Post photographs of reconnaissance aircraft, all eras and genres>ELINT>SIGINT>photographic reconnaissance>battlefield observation
Lockheed A-12the Central Intelligence Agency's photographic overflight aircraft
F7U-3P Cutlass
RF-101Coverflying a North Vietnam SAM site
Spitfire PR XI prototypeno gunsMerlin 61 engine
de Havilland Mosquito PR XVI544 Squadron
>>65280812I hope this isn't controversial, but I think the RF-101 is actually better looking than the regular Voodoo.
were these really important in CMCrisis or was that just in the movie, and it was really all U-2.
>>65281760it's not controversial anon, this is a safe space
powered by "city gas" AKA sewer gas AKA farts
>>65281769U-2s provided earlier spotting of the site locations but the RF-8s provided low altitude views that allowed more accurate assessment of strength/numbers
>"Hans?">"Ja, Günther?">"You know motorcycle mit sidecar?">"Ja?">"What if that was Flugzeug?"
^neat looking
>>65281946fly over enemy troops.troops report it.troops punished for making shit up or drunk on watch.later rest of troops hear "its fucking real, they got shit our command doesn't even believe could exist".recon or propaganda? :)
an F-4 Lightning of 3rd Photo Reconnaissance Group
>>65283158night fighternot a reconnaissance aircraft
>>65280913I think those SAMs have autism.
>>65283634>SAMsAAAswhatever
>>65281042>Spitfire PR XI prototypestill has the Mk V rounded-top vertical tail
RF-5E Tigereye prototypeconverted from F-5E-NO s/n 71-1420in flight test 1973Four KS-121A 70 mm framing cameras in nose with horizon-to-horizon oblique, trimetrogon and split vertical coverage
Martin RB-57A-MAs/n 52-1426 the first aircraft built, 1953
One of the first official photos of reconn version of Il-28 Beagle (il-28R) in Polish service, made in summer 1955. The background was removed by military censorship, but it was probably made at (today defunct and no longer in use) Ledzichowo airfield in northern Poland
RB-36H in flight at high altitude, mid-1950s
Nakajima C6N1 Saiun "Iridescent Cloud" / "Painted Cloud"allied reporting name MyrtIJN carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft
>>65284293superb
Republic XF-12 Rainbowdesigned late in World War II, a few years later jet bombers (and recon variants of those) arrivedpowered by four Pratt & Whitney R-4360 engines, each with twin trubosperchargers in ducted nacellesrear fuselage filled with photographic equipment bays
>>65284301Lockheed M-21 mother (modified CIA A-12, camera bay replaced by launch officer crewstation) with D-21 reconnaissance drone
Hughes XF-11a competing project for the late-war USAAF dedicated heavy, high speed long range reconnaissance aircraft requirement in the PacificNeither plane was adopted due to the advent of jets (an interim filler produced in small numbers immediately post-war was the Northrop F-15 Reporter >>65280817)
F-5A-10-LO, nicknamed "Zola" pictured with crewconverted from P-38G-10-LO s/n 42-1328914th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th PRG, 8th AF at RAF Mount Farm, Oxfordshire in 1943Mount Farm was a main base for northern Europe photo reconnaissance sorties and types/groups of aircraftOver 1,000 P-38 Lightnings from the entire war production run were converted to F-4 and F-5 photo reconnaissance aircraft. Starting with the P-38E variant, blocks of planes were completed without armament as F-4 and (most of subsequent) F-5 photo recon birds with various combinations of cameras in the nose. Each F-4 and F-5 had the same sequential USAAF serial number assigned as the brother P-38s in the Lockheed Burbank production batch they were drawn from. Most of the (beginning with F-5C-1 / J-model) photo recon Lightnings were converted at the Dallas Modification Center and then sent to USAAF deployment. The nose camera installation and appearance, configuration on each of these F-4 and F-5 subvariants was slightly different; a primary way to distinguish them from a P-38 fighter plane was the relocated radio mast on top of the nose (instead of beneath).
