The Sidewinder Story AIM-9 (SERIES)
We've been using it 60 years in one form or another. The lightest, cheapest, air intercept missile (AIM) we have and it works good!
It got the name sidewinder by the abrupt course changes, jerky actually.
It can be fired at an unaware target and his first indication would be an engine exploding.
Enjoy!
http://www.donhollway.com/foxtwo/
It got the name sidewinder by the abrupt course changes, jerky actually.
It can be fired at an unaware target and his first indication would be an engine exploding.
Enjoy!
http://www.donhollway.com/foxtwo/
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Cool story. An amazing weapon for that time which really surprised the ChiComms.
It is amazing how many things the Russians and the ChiComs have stolen from us.
This article also goes to show also how much we have moved away from Taiwan. I remember back in the 70's they were one of our best friends but I guess starting in the late 70's early 80's we kind of distanced ourselves from them. I think we can thank the grinning idiot jimmy carter for that.0 -
dad was a machinist at that time at Allegany Ballistics Laboratory, now northrop Grumman and machined parts for the motor for the sidewinder 0 -
Interesting!
They even experimented with mounting a Sidewinder on the unarmed E-2B. On our 72-73 deployment to the Tonkin Gulf we had the only E-2, that I'm aware of, ever retrofitted with Sidewinder rails; our CAG bird. The rails, controls, and a dummy Sidewinder transferred with the plane, stored in cargo boxes. From fading memory I believe this concept went through testing, but I can't remember where. Some of our officers got the brilliant idea of a photo op and mounted the rails and missile on the E-2, on the flight deck, in full view of satellites; not the best of ideas!!!! They got a real ass reaming from some really high up brass!!!!! I saw it when they mounted it; wish I could have taken a picture of that setup!!!!0 -
quote:Originally posted by Old-Colts
Interesting!
They even experimented with mounting a Sidewinder on the unarmed E-2B. On our 72-73 deployment to the Tonkin Gulf we had the only E-2, that I'm aware of, ever retrofitted with Sidewinder rails; our CAG bird. The rails, controls, and a dummy Sidewinder transferred with the plane, stored in cargo boxes. From fading memory I believe this concept went through testing, but I can't remember where. Some of our officers got the brilliant idea of a photo op and mounted the rails and missile on the E-2, on the flight deck, in full view of satellites; not the best of ideas!!!! They got a real ass reaming from some really high up brass!!!!! I saw it when they mounted it; wish I could have taken a picture of that setup!!!!
That predates my story, but this was probably spoiled by the Walker Spy Ring so I'm gonna tell it.
In the eighties I was deployed to Adak. One of our jobs was to fly the Eastern coast of the USSR and map radar and SAM sites by the radar hit we would receive. We would not be emitting anything so if the Rooshins wanted to find us, they had to go active. They would always send a Su or MiG out to eyeball us
Harpoons had just come out and someone, Skipper never told me who, wanted to give the impression that we already had them deployed with the fleet.
We got a SAFE FOR FLIGHT dummy Harpoon in Adak Bob Prader, Our Lockheed Ordnance rep at Moffett, flew in to assist. Note, we didn't even have the control boxes for the AGM84 in the planes yet.
The morning of the flight, we did release and control checks on the plane and hung the Harpoon on Station 10, port wing. The Harpoon is a 1000 lb class store.
Bob had brought rolls of brown and yellow tape to simulate the recco markings a live weapon. Brown is for the chemical engine, yellow is for high explosive.
We took off on a mapping flight but with orders to do Harpoon launch profiles a couple of times off Kamchatka. This consisted of flight straight and level toward the soviet landmass and breaking left or right prior to entering their airspace.
It got their attention as a few emitters we didn't have charted came on after the first run. In an hour or so, a Su came out and took some pictures. His missiles were real however. [;)] He was very interested in the port wing. [:p] He headed home and so did we.
We didn't fly the dummy anymore, nor did we ever hear what impact if any the stunt had.0 -
P3, I won't quote you in case you want to remove that tidbit about the Harpoon, but very interesting read! There are so many things that we had/did/used that were classified off the charts, most if not all are probably declassified by now, but since I didn't get the memo I'll just elect to take them to my grave! [:D]
The problem with armament on an otherwise known to be unarmed airplane is it makes you a shoot first and ask questions later candidate for the other side. It took some stones and luck making that Harpoon diversion to get the unknown sites; glad it worked and everyone got back home safe and sound!0 -
I worked on F-16s that had sidewinders. In the 80s 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Old-Colts
P3, I won't quote you in case you want to remove that tidbit about the Harpoon, but very interesting read! There are so many things that we had/did/used that were classified off the charts, most if not all are probably declassified by now, but since I didn't get the memo I'll just elect to take them to my grave! [:D]
The problem with armament on an otherwise known to be unarmed airplane is it makes you a shoot first and ask questions later candidate for the other side. It took some stones and luck making that Harpoon diversion to get the unknown sites; glad it worked and everyone got back home safe and sound!
What me worry? [8D] A few things, technical weaknesses, or combat tactics, never need to be revealed, but most sea stories find their way into military lore.
One of the biggest and best, actually two, operations given away by the Walkers, God damn their souls, was Operation IVY BELLS, and Howard Hughes GLOMAR EXPLORER raising a sunken Soviet GOLF class sub.
The Soviets weren't stupid. They knew the US wasn't launching a First Strike with a P-3. [:D][;)]0 -
quote:Originally posted by p3skyking
The Soviets weren't stupid. They knew the US wasn't launching a First Strike with a P-3. [:D][;)][:D][:D]0
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