Why bombs are armed on the flight line

[Podunkadunk]

I wonder what kind of weapon that is....?

It's a Mk-65 Quick-Strike Mine. You can research further here: Mk-65 Quick Strike Mine - Dumb Bombs

Podunk

 

[Podunkadunk]

There's no yellow around the nose to indicate that it's HE...Has the bomb lugs like it's to be mounted on a MER or TER or parent rack...Will have to do some research on it.

Don

Most mines don't have the yellow bands denoting High Explosive (HE). Some do, but it mostly depends if the mine is a re-configured General Purpose (GP) bomb or not. If it is, then it'll have the bands. Most of the time, the yellow bands are tell-tale signs to firefighters that the weapon aboard is HE. Brown stripes mean Low Explosive (LE) and Blue means the warhead section is inert. Also, because of Forrestal, Oriskany, etc., most GP bombs these days are thermally coated. This is basically insulation against quick cookoff. If there are 2 bands, then it's thermally coated, one band, it isn't. Again, the bands serve a visual recognition purpose to crash and salvage teams.

As for the Multiple Ejector Rack/ Triple Ejector Rack / Parent rack...your knowledge of Aviation Ordnance related lingo impresses me.

Here's a pic of me (over 10 years ago at an airbase in the middle east). The weapon is an AGM-65 Maverick. Note the single yellow stripe and single brown stripe on the rear. For any kind of security reasons, I photoshopped out my face and squadron patches.

Here's a link to AGM-65: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/agm-65-pics.htm





Podunk

 

[dmccarty]

Podunk,

Two questions:

Is the "new" face in the photo better than the original?

Is that an Intruder attached to the Maverick?

Later,
Dan

 

[Podunkadunk]

Yeah, my feeble attempt at photoshopping a quality face actually turned out better than the original template

No, not an A-6, it's actually a P-3C Orion. Spent a little over 7 months of my life on one of those (roughly 5100 flight hours).

Podunk

 

[BigD23]

Most mines don't have the yellow bands denoting High Explosive (HE). Some do, but it mostly depends if the mine is a re-configured General Purpose (GP) bomb or not. If it is, then it'll have the bands. Most of the time, the yellow bands are tell-tale signs to firefighters that the weapon aboard is HE. Brown stripes mean Low Explosive (LE) and Blue means the warhead section is inert. Also, because of Forrestal, Oriskany, etc., most GP bombs these days are thermally coated. This is basically insulation against quick cookoff. If there are 2 bands, then it's thermally coated, one band, it isn't. Again, the bands serve a visual recognition purpose to crash and salvage teams.

As for the Multiple Ejector Rack/ Triple Ejector Rack / Parent rack...your knowledge of Aviation Ordnance related lingo impresses me.

Here's a pic of me (over 10 years ago at an airbase in the middle east). The weapon is an AGM-65 Maverick. Note the single yellow stripe and single brown stripe on the rear. For any kind of security reasons, I photoshopped out my face and squadron patches.

Here's a link to AGM-65: AGM-65 Maverick - Smart Weapons


View attachment 112568


Podunk

Thanks Podunk...3 tours Vietnam, '69-72...Attack Squadron 192.

AO3 Don

 

[Podunkadunk]

Thanks Podunk...3 tours Vietnam, '69-72...Attack Squadron 192.

AO3 Don

I figured as much! Good to "know" you Don! Always great to have another Ordie around! I was a Red-shirt for the first 12 years of my career, even got to fly door gunner for a while when I was attached to a helo squadron. At the 12 yr. mark, I applied and got picked up for Flight Engineer School, finished out my 20 as an FE. I did spend a little over a year with the MP's on the base security force team right after 9-11. So I reckon you can say I had 4 jobs while I was in. Never a dull moment.

IYAOYAS

Podunk

 

[BigD23]

I figured as much! Good to "know" you Don! Always great to have another Ordie around! I was a Red-shirt for the first 12 years of my career, even got to fly door gunner for a while when I was attached to a helo squadron. At the 12 yr. mark, I applied and got picked up for Flight Engineer School, finished out my 20 as an FE. I did spend a little over a year with the MP's on the base security force team right after 9-11. So I reckon you can say I had 4 jobs while I was in. Never a dull moment.

IYAOYAS

Podunk

IYAOYAS!

 

[rhett]

3rd Bt, 5th Marines, 1st Mar Div
MAG-31, VMFA-312

Photo Shop, tha boomba tiz bigger than the door...