>>65280812The OP picrel F-5B-1-LO Lightning is s/n 42-682737th Photo Reconnaissance Group, parked at RAF Mount Farm probably in 1944Many of the 8th Air Force USAAF photo reconnaissance aircraft (Lightnings, Spitfires, Mosquitos) were by 1944 painted in an overall haze blue or PR blue scheme. Planes flying primarily night missions could be painted in darker colors.
Consolidated Aircraft's B-24 Liberator was probably the most versatile combat airplane of World War II for the Allies. Although the B-17 was also converted as an aerial photograph platform (designated F-9) in small numbers late in the war and those aircraft were mainly known in the early postwar era for aerial mapping, it was the B-24 that would see more widespread service as a front line aerial reconnaissance bomber primarily in the Pacific.The first five photographic recon conversions from B-24Ds were designated F-7. This is the USAAF's B-24D-CO s/n 41-11598 nicknamed "Hi Doc" / "Sally Lou", 1943
No bird dog?
>>65283713>Spitfire PR XIa USAAF one at Mount Farm
>>65285060
>>65285138yes (was looking for some pics of it)
>>65285138Mitsubishi Ki-46-IIIImperial Japanese Army Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Plane Model 3allied reporting name Dinah
RF-104G
>>65285214>>65285219Those aren't reconnaissance aircraft. Airborne early warning is air defence surveillance and targeting.
>>65284961>The first five photographic recon conversions from B-24Ds were designated F-7Here is F-7 s/n 41-11598 nicknamed "Hi Doc" / "Sally Lou" in flight, 1943
Mitsubishi Ki-46-IIImperial Japanese Army Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Plane Model 2allied reporting name Dinah
>>65285082>>65286457PR IX in flight
>>65286537>IXXI
>>65285249The first five F-7s were converted by Lockheed in Dallas with eleven cameras in nose, bomb bay and rear fuselage.Later B-24 photo reconnaissance conversions were designated F-7A (three nose, and bomb bay, cameras each) and F-7B (six bomb bay cameras). Total of 214 F-7 photo recon Liberators converted for USAAFPicrel is F-7B (B-24M-45-CO) s/n 44-42691 in a southern California test flight from Consolidated Aircraft, probably late 1944
>>65285145That's not the L-19/O-1https://warhawkairmuseum.org/explore/aviation-collection/cessna/
>>65286586>boomerlinkYeah I know. Are you going to contribute to the reconnaissance aircraft photo thread?
>>65281946>>65282066in reality one of the best recon planes ever made.mutts only parrot summer child bullshit, 9gag funny tierpathetic.
>>65286537PR XI in flight. Note the underfuselage camera windows
>>65286572>F-7 photo recon Liberators converted for USAAFThe U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard also used the B-24 as a maritime patrol bomber (as did Royal Air Force Coastal Command). A total of 977 PB4Y-1 Liberators were delivered for Navy/Marine/Coast Guard use during the war; of those at least sixty-five were converted to PB4Y-1P photo reconnaissance birds.Like most of the USAAF's F-7s, the PB4Y-1P served in the Pacific. Marine squadrons VMD-154, -254, -354 and MAG-14, -15, and -35, along with Navy VD-1, VD-3, VD-4, and VD-5. (Some of the PB4Y-1 patrol bombers used during the war for photo recon sorties in these units may not have specifically converted to -1P equipment fit)Pic is a Navy VD-1 PB4Y-1P BuNo 65299 (USAAF equivalent s/n 44-41714, B-24L) named "Rovin' Redhead" at NAS North Island circa fall 1945.
