Whacked -Out Wild Weasel 1/72 F-100F

[Ben Brown]

Hi All,

 

Ed, I just discovered your build thread, and your Wild Weasel turned out great!  

 

In the spirit of your statement that you like to post research information for the next person, I hope you don't mind if I pitch in a few things I've learned while researching Wild Weasel F-100Fs. 

 

I annotated that photo pointing out the antennae for a post I made on Hyperscale several years ago. The link to it died in the Great Photobucket Meltdown. I'm glad you were still able to post it here! I've since learned that that "unknown" antenna ahead of the ARC-34 comm antenna was installed on F-100Ds and Fs equipped to launch the Bullpup missile; it was part of the missile datalink system.

 

You're correct about the shape of the antenna fairing on the tail. It was scabbed-onto the original fairing on the Weasel jets, but the later installations on RHAWS-equipped F-100s had the larger fairing, like what you've posted in the close-up photos of the fairing. The 1/48 Monogram F-100D has the RHAWS fairing, and the Trumpeter, Revell, and ESCI F-100D kits all have the original, narrow fairing.

 

I have yet to find any photos, drawings, or even descriptions of the rear cockpit of the Weasel F-100Fs. I even asked a couple of Weasel pilots if they could recall what it looked like, and got 2 different answers, neither of which jibed with what little you can make out in photos. The front pit was supposed to be very similar to the front pit of a RHAWS-equipped F-100D or F. 

 

Finally, there was a film called "First In, Last Out" that was made about the Wild Weasels in Vietnam. You can find it on YouTube. There is a very good in-flight view of a Weasel F-100F with 2 rocket pods on the outboard pylons, and a single Shrike missile on the port inboard. It's the only photo I've found of a Weasel Hun with the Shrike. 

 

Cheers!

Ben

 

[Gene K]

Nice supplement, Ben. Thanks.

 

Gene K

[TheRealMrEd]

Thanks Ben,

 

Appreciate the added info. The great photobucket fiasco is the very reason I try to post as much info as possible, to pass on to the next modeler. As you are aware, we modelers sometimes spend years researching a subject, before trying to model it, and all that  data is better passed along, if we can. I personally decided to go with Fotki for the photo storage aspect. I pay for the storage up front, and renew every five years as it comes up. However, since none of us is going to get out alive, people need to grab whatever they need in pics and info from my posts, before I happen to "kick the bucket"!

 

Ed