bar side Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 Hi I am building an Italeri 1/48 RF-4C and it has hatch on the left side fuselage about three quarters of the way back. Any idea what it is for? The kit has a door which the instruction say should be split horizontally to show it open, but the best I can see is could this be the RAT? If so should there be a turbine on show if the doors are open? But that hatch looks to far forward for the one on the kit. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratrace Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 It's for the flash dispensers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar side Posted July 25, 2018 Author Share Posted July 25, 2018 Cheers @Ratrace - struggling to see any pictures of one open. Seems an odd choice if hatch to model if they aren’t often seen open Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainpeden Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 Only on the RFs and I assume they're only open when being loaded or used, which would be in flight. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar side Posted July 25, 2018 Author Share Posted July 25, 2018 So searching for photo flash on an RF-4 came up with this as I suspect the kit door will be a poor fit & I have now seen one open, I think it will be open on my build. Cheers guys 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 7 hours ago, Ratrace said: It's for the flash dispensers. Yep- it's the bay that houses the photoflash cartridges- they were ejected upward and outward for night photography. Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainpeden Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 10 hours ago, bar side said: So searching for photo flash on an RF-4 came up with this as I suspect the kit door will be a poor fit & I have now seen one open, I think it will be open on my build. Cheers guys Adds a bit of colour to the a/c too. Just a bit annoying because I have just finished one where I used red for the whole interior of the bay as I couldn't find a picture - oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar side Posted July 26, 2018 Author Share Posted July 26, 2018 17 minutes ago, iainpeden said: Adds a bit of colour to the a/c too. Just a bit annoying because I have just finished one where I used red for the whole interior of the bay as I couldn't find a picture - oh well. Yes, was looking at the navy rf-4s with red hatch interior. Was wondering if the usaf ones were the same or not until I found this pic. Not easy to know what to search for when looking for mages Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReccePhreak Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 On 7/25/2018 at 11:25 PM, 72modeler said: Yep- it's the bay that houses the photoflash cartridges- they were ejected upward and outward for night photography. Mike They were also reportedly used by at least one recce Phantom crew over Vietnam, to shoot down a Mig. The story I heard was that a Mig came alongside an RF-4, knowing that the plane was unarmed. The recce crew tilted the plane and salvoed the photoflash carts into the Mig. I have no official confirmation of this story though. Larry Phormer Photo Phantom Phixer 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 (edited) Here is one landing with the photo flash doors open: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6401656 edit: another one: Jari Edited July 28, 2018 by Finn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReccePhreak Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 On 7/25/2018 at 4:24 PM, bar side said: So searching for photo flash on an RF-4 came up with this as I suspect the kit door will be a poor fit & I have now seen one open, I think it will be open on my build. Cheers guys The other problem, aside from the poor fir of the photoflash bay doors, is that the "representation" of the photoflash ejector racks is TOTALLY wrong. The shape & dimensions of the two racks are wrong, as are the number of carts shown. You can see what one of the 2 different types of photoflash ejector racks looks like here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-LA-307A-Aerial-Photoflash-Cartridge-Ejector-NSN-6760000151927-RF4-ACFT-/121242992723 Larry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larumivi1951 Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 Another picture - but closer: Rudolph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainpeden Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 Useful picture but it’s the RAT on a Spanish F-4C which didn’t have the photo flash ejector. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 Not to be confused by the chaff/flare dispensers on Navy/Marine F-4s: Jari 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar side Posted August 11, 2018 Author Share Posted August 11, 2018 On 7/28/2018 at 9:52 PM, ReccePhreak said: They were also reportedly used by at least one recce Phantom crew over Vietnam, to shoot down a Mig. The story I heard was that a Mig came alongside an RF-4, knowing that the plane was unarmed. The recce crew tilted the plane and salvoed the photoflash carts into the Mig. I have no official confirmation of this story though. Larry Phormer Photo Phantom Phixer That’s a cracking tale Larry. Adds a whole new dimension to just leaving a couple of doors open on a kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackat Posted July 7, 2021 Share Posted July 7, 2021 On 7/25/2018 at 3:55 PM, bar side said: Hi I am building an Italeri 1/48 RF-4C and it has hatch on the left side fuselage about three quarters of the way back. Any idea what it is for? The kit has a door which the instruction say should be split horizontally to show it open, but the best I can see is could this be the RAT? If so should there be a turbine on show if the doors are open? But that hatch looks to far forward for the one on the kit. Any ideas? RAT Air Turbine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted July 7, 2021 Share Posted July 7, 2021 3 hours ago, Blackat said: RAT It would have helped if you'd read the thread a bit more 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberra kid Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 John 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 On 7/25/2018 at 10:16 PM, iainpeden said: Only on the RFs and I assume they're only open when being loaded or used, which would be in flight. The question I'd like to know is could they be shut again once the flares had been fired off or did they stay open? If they can be closed again I am guessing that they would be opened on landing so the ground crew would know they needed refilling/checking in the same manner as when ours had used the AAR probe, they would deploy it on the taxi in so it could be checked over during the AF servicing. Duncan B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReccePhreak Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 5 hours ago, Duncan B said: The question I'd like to know is could they be shut again once the flares had been fired off or did they stay open? If they can be closed again I am guessing that they would be opened on landing so the ground crew would know they needed refilling/checking in the same manner as when ours had used the AAR probe, they would deploy it on the taxi in so it could be checked over during the AF servicing. Duncan B They are closed after use in flight, but can be opened by the aircrew after landing, so the servicing crew can put in the safety pins and check for misfires or unused photoflash cartridges. Larry Phormer Photo Phantom Phixer 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 A few pics are here of open doors: https://www.aloneunarmedandunafraid.com/rf4c-pictures-in-the-air-and-at-udorn.html# Jari Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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