>>65286652Great pic of the CIA's inventory as of Nov-Dec 1963 at Groom Lake.Eight Central Intelligence Agency Lockheed A-12s (including "Titanium Goose" s/n 60-6927 Article 124, the second plane in pic that had J75 engines and was limited to Mach 1.6 top speed) in serial-numerical order, and two Air Force YF-12As (barely visible at end-far left of photo crop)
>>65286700>PB4Y-1PThough less than a hundred Navy Liberators were converted to photo reconnaissance configuration, the later manufactured (B-24L/M) of these planes were kept around post-war for continued use in photo reconnaissance squadrons. Even though the enlarged PB4Y-2 Privateer had also come along late in WWII to supplant the Navy's patrol bombers, no dedicated photo recon version of the Privateer was built and its engines were not turbosupercharged; making the PB4Y-1P superior for medium and high altitude photographic sorties, another reason it remained of value post-war.VPP-1, VP-61, VJ-61 and VJ-62 performed a lot of aerial survey mapping during the late 1940s and early 1950s in Alaska, Mississippi along with (VJ-61) photo recon in French Indochina. For aerial mapping domestic missions the planes had most armament removed.Pic is a flight of VPP-1 PB4Y-1Ps operating from Big Delta, Alaska on 14 July 1948.
>>65283713another view of the Spitfire PR XI prototype with old Mk V rounded-top vertical tail
>>65286586
>>65285145
>>65286784Late 1940s VP-61 PB4Y-1P BuNo 65335 (USAAF equivalent s/n 44-41750, B-24L) in the postwar Navy overall sea blue scheme
>>65284308>Republic XF-12 Rainbowin flight
>>65286784>>65286784>PB4Y-1P post-warBy the 1950s the Navy re-designated some of its older aircraft, the photo recon Liberators were now called P4Y-1P1952 photo op formation of the U.S. Navy's photo reconnaissance airframe inventory for (tail code PP) VC-61 'Eyes of the Fleet' and (tail code PL) VC-62 'Fighting Photos'From top:>Consolidated P4Y-1P >Beechcraft SNB-2P (Beech 18)>Vought F4U-5P Corsair>Grumman F6F-5P Hellcat>Grumman F8F-2P Bearcat>Grumman F9F-5P Panther>McDonnell F2H-2P Bansheepic from August 1952 issue of 'Naval Aviation News'
>>65286878>P4Y-1PVJ-62 aerial mapping P4Y-1P BuNo 65345 (USAAF equivalent s/n 44-41760, B-24L) shown at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland in 1953.Note the post-war overall sea blue scheme with red bar national insignia. Guns have been removed for aerial mapping. VJ-62 operated detachments from Dhahran Air Base in Saudi Arabia (presumably for petroleum geology surveys), Greenland, and Goose Bay, Labrador from 1952 to 1954. Photographic Squadron VJ-62 also operated AJ-2P Savage, SNB-5P, and F7F-3N/-4N aircraft.
USAAF in the Pacific didn't only rely on the F-7A/B Liberators for long range photo reconnaissance. During the last year of the war an entirely new magnitude successor to the B-24 arrived.In 1944 the Superfortress was the largest most complex and advanced airplane ever produced. The standard bomber B-29 already carried three electrically-operated strike cameras (1 vertical, 2 oblique) forward of the lower rear turret in the unpressurized tail section. The dedicated photo reconnaissance Superfortress was designated F-13. These were converted from production line Boeing Wichita B-29s and Boeing Renton B-29As with multiple K-18 (typically three), K-18 (one), and K-22 (two) cameras behind 3/4-inch thick plate glass housings at the Boeing-Continental Airlines modification center in Denver, Colorado. Varying camera fits including trimetrogon for horizon-to-horizon imagery could be installed per Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation / Air Technical Service Command spec in these planes. The Wichita planes were designated F-13 and Renton ones F-13A.Picture is an early F-13 photo reconnaissance conversion (B-29-40-BW s/n 42-24583) after completion in late 1944.
>>65287019>F-13 photo reconnaissance SuperfortressThe B-29 was the most advanced and fastest heavy bomber in the world at time of its introduction. F-13 photo birds were capable of flying at extreme high altitudes and long range, the Twentieth Air Force began receiving them in October 1944. During World War II the F-13s carried full defensive armament as they'd be operating at, near or over the front lines of combat with Japan's forces.Picture is "Yokohama Yo Yo" (B-29-40BW s/n 42-24621), an F-13 with the 41st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 11th PRG at Morotai in late 1944.
