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It's About the Journey Not Just the Destination
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom an American fighter and multipurpose jet aircraft. Used by the RAAF due to the delay in the arrival of the General Dynamics F-111.
Photographs of Phantom scale models can be found here
With the development of jet aircraft, the Royal Navy was keen to evaluate their suitability for operation from aircraft carriers. As a result, the third de Havilland Vampire prototype LZ551/G was modified with 40% extra flaps, long travel oleos and an arrestor hook to become prototype Sea Vampire F.10. This aircraft became the first jet to make a deck landing and take-off from an aircraft carrier (from HMS Ocean) on the 3rd December 1945. It was flown by Lt Cdr Eric “Winkle” Brown.
Despite the success of this trial, there were still many misgivings about the suitability of operating jet aircraft routinely from carriers, particularly concerning landing speed and operational range. As a possible solution an experimental flexible “rubber” deck was proposed, whereby jets would not require undercarriage. A reinforced fuselage and the removal of undercarriage allowed the aircraft to belly land on a rubber deck. This would extend range by allowing more fuel to be carried.
Six aircraft were converted from Vampire F.3s for the trial work as the Sea Vampire Mk 21. The prototypes were fitted with a strengthened fuselage for undercarriage-less trials on the rubberised deck. The trials were conducted at RAE Farnborough and then on HMS Warrior between 1949 and 1953. Despite the significant effort towards developing this idea it was found to be an unnecessary concept following the introduction of angled flight decks
The main Sea Vampire variant was the F.20, which although armed with four 20mm cannon was used mainly by training units for familiarization with jet aircraft. A total of 20 were built (including two prototypes).
The Sea Vampire T.22 of which 73 were built was similar to the land based T.11 but built for the Royal Navy. It was not navalised and was not fitted with an arrestor hook.
North American B 25H Mitchell s/n 43 4909 Eatin’ Kitty of the 12th Air Force 12th Bomb Group 82nd Bomb Squadron 44 Eatin’ Kitty Oct 1943
North American B-25D-20 Mitchell “Mexican Spitfire” Serial Number 41-30592 of the 5th Air Force, 345th BG, 500th BS. All 5 crewmen were lost when she was hit by AA fire during a mission to bomb Langoon Airfield, September 2, 1944.
North American B-25 s/n 43-3296 Mitchell Rose’s Beau of the 48th Bomb Squadron, 41st Bomb Group 7th Air Force
North American B-25 Mitchell Sherry
North American B-25D-30 s/n 43-3403 Incendiary Blonde of 447 BS, 321 BG, Italy 1944. Hit by flak on 20 October 1944 and crashed. Of the five crew, two were killed, two captured and one evaded and returned to USA.
North American B-25J Mitchell s/n 43-4067 of the 321st Bomb Group 448th Bomb Squadron coded 76, The Big Swing was hit by flak which damaged a wing. It crashed in Switzerland 7th Feb 1945.
North American B-25 Mitchell s/n 43-28149 “The Ink Squirts” from the 41st Bombardment Group. The “Ink Squirts” was a cartoon in the base newspaper of the Sea Bees of the 94th Battalion, on Tarawa, 1944