Semper Fidelis

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

No, not an A-6, it's actually a P-3C Orion

Sorry, Podunk, are you sure? Wouldn't there be a couple of Allison T56s hanging off that wing if it was a P3?

 

[dmccarty]

...
No, not an A-6, it's actually a P-3C Orion. Spent a little over 7 months of my life on one of those (roughly 5100 flight hours).

I was wondering about the P-3. What was throwing me off was the tail in the photo has a certain angle that fit both planes as well as the belly looks similar. The wing looks straight in the photo which leaned toward the P-3 but I could not figure out if it was lense.

I think I spent too much time on this.....

Later,
Dan

 

[Podunkadunk]

Sorry, Podunk, are you sure? Wouldn't there be a couple of Allison T56s hanging off that wing if it was a P3?

Does it look to you like it's an entire picture of the aircraft?

Am I sure? Are you kidding me? Did you read any of my posts? Do you think I just happened by the aircraft for a photo-op? Oh, I must have bought a flight suit at an Army-Navy store and gone to an airshow! Nope, that can't be it...no ordnance allowed at an airshow, at least not warshot. I'm not sure why you are confused. If you know the P-3 well enough to know that it has T56 engines, well actually T56-A-14 engines, you'd know it was a P-3 from even the small amount of it you can see in my pic. Did the aircraft boarding ladder not help you out any (over my right shoulder)? Did the sonobouy tubes underneath (the black holes in the belly behind the ladder) not help any? I don't think I've ever been so insulted on TBN before. Since you obviously googled a P-3 to get some inside info, I'll help you out:

 

[dmccarty]

Oh my. How did I miss the MAD boom..... I missed the ladder but the boom?

DUH!

Later,
Dan

 

[Podunkadunk]

Oh my. How did I miss the MAD boom..... I missed the ladder but the boom?

DUH!

Later,
Dan

No, you didn't miss the mad boom. I had cut it out (along with the rest of the guys in the picture) in my first post. I posted the picture again, without cutting it, to help heywood jaknockitov align his inertials.

Podunk

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

Thanks for the slightly less-cropped picture. Now I see can the MAD and actually, the RH wing is casting a shadow on the ground which clearly shows propellers. The original photo, I suppose due to a wide-angle lens distortion, makes the LH wing appear to not have engines on it and the empennage thinner than that of a P3. Sorry, If my comment came across as insulting

 

[dmccarty]

No, you didn't miss the mad boom. I had cut it out (along with the rest of the guys in the picture) in my first post. I posted the picture again, without cutting it, to help heywood jaknockitov align his inertials.

Podunk

Whew. I do feel better.

Later,
Dan

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

I posted the picture again, without cutting it, to help heywood jaknockitov align his inertials.

OK, thanks Podunk, my RLGs are aligned now

 

[Podunkadunk]

Thanks for the slightly less-cropped picture. Now I see can the MAD and actually, the RH wing is casting a shadow on the ground which clearly shows propellers. The original photo, I suppose due to a wide-angle lens distortion, makes the LH wing appear to not have engines on it and the empennage thinner than that of a P3. Sorry, If my comment came across as insulting

I guess what got me all worked up is that fact that after all I had posted, you had to SEE for yourself to believe me. I guess sometimes I forget that we live in a crappy world where everyone on the internet is a liar, until proven otherwise.

It's all good. I'm over it.

Podunk

 

[ray66v]

I guess what got me all worked up is that fact that after all I had posted, you had to SEE for yourself to believe me. I guess sometimes I forget that we live in a crappy world where everyone on the internet is a liar, until proven otherwise.

It's all good. I'm over it.

Podunk

For what its worth; I did not see it as he was calling you a liar. I took it as, he thought perhaps, you were mistaken.

At a glance, I was also confused, and not immediately able to identify the A/C as a P3 by the cropped picture. However; aside from the other minor details, the tandem wheels were also a big hint, that it was a larger A/C than an A6.

Thanks for your military service.

 

[BigD23]

I'll still take my favorite side arm anyday.......M61-A1.

Don

 

[Soundguy]

Nothing inthe pic I see leads me to believe it is fake.. so far.. the left side of the door is out of the camera shot.. and there apepars to be more metal racks like the one holding that.. bomb-like-thing.. could be a plenty big door out of the camera angle...

soundguy

Photo Shop, tha boomba tiz bigger than the door...

Semper Fidelis