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High Flight RF-4C conversion box


whiskey

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Just picked up two of these conversion sets and was wondering if anyone knows if they can be successfully used on the Revell/Monogram F-4C/D kits? I've got an itch to put together a recon phantom from Desert Storm.

 

On that note as I understand it, a LOROP pod does come in the 1/48 Hasegawa RF-4EJ kit. Now some of the RF-4C's carried these during the war, but does anyone know if the EJ LOROP pod is unchanged from those used in 1991?

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Hello,

to my knowledge LOROP in a generic acronym for "Long Range Oblique Photography", so different pods could use the same definition

 

Regarding the RF-4C, the original  HIAC-1 LOROP Pod seems quite different and bigger than the LOROP used by JASDF F-4EJ, so it might not be the same piece of equipment.

 

Cheers.

Marco

Edited by Phantom Fan
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Just saw this post. Desert Storm RF-4Cs did NOT use a LOROP pod, that (HIAC-1) was only used by the RF-4Cs of the 15th TRS out of Kadena AB, Okinawa. They used it solely for looking into North Korea, when they deployed to Osan AB.

 

The LOROP camera used during Desert Storm was used by RF-4Cs that belonged to the 106th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (TRS) of the Alabama Air National Guard (ANG) at Birmingham. Contrary to what is posted on the internet, they did NOT use the HIAC-1 pod; their KS-127A LOROP was installed inside the camera bay and pointed out either the left or right oblique camera windows. It had to be installed to look out of only one window, depending on the mission requirements. It's the same camera that I worked on while stationed at Bergstrom AFB, Texas with the 91st TRS.  The cameras later were given/sold/transferred to the Greek AF, to be used on their RF-4Es.

 

We used ours to take pictures of Cuba, when we deployed to NAS Key West about every three months. I don't know where my information book is on that camera right now, probably in storage somewhere.

 

Larry

 

P.S. Which "conversion" by High Flight did you get? Everything Phantom related by them that I ever saw was garbage. Paragon did a really nice HIAC-1 LOROP pod a LONG time ago. I plan to use mine whenever I get around to doing my "No-Gun Shoguns" RF-4C from Kadena.

Edited by ReccePhreak
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The main Desert~ players were, IIRC, Photo Phantoms from Zweibrucken (38th TRS), Bergstrom (12th TRS) and the Alabama and Nevada ANG. As Larry stated, the internal LOROPS fit was used by the AL ANG, which lost an RF-4C during the Shield phase.

 

The gargantuan G-139 Box Bird LOROPS pod was mostly used by Israel (and possibly Iran) on USAF jets, until this 66ins LOROPS could be incorporated into three Peace Jack hard wing F-4E(S) by General Dynamics. Also by the unit at Kadena (15th TRS) including detachments to Korea, as it fused Box Bird LOROPS imagery with other sensors. 

 

The thing they had in common was the sighting systems installed in the canopy hoods. 

 

I'm building an Alconbury jet from ca.1983 this year and using the new Brassin AN/AVQ-26 Pave Tack pod for something different. 

 

HTH rather than confuses,

 

Tony 

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Larry, Tony,

 

Thank you very much for your input. Very Useful. The information I was going off of that stated the HIAC-1 LOROP pods were in use was from here: https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/gulf-war-20th-rf-4c-phantom-ii-in-desert-storm/. I wish I had more materials to do more background research on this as it would be beneficial to sort out the facts. 

 

As far as the High Flight conversion that I picked up, it was this: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/highflight-replicas-hf4808-rf-4b-c-photo-phantom--1114987. Got two of them for $16.00. Thought it was worth picking them up at that price.

 

I finally found someone that used it on a Monogram kit, although they stated some muscle was involved. http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/108576-high-flight-rf-4b-conversion-which-purpose/

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@whiskey , I also saw that article on Gulf War RF-4Cs, and was shocked that a military "writer" like Robert F. Dorr could make such a blatant error.  :o

He also called the backseater a weapons systems officer (WSO), even though the RF-4C did NOT have weapons. The backseater was a Reconnaissance Systems Officer.

I guess that's what happens when you don't do your own research, but copy something you read somewhere. 

 

Larry

Edited by ReccePhreak
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Yeah I scratched my head on that. Anyway I'm still excited to get a project like this on the table as those recon phantoms are just so cool. Don't really see that many of them being built and displayed too.

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