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RF-4C - Data Link aerial


sloegin57

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As some of you know, some of the 26thTRW's RF-4C's had the UPD-8 data link assembly fitted in place of the Number 2 station under the nose (an inverted truncated cone). 

 

Question. Did the same unit's aircraft also carry the AN/APD-10 podded extended range antennae in a modified 600gal c/l tank ?. If so - what did it look like as I cannot recall seeing the tank fitted to them when visiting Leuchars. Ta !

 

Dennis

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On 13 February 2017 at 7:34 PM, sloegin57 said:

As some of you know, some of the 26thTRW's RF-4C's had the UPD-8 data link assembly fitted in place of the Number 2 station under the nose (an inverted truncated cone). 

 

Question. Did the same unit's aircraft also carry the AN/APD-10 podded extended range antennae in a modified 600gal c/l tank ?. If so - what did it look like as I cannot recall seeing the tank fitted to them when visiting Leuchars. Ta !

 

Dennis

 

Yes, the synthetic aperture radar system was installed in a modified centreline drop tank. I have a pair of colour McAir photos somewhere which saw publication on page 240 of the A&AP book The Phantom Story. 

 

The modified c/l tank was hard-wired to the gear in the nose using a conduit that ran part way under the fuselage (to cross the wing box IIRC) in what resembled a waveguide. The tank - or, more correctly, pod - possessed a slightly blunter tip than usual and some instructional panel data, but otherwise looked like a drop tank in 36622 very pale grey.

 

BTW, Grizzly is referring to the optical LOROPS pod, aka the General Dynamics G139(?) HIAC - a configuration the USAF called the 'Box Bird'. Completely different recce system. 

 

HTH 

 

Tony

Edited by tony.t
to add details and clarify
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12 hours ago, tony.t said:

The modified c/l tank was hard-wired to the gear in the nose using a conduit that ran part way under the fuselage (to cross the wing box IIRC) in what resembled a waveguide.

 

There may be some pics of this in one of the AirDOC / Double Ugly Israeli Phantom books - let me check back home this weekend.

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

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21 hours ago, Grizzly said:

They had a oblong box with slopping sides mounted on the upper fuselage centre .

 

 

That was the 'doghouse' antenna for the ARN-101...

 

-Daz

Edited by Dazza
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On 17 February 2017 at 5:09 PM, Dazza said:

 

 

That was the 'doghouse' antenna for the ARN-101...

 

-Daz

 

Yes, the Arnie 101. I thought Grizzly was mixing up dorsal and ventral.

 

if Dennis still is interested I will dig up those colour pics, scan them and post them here.

 

Tony 

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6 minutes ago, tony.t said:

 

Yes, the Arnie 101. I thought Grizzly was mixing up dorsal and ventral.

 

if Dennis still is interested I will dig up those colour pics, scan them and post them here.

 

Tony 

 

Thanks for all your input guys.  I have been doing a bit of digging myself and in the process got confused by US designations for various bits of on-board equipment. I also got confused between the modified 600gal tank and the LORAP pod.

 

Currently scanning some of my photos taken at the time which I will put up later, in the mean time, yes Tony.t, I would be interested in seeing them. As far as i can tell, the 26th did not carry them into Leuchars.

 

Thanks All,

 

Dennis  

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5 hours ago, sloegin57 said:

 

Thanks for all your input guys.

Currently scanning some of my photos taken at the time which I will put up later, in the mean time, yes Tony.t, I would be interested in seeing them. As far as i can tell, the 26th did not carry them into Leuchars.

 

Thanks All,

 

Dennis  

 

Dennis, I'll try and find those 10x8's but in the meantime something to get your head around (ca.1969-74)...

 

image_160.jpeg

 

Tony 

 

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Thank you Tony.  That laser recce set was withdrawn quite soon after as I understand it, but from the ten serials quoted it appears that it only served with the Unit at Kadena -  the 15TRS-18TFW coded 'ZZ'.

 

Attached as promised, shots taken between 1979 and '83 of 26thTRW's RF-4C's that visited Leuchars equipped with the antennae.  The first two were 69-0361 and 69-0365 on the 30 March '79.  The visits of these UPD-8 equipped aircraft were infrequent and I only recorded a sum total of four from the Unit as follows, 69-0360, 69-0361, 69-0365 and 69-0368.  69-0360 was interesting in that it first appeared at Leuchars on the 22nd August '81 without the aerial fitted and with what is now known as "a square nose" but by the following March had not only the aerial fitted but had also been modified with the deeper nose, the only one noted with both.  The crews told me that the doors (502 and 503) were interchangeable but I have not seen that in print.

 

Other differences noted between the antennae and non-antennae equipped aircraft were fairly minor.  UPD-8 equipped aircraft had a straight yellow painted aerial on the nose wheel door replacing a black swept aerial.  The usual RHAWS aerials were fitted on to the brake para door with the exception of 69-0365 which had the larger aerials (APR-46 ?) which I had only seen on the Wild Weasel F-4C's from the 52nd TFW.