>>65287047>Picture is "Yokohama Yo Yo" (B-29-40BW s/n 42-24621), an F-13 with the 41st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 11th PRG at Morotai in late 1944That ^pic is F-13A (Renton B-29A-BN s/n 42-93919) undergoing maintenance on Guam 1945, armament removed.<-- Here picrel is "Yokohama Yo Yo" on Morotai late 1944
>F-13 photo reconnaissance SuperfortressOne of the last conversions, a B-29-100-BW s/n 45-21846 seen over Mt. Rainier probably in late 1945 after the war ended.The F-13s were redesignated RB-29 and RB-29A after 1947 and continued to serve the new U.S. Air Force in photo reconnaissance and aerial mapping roles (as the Navy's PB4Y-1Ps had). RB-29s also saw action in the Korean War. Modifications, upgrades to the camera fits continued to made including, for example, replacement of turret guns with Jerome cameras done for Operation Crossroads.
Engine maintenance for an F-13 (B-29-50-BW s/n 42-24811) of the 3rd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 11th PRG on Guam, Mariana Islands in early-mid 1945.
>>65286912Flight formation of VJ-62 P4Y-1Ps with BuNo 65335 (USAAF equivalent s/n 44-41750, B-24L) on 8 May 1953.Dorsal turrets removed and guns absent on all four planes
>>65287104>3rd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 11th PRGF-13s frequently had double entendre nicknames applied by crews. "Double Exposure" was a 3rd PRS F-13 with typical Vargas nose art here on Isley Field, Saipan 1945. Nine mission symbols rendered(photograph is from David W. Johns' RAAF album)
>>65287149>"Double Exposure" was a 3rd PRS F-13Here is F-13 "Double Exposure" (B-29-55-BW s/n 42-24877) of the 3rd Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, 11th PRG, 21st Bomber Command in flight, probably early 1945. Wartime censor has removed the airplane's identifying markings from the photograph print(other pics, uncensored, from this same aerial photo session exist showing "Double Exposure" in formation with 11th PRG mate "Yokohama Yo Yo" >>65287056)
>>65286844>Republic XF-12 RainbowSpooling up on the ramp at Farmingdale, Long Island in 1946.This was intended to be the USAAF's long range reconnaissance aircraft for the Pacific at the end of the war. F-13 Superfortresses, as conversions, were supposed to be a temporary stopgap until a purpose-built aircraft could meet the requirement.As we know, the advent of jet propulsion massively changed military aviation in the 1944—1947 timeframe and jet reconnaissance bombers would soon make both the XF-12 and F-13 obsolete.
>>65287056>>65287166>"Yokohama Yo Yo" F-13 (B-29-40BW) s/n 42-24621In June 1945 "Yokohama Yo Yo" was flown to the U.S. mainland by 3rd Reconnaissance Squadron commander Col. Patrick McCarthy and placed on public exhibition for a War Bond Drive.3rd PRS F-13s were identified by a black letter 'F' >>65287104 on nose and tailThirty-one mission symbols rendered in this pic
>>65287083>F-13s were redesignated RB-29 and RB-29A after 1947>Modifications, upgrades to the camera fits continued to made including, for example, replacement of turret guns with Jerome cameras done for Operation CrossroadsOriginal conversion unit cost of a B-29 into F-13 was about $400,000 in 1944 dollars. In addition to the typical six-camera >>65287019 installation were fuel tanks in the airplane's rear bomb bay, option of a cargo platform in forward bomb bay for photographic equipment / film / additional cameras, or a load of photo flash bombs for night photography. The bomber's defensive armament was retained for almost all of the conversions (except the final production batches, or field modifications later in 1945 where armament was removed), and the standard combat crew of eleven was augmented with a photo-navigator, and a cameraman, to maintain and operate the reconnaissance systems in flight. Sighting was a modified B-3 Driftmeter in the bombardier compartment, operated by the photo-navigator. About one hundred and eighteen F-13 conversions were built.Picture is RB-29 (B-29-90-BW) s/n 45-21698—a later F-13 conversion, note the lack of defensive armament—of the 46th Reconnaissance Squadron, U.S. Air Force in flight over the Arctic circa 1947—48.
