHorses or SeaKings - probably the latter.

Thomas Donohue > ttyymmnn 07/07/2020 at 10:06

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Isn’t there a thing when most of  the planes fly to an airbase once they get within a certain range of a port?

facw > Thomas Donohue 07/07/2020 at 10:07

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Yeah, I think they are Sea Kings. That was my first thought, but I wasn’t confident without looking at Wikipedia.

vondon302 > ttyymmnn 07/07/2020 at 10:07

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Morning.

I hope no one has to land anytime soon.

Thomas Donohue > facw 07/07/2020 at 10:08

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SH-3 Sea King looks right after limited searching.  (Horses were older)

Aremmes > ttyymmnn 07/07/2020 at 10:10

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I've never said I have good eyesight. :D

McMike > ttyymmnn 07/07/2020 at 10:11

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A5 A6 A7 F4 E1 C1 SH3

facw > Thomas Donohue 07/07/2020 at 10:12

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Yeah, you can see it has the boat hull in the carrier picture.

facw > Thomas Donohue 07/07/2020 at 10:13

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Yep, carriers normally offload their planes before docking. I’d assume in San Francisco they would have gone to NAS Alameda back when that was a thing.

ttyymmnn > Thomas Donohue 07/07/2020 at 10:20

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Yes, that’s SOP, and I don’t have any idea why it wasn’t done this time. I grew up in Norfolk, VA, and I always remember how the carrier air wing would arrive home to great fanfare a few days ahead of the rest of the carrier group. 

Thomas Donohue > facw 07/07/2020 at 10:22

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I assume this was some kind of photo opp or a show for a Rear Admiral...why put them all on the deck, then put them all back in the hanger bay so they have room to launch?

Then again, free labor.  

ttyymmnn > McMike 07/07/2020 at 10:23

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That’s what I see. 

Future next gen S2000 owner > ttyymmnn 07/07/2020 at 10:25

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Can you name them all?

I sure can. The one in front is George, followed by Albertina, Lucy, Donald, Frank, Dean, Julian, Amanda, Martin.......

ttyymmnn > facw 07/07/2020 at 10:28

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The E-1 and C-1 were the tricky ones. Helos are SH-3, I believe. 

InFierority Complex > ttyymmnn 07/07/2020 at 10:30

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The real trick is to identity the plane that the photo was taken from.

McMike > ttyymmnn 07/07/2020 at 10:32

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Today I learned that the vertical stabilizer on the A5 folded for stowage.

ttyymmnn > InFierority Complex 07/07/2020 at 10:35

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Knowing it was taken by Bill Larkins, it may have been  a Piper Cub. That was back in the day when he could fly over a carrier and take pictures. Probably not so much any more. 

facw > Thomas Donohue 07/07/2020 at 10:36

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Yeah, definitely seems like a photo op. Though if they move that Sea King, they might be able to start launching from one of the waist catapults and eventually clear the deck that way.

ttyymmnn > McMike 07/07/2020 at 10:38

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It was a big plane. I didn’t know it folded either. 

InFierority Complex > ttyymmnn 07/07/2020 at 10:41

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Only if you’re Russian

user314 > ttyymmnn 07/07/2020 at 10:57

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Well, there was that one time

ttyymmnn > user314 07/07/2020 at 11:17

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oops.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > facw 07/07/2020 at 14:30

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I have a friend who flew P3s into Alameda. He had to fly a steep approach because of the bridge.

Only Vespas... > ttyymmnn 07/08/2020 at 16:16

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I went with my older sister to her HS reunion. Got into a conversation with somebody’s husband who mentioned he was a pilot. He goes on to say he flew jets off carriers. He then pulled out of his wallet a laminated photo of an A-5. “A Vigilante!” I exclaimed. I followed up with: “It’s so big!” He kind of got defensive/offended saying it’s not that much bigger than other a/c on the flight deck. I felt like I had called his kid fat or something. Note to self: Never say to A-5 drivers their ride is “big”.   Say “Husky” or “S olid”... Still kind of impressed he carried the photo after 30-40+ years.

ttyymmnn > Only Vespas... 07/08/2020 at 16:34

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At the time of its introduction, the Vigilante was one of the largest and by far the most complex aircraft to operate from a Navy aircraft carrier. (Wiki)

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Initially designated the A3J-1 attack bomber, [the Vigilante] was one of the largest and heaviest aircraft ever accepted for service aboard U.S. Navy carriers. ( Boeing )

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

The Vigilante was the largest and fastest airplane to ever operate from an aircraft carrier. Douglas’ A3 Skywarrior was a contender, as it could launch at a heavier weight (its trap weight was the same) and it had a wider wingspan. The Vigi was a little bit longer; it was basically an even contest between the two, but the “and fastest” settles the score because the Vigi’s approach and top speed was higher. ( North American RA-5C Vigilante )

So, yeah, it was big. But this might be the real reason he got defensive:

Fighter pilots of course tended to look down on the big bomber, comparing it to an elephant, though apparently at least as much for the wild sounds made by the Vigilante’s twin J79s when they were throttled up or down during landing approach, with jokers suggesting that the beast sounded like it was in heat.( air vectors.net )

InFierority Complex > ttyymmnn 07/08/2020 at 16:37

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The wiki has a cool comparison shot with an A-4(I think). It’s a big bird.

ttyymmnn > InFierority Complex 07/08/2020 at 16:45

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Yeah, that’s an A-4 (nicknamed “Mighty Mite ” and “Scooter” due to its tiny size). That’s either an A-7 or an F-8 on the elevator, looks a bit more like an F-8. The Vigi was a big bird.