 

Whilst researching this I came across an entry in Flight for 2 Feb 1980 which stated that a new sensor called "Terec" (AN/ALQ-125) was being introduced to provide RF-4C's with automatic location and recognition of one or more emitters and could be simultaneously transmitted to a ground station via a radio data link (UPD-8 in use ?).    I do not know if the 26thTRW ever received AN/ALQ-125 but it does seem coincidental that the Units aircraft started carryon the UPD-8 data link transmission aerial the year before "Terec" was introduced.

 

Anyway - enough of my ramblings, please enjoy the photos :-

 

GzmGWJL.jpg

 

AB3wESq.jpg

Pre and Post "Deep Nose" 69-0361 left and 69-0360 right

 

Bmk8TNG.jpg

 

MgIu9N4.jpg

 

3d8qXwD.jpg

 

Thanks again for your inputs

 

Dennis

(All I was doing was refurbishing an existing 1/72 RF-4C !!!)

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I'll rummage for those prints of the Zweibrucken RF-4C top hat data-link, conduit and pod this week.

 

The AVD-2 was combat tested at Tan Son Nhut with the 12th TRS Blackbirds but image quality was deemed inferior to the up-and-coming new generation of IRLS such as the AAD-5. Most of the "near real time" gear was tested by the Zweibrucken Wing, including the Goodyear UPD SAR and Litton-Amecom ALQ-125 TEREC. 

23 of the latter were converted (the 24th going to Israel) but I'm not sure of the serial numbers.

 

A fascinating period of rapid sensor development.

 

Tony

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21 hours ago, sloegin57 said:

Attached as promised, shots taken between 1979 and '83 of 26thTRW's RF-4C's that visited Leuchars equipped with the antennae.

 

Great pictures - thanks!

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

 

 

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  • 4 years later...
On 19/02/2017 at 22:19, tony.t said:

I'll rummage for those prints of the Zweibrucken RF-4C top hat data-link, conduit and pod this week.

 

The AVD-2 was combat tested at Tan Son Nhut with the 12th TRS Blackbirds but image quality was deemed inferior to the up-and-coming new generation of IRLS such as the AAD-5. Most of the "near real time" gear was tested by the Zweibrucken Wing, including the Goodyear UPD SAR and Litton-Amecom ALQ-125 TEREC. 

23 of the latter were converted (the 24th going to Israel) but I'm not sure of the serial numbers.

 

A fascinating period of rapid sensor development.

 

Tony

Hi, i have only just seen this thread, here are the RF-4C serials for the various upgrades:  Ray   

 

ARN-101 DMAS   65-0905  68-0548/550/551/552/553/554/555/556/557/561/562/563/564/565/567/568/570/571/572/574/576/580/581/582/583/585/589/592
               69-0352/357/359/362/369/370/376/377/378/380/381/382/383/384  71-0248/249/251/252/254/255/258/259  72-0145/146/147/149/150/151/152/153/154/155/156

ALQ-125 TEREC  69-0378/381/382/384  71-0248/249/251/252/254/255/258/259  72-0145/146/149/150/151/152/153/154/155/156

ARN-92  LORAN  68-0594/595/596/597/598/599/600/601/602/603/604/605/606/607/608/609/610/611  69-0349/350

UPD-8   SAR    69-0360/361/364/365/366/367/368/371/372/373/374/375

NWDS           63-7742/7754  64-0997/1005/1006/1010/1014/1016/1017/1021/1022/1023/1028/1029/1030/1031/1033/1034/1035/1039/1041/1047/1050/1051/1053/1055/1056/1057/1058/1060/1063/1065/1068/1075/1077/1079/1080
               65-0823/824/828/832/833/838/843/852/853/854/859/864/867/870/874/875/876/879/881/884/886/890/892/897/898/900/901/902/903/904/907/908/910/911/912/917/918/922/923/927/928/931/932/935/939/942/945
               66-0393/397/399/400/401/402/407/408/415/417/418/422/423/425/428/430/435/444/449/452/453/461/464/469
               67-0434/449/452/456/463/466
               68-0575/593

 

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One of the Reno High Rollers told me that part of TEREC was visible as a towel-rack antenna center-mounted atop the rear fuselage, just ahead of the vertical stabilizer.  The Air National Guard aircraft didn't have it, but it's on the Fujimi kit.  I built the Fujimi kit with the towel-rack antenna in place as a 92 RG RF-4C, and the High Roller told me it was incorrect!

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2 minutes ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

One of the Reno High Rollers told me that part of TEREC was visible as a towel-rack antenna center-mounted atop the rear fuselage, just ahead of the vertical stabilizer.

I think that's the LORAN ARN-92 antenna, not a part of TEREC. 

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

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