>RB-29s also saw action in the Korean WarRB-29A s/n 44-61727 "So Tired" / "Seven To Seven" of the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, Yokota AB, Japan was shot down by MiG-15s on 4 July 1952. Two men were missing one presumed killed. Eleven of the 13-man crew became POWs after the aircraft crashed 20 miles southwest of Sinanju, North Korea.picture is likely from 1951 or early 1952https://coldwar.org/RB-29/HTML/84.RB-29.1727/84.00.75tblofcont.htm
>>65285292>Mitsubishi Ki-46-II>Imperial Japanese Army Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Plane Model 2>allied reporting name Dinah
>>65282031>>65282035What do I need to study to get to fly on the super sekrit ELINT private jets?
>>65287719
>>65284632>F-5A-10-LO, nicknamed "Zola">pictured with crewHere's the crew pic
U-2s big sister
>>65287750preceded by
Spitfire PR XI "Punkin II" with crew7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group at Mount Farm, 1944
>>65285187>Mitsubishi Ki-46-III
>>65280913I don't see any SAM's or launchers, I do see some howitzers or anti-air guns.
Finnish BlenheimJuly 11, 1941Installing a reconnaissance camera
I'm going to miss these.
>>65288007Already pointed out upthread check the post reply chainhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/85_mm_air_defense_gun_M1939_(52-K)
>>65281212>de Havilland Mosquito PR XVIat Mount Farmthe Mosquito and Lightning were the Allies' two most relied upon tactical reconnaissance aircraft Each had comparable speed, altitude and range to rapidly deliver information back to command from the front lines and post-strike damage assessment
Spitfire PR XI low level pass
>>65287761sex
>>65285244AWACS is for point defence.If you say so dear.
>>65289768They're not reconnaissance aircraft.Start a separate topic thread (I'll contribute to <--it) about AEW/electronic warfare planes. They are combat aircraft. Not spyplanes or reconnaissanceSeparate different topic
>>65287780>>65289235Spitfire PR XI "Photogenic Virgin"probably at Mount Farm 1944
>>65289835>>65289847Thank you.
F-5E-2-LO s/n 43-28704 (P-38J-15 equivalent) 22nd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th PRG, 8th AFon flight line at RAF Mount Farm, Oxfordshire 1944most of the later production Europe theater F-5s were left in natural metal finish
wet day at Eindhoven, 1944
RB-47H-1-BW s/n 53-428855th Strategic Reconnaissance Wingaircraft was later named "Sweet Lips"ELINT reconnaissance bomber, its job was to ferret out Soviet radars with its AN/APD-4 direction finding antenna collection system.Photo shows the airplane fitted with the SILVER KING AN/ALD-4 external canted starboard fuselage pod, likely dating picture to 1962 or 1963. (The AN/ALD-4 ELINT receiver had originally and unrealistically been slated for use on the Convair B-58)This airplane was retired in 1965
>>65288020S/Sgt. Arthur L. Goins, RB-29 combat crew photographer of the 31st Strategical Reconnaissance Squadron, loads a K-18 camera prior to take-off on a strategic reconnaissance mission over North Korea, circa December 1950
>>65287019>multiple K-18Correction, F-13 / B-29 installation should read—* K-17B (typically three), K-18 (one), and K-22 (two) camerasThe K-17s were in a trimetrogon arrangement, one pointing straight down and other two out port-starboard towards horizons. K-22s were in a split vertical mount to cover areas about two miles wide from 20,000 feet altitude. The K-18 covered a wider field of view than the K-22s and could be used for close-ups of specific areas mapped by the K-17 trimetrogon.
RB-50F s/n 47-144 (B-50B-50-BO) "Macs Effort" of 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing pictured over southwestern Ohio on return leg from exercises at RAF Mildenhall to Forbes AFB, Topeka, Kansas on 4 July 1953.RB-50F was the designation for aerial photographic mapping conversion RB-50Bs, while the photo reconnaissance ones were RB-50Es.
>>65293726>RB-50F was the designation for aerial photographic mapping conversion RB-50Bs, while the photo reconnaissance ones were RB-50EsBy 1947 the new USAF was not able to procure the Republic XF-12 >>65284308 / R-12 as its strategic reconnaissance platform due to postwar drawdown and funding cuts. Recon versions of the B-36, and later the jet B-47 were partial solutions but even the World War II F-13 / RB-29 was in need of longer term replacement by 1948 with the Soviets making moves in Europe, and atomic weapons development. B-50B, the improved B-50A with additional fuel cells in outboard wings, new superchargers (that didn't end up fixing chronic issues w/ them) and engine diagnostic system, was not immediately deployed to USAF squadrons. 43 of the 45 total B-50Bs manufactured January—April 1949 were later converted to RB-50Bs. Two major subtypes of RB-50B were the E (photo recon) and F (aerial mapping), while the electronic countermeasures planes were simply RB-50Bs and also used for crew training; these were sophisticated new strategic long range aircraft with complex systems.RB-50E photo recon birds later received the GEM (Global Electronics Modification) program outer-underwing 700 gal drop tanks; the pylon could also be modified to carry a 4,000 lb AN-M56 conventional bomb. RB-50B/E photo reconnaissance bombers had nine cameras installed across four camera stations, weather reconaissance instruments, forward bomb bay fuel tank, provision for hose-type RURALIST aerial refueling, and lacked SADDLETREE nuclear weapons carriage capability.RB-50F aerial mapping variant resembled the E, except added SHORAN nav suite—the defining feature of the RB-50F—to provide precise geodetic mapping + photographic survey data for use by cartographers and produce aerial, maritime and ground charts. SHORAN installation on RB-50Fs took up the space of 2 onboard cameras.Pic is RB-50B s/n 47-122 in flight circa 1951; airplane was later converted to an RB-50E.
McDonnell RF-4C-22-MC s/n 64-1054 of the 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, on the 460th TRS initial deployment to southeast Asia October 1965 in revetment at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, still wearing the early 1960s USAF Air Defense Command stateside light gray scheme.This aircraft was lost to AAA near Cao Mai Dong Hoi, North Vietnam on 19 August 1966; the WSO was killed.
>>65294000>TRSTRW*
These are aerial photographs of nearly the same location in Tokyo, available on the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan website. The image on the left was taken by the Imperial Japanese Army using an RMK10 camera (manufactured by Zeiss), while the image on the right was taken by the U.S. military using a K-17C camera.
>>65288046This PR XVI is in PR blue, others were painted black for night mission photographic sorties
>>65293762RB-50E photo reconnaissance Superfortress s/n 47-122 (converted from B-50B-40-BO) on the ramp at Jackson Field, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea 27 January 1964, during the South West Pacific Aerial Geodetic Survey.Air Photographic and Charting Service (APCS) band on vertical tail, and fuselage Military Air Transport Service (MATS) markings. The aerial photo mapping mission was transferred from SAC to MATS in June 1954. RB-50Es and Fs (latter the dedicated SHORAN variant) sometimes worked in tandem on aerial mapping projects during the 1950s and early 1960s. A series of modification programs had removed most of the RB-50s' defensive armament as seen here. By the time of this picture the RB-50's USAF service career was coming to a conclusion.To withstand higher weights and performance stresses Boeing's B-50 had a strengthened and lighter weight airframe structure manufactured of 75S-T aluminum alloy, in contrast to the 24S-T alloy used in the B-29 Superfortress.
>>65280833What was the reason for the 30 ft tool nose gear on these?
