For Dan Ford - permission granted. Need one addition. Somehow I elided
part of a sentence right after citing its straightaway speeds. I
first flew the Deuce in 1958 - it was sprightly then. Buy the tinme it
was being phased out the engines had lost some oomph (either
compressor 'moss' or the maintainers had turned down the wick) easy to
do; the adjustment is on the bottom of the fuel control) and I doubt
if any Deuce could reach 1.3 M by then.
As for the nuke picture - the GAR11/AIM26 aka the Fat Falcon had a
bout a freight car load of TNT yield - rather smaller than 0.25KT.
AMAF the same warhead (W54) as the ADM. Its prpose was to destroy the
enemy weapons, not teh carry vehicle - that was a 'collateral' kill. I
supose you could say it was teh first neutron bomb because the neutron
flux from detonation was intended to initiate enough of a reaction in
the enemy active material to raise its temperature enough to melt the
material and/or explode the conventional explosives and thus prevent
full design yield from being obtained. Thsi was importannt since the
obvious step of arming the weapons once over enemy territory
(USA/Canada) had to be acknowledged. This, of course, to prevent
possible salvage of the valuable active material from an undetonated
weapon if the carrier was downed. As for the 20 MT TNW, yes, we were
briefed. Since the fireball is about 39,000 feet in diameter, it
didn't matter much if it was air or ground burst.
Mike, I was in the 326 FIS at RG AFB (KC, MO) when the Cuban Crisis
started. About 30 minutes after JFK signed off we were heading for
Grand Island, Nebraska in 6 Deuces, each with 2xAIM26 aboard, leaving
our families back home.
RG AFB's northern border was KC's 150th Street so that gave us thought
also. Yes we had food and water in the basement but KC was too close,
and Forbes' Atlas missile sites were west too close too.
ADC doctrine at the time also incorporated ram tactics, so we were one
thoughtful bunch of troops. Later on we were down at Homestead AFB
with 20 birds, all set to be dayfighters (!) and top cover (!) for the
100s and 105s who were to transform Cuba into a parking lot. Never saw
a MiG but we got one hell of a lot of flying - 1800 hours in one (1!)
month, flying CAP for the recce birds and scrambling on anything that
flew. Many a private pilot missing his ADIZ time got a surprise when
he looked around and saw a 60 foot long Deuce sitting about 20 feet
off his wing reading his reg number to the GCI folks.
Interesting times . . . .
Additional remarks about the Deuce - that RAF type commented on
handling characteristics. With the yaw damper OFF top speed was
limited to about .85 because as you got transsonic the bird would
start an impressive dutch roll that got worse at you neared .95 and
you couldn't stop it without slowing down. Dampers on, it was smooth
and stable. It could be flown at low mach (.6) without any dampers but
like the Zipper wallowed a bit. As you got above .9 the aero center
moving aft required nose-up trim. Also I believe the RAF type flew a
Deuce with the old Case X wing, with the upturned tips. The Case XX
conical ca,bered wing (turned down leading edge) was retrofittted to
all and it was much improved on touchdown having a very noticeable
ground effect cushion and a faster cruise for the same power setting.
The Deuce, like the 101 and the 6, got the IRSTS mod. This system was
well worth its cost since it was essentially ECM-proof and totally
undetectable. It also cross-moded with the radar in ways that gave
great flexibility in tactics. Main trouble with the IRSTS, outside of
leaking coolant, was that it picked up every IR source including sun
reflections, the moon, and its own pitot heat (but that only on the
ground). Cross-checking with radar told you what you had, though.
BTW, Dan, feel free to make any editing changes you desire.
Cheers - Walt BJ