I remember an RAF Vulcan (44 Sqn) stationed in Salisbury, Rhodesia in
1959/60 for a
couple of months (still in the days of the Federation of Rhodesia &
Nyasaland) mostly on an aerial photography mission to aid the updating of
maps. I
suppose that would all be done by satellite photography today.
Alan C
-----Original Message-----
From: Daniel J. Matyola
Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2014 5:10 PM
To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List
Subject: Re: F104's revisited - especially for Frank!
Every aircraft has to be judged by its function and service era. The
Starfighter F-104 was an interceptor designed to climb quickly to high
altitude and fire missiles at incoming bombers. That mission was
taken over by ground based missiles almost before the Starfighter came
into service. The USAF tried to use it in Viet Nam, but it was
totally unsuited to the climate and mission. It was, however, one of
the sexiest designs ever.
The Vulcan was a heavy bomber, designed for the type of air-ground
missions that fortunately were never required. It was an innovative
machine with a unique, memorable design, and served many nations quite
well.
The F-4 Phantom II was one of the most versatile aircraft ever made,
fulfilling several functions over a long period of time. Its Mach 2
speed and ability to carry almost any weapon, made it the vehicle of
choice in the West for several decades. I always though it a
beautiful aircraft, with its coke-bottle fuselage, dihedral wings and
anhedral horizontal stabilizer, but I guess beauty is in the eye of
the beholder. <G> The other airplane in which I flew, the A-6
Intruder, is what I consider to be an ugly bird:
http://www.veteran.com/content/a6a-intruder
http://www.veteran.com/content/a6a-intruder-vma%28aw%29533-nighthawks
For sheer beauty, my favorite military airplane is the gull-winged
F-4U Corsair from WW II:
http://www.aviation-history.com/vought/f4u.html
That was a very tough plane to land and take-off, from what I have
heard, but in the air, it's distinctive shape is unforgettable.
Dan Matyola
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola
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