>>65297257High angle of attack takeoff. F-4 Phantom, other (not all) carrier-based jets also have this esp. ones that can't generate quite enough launch lift from their airfoil and the catapult velocity, thrust alone. F7U had pretty shitty early-gen jet engines fwiw
>Avro Lancaster Mark 10 AR, or Area Reconnaissance variant. The Mark 10 AR was fitted with extra fuel tanks, ten camera systems, a new search radar, and a passive ECM collection system. There was also space available on board for SIGINT and electronic intelligence (ELINT) personnel, if they were required.https://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vo9/no1/11-maloney-eng.asp
>>65287506>RB-29AThis is an ELINT reconnaissance bomber—originally a later production B-29A-70-BN / F-13A photo reconnaissance conversion—RB-29 of the 324th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Group with armament removed and ELINT receiver antennas on fuselage undersurface. March 1949 photo by Logan Coombs; this was taken in the tense pre-Korean War 1947—49 period when the new USAF was in need of long range reconnaissance surveillance >>65293762 of Soviet activity.
Mitsubishi Ki-46-IIImperial Japanese Army Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Plane Model 2allied reporting name Dinahin flight
>>65281769
>>65284282>>65284293Nakajima C6N1 Saiun "Iridescent Cloud" / "Painted Cloud"allied reporting name MyrtIJN carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft
RAF. Boldly going...
>>65302078Nice. They also (not for recon but) used B-29s as Washingtons.
Nakajima C6N1 Saiun "Iridescent Cloud" / "Painted Cloud"allied reporting name Myrt
>>65284632F-5A-10-LO photo reconnaissance aircraft (modified from P-38G-10-LO s/42-13319) of the 14th Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th PRG pictured with crew at RAF Mount Farm in 1943. Aircraft was lost 14 February 1944 while serving with the 3rd PRG
Teledyne Ryan AQM-34L Firebee was used as a low altitude photographic reconnaissance dronethe Firebee program is one of the most underappreciated aviation stories of the Vietnam War. These drones flew over 3,400 reconnaissance missions over North Vietnam, often at altitudes too dangerous for manned aircraft, making them direct ancestors of today's MQ-9s and RQ-4s decades before "drone warfare" became a household term.
>>65304742>AQM-34L>FirebeeYes. Except that's not the Firebee.The *target drone* under the wing of the DC-130 in (You)r pic is a BQM-134 Firebee. Never used for reconWhat you're referring to is the 1960s era program co-sponsored by funding from the NRO (National Reconnaissance Office), the drones that were produced by Teledyne Ryan named Model 147. That is the *AQM-34* series that were named *Lightning Bug*. AQM-34 series drones had different airframes, wings, engines and equipment from the BQM-134 Firebee, completely different project. As mentioned above the 1962—1973 southeast Asia operations and all the different reconnaissance and ELINT low-to-high altitude drone systems developed and fielded during that specific period were backed by NRO support and funding.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Model_147Pic is a Teledyne Ryan Model 147SC. USAF designation for this drone was AQM-34L. 147S series was a Strategic Air Command program for low altitude drones codenamed Buffalo Hunter, beginning in late 1967. (Several other low, medium, and high altitude recon and ECM drones in the 147 / AQM-134 series had already been fielded prior) This particular Lightning Bug named "Tom Cat" had flown 68 missions over North Vietnam before its loss to AAA over Hanoi.(search Teledyne Ryan in desuarchive.org for more)
>>65304811>BQM-134 / AQM-134typos *Correction : BQM-34Model 147 = AQM-34 aka Lightning Bug (southeast Asia drones 1962—1973)Model 124 Firebee = BQM-34
>>65290729PR XI taxiing at soggy Mount Farm 1944
F-5C-1-LO s/n 42-67128 (P-38J-5 equivalent) photo reconnaissance modification named "Dot+Dash" of the 22nd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th PRG at RAF Mount Farm 1944aircraft was lost on 6 October 1944
>>65285187Mitsubishi Ki-46-IIIImperial Japanese Army Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Plane Model 3allied reporting name DinahOne example seen in foreground of this photo, another one in the upper left background (just in front of the Q1W Toukai)USS Barnes (CVE-20) as it transports captured Imperial Japan warplanes to the United States for evaluation in November 1945. Also seen on the escort carrier's deck are N1K2-Js, Ki-102, A6M, B6Ns, a rare Nakajima J5N Tenrai, and D4YWar prizes
>>65280812I love the shark nose.
>>65281760Beat me to it, brother.
>>65280812
>>65303304
Douglas RB-66B-DL s/ns 53-415, 53-452, 53-418 flight line at Tan Son Nhut Air Base South Vietnam circa 1966
>>65306456The Israelis love their photo recon, like, alot.
Soviet MiG-25 RBF.>Streakin' over the eastern med circa 1967. Fun times.
>>65295399Did they ever paint any pink like they did for the spitfires that went in at dawn-dusk to recon the results of night bombing?
RF-100A Slick Chick. Made because the U-2 was running behind schedule, they took some F-100As, added a foot to the wing span, modified hard points to carry four drop tanks, added a large fuselage bulge to carry five cameras, and modified the cockpit for pressure suits. They had two units, one in Germany and the other Turkey.
>>65299896Here's another Superfortress, this time a WB-29. These were weather recon planes that the US used to get weather data for areas over the open ocean. Some, like this one, were also assigned to fly into the eye walls of hurricanes and typhoons to get research data.Since they were constantly flying, they were modified in the late 40s to start carrying air sampling scoops under the wings and fuselage. A number of B-29s were retasked with routes that took them downwind of the USSR. It was one of those flying the daily Yakota-Eielson track that caught the radiological debris from the first Soviet atomic test in September of 1949. After that, more were modified and eventually replaced with WB-50s when the Air Weather Service wasn't able to get into the C-130 production schedule.
>>65309461>WB-29The airplane in your pic is B-29-95-BW "Typhoon Goon" s/n 45-21838, one of the final production batch Superfortresses—first delivered to USAAF on 5 September 1945—converted into an armed weather reconnaissance aircraft post-war. "Typhoon Goon" was assigned to the 514th Reconnaissance Squadron (Very Long Range) Weather at North Field, Guam in 1950. WB-29 conversions after 1946 could have varying equipment fits and armament (some were unarmed) depending on the mission. Meteorological sensors included radio and radar altimeters, aerograph (hygrometer) to measure relative humidity, wet and dry bulb psychrometer, and parachute-dropped radiosondes to transmit temperature/humidity/pressure data back to the airplane. Pic related is a WB-29 (B-29-25-MO Martin-Omaha built s/n 42-65281 an earlier airplane) of the 53rd Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, equipped with a particulate sampler aka 'crackerbox' or 'bug catcher' on the upper rear fuselage (Air Weather Service sampling of Soviet nuclear tests was a critical mission in the late 1940s and through the 1950s) that passed air across a paper filter trapping small particles. Pic is from the early 1950s as seen from the red-stripe national insignia, note also the AN/APQ-13 radome underfuselage. Beginning in 1946 WB-29s flew long duration missions inside of hurricanes and also across the North Pole (16-hour sorties the crews called Ptarmigan after the arctic bird).
>>65309461>>65309853>WB-50sBy 1955 the weary WB-29s were in need of replacement with airframe corrosion, fatigue and worn out engines taking a toll. The newer C-130 was a preferred replacement but the Air Weather Service at that time was lower on the procurement priority list, so Lockheed Air Service was given a contract to convert (at their Ontario Airport, California facility) 75 B-50Ds into WB-50s: the first ones equipping AWS squadrons (eventually seven of them) in November 1955.>53rd WRS RAF Mildenhall>54th WRS Andersen AFB, Guam>55th WRS McClellan AFB, California>56th WRS Yokota AB, Japan>57th WRS Hickam AFB, Hawaii>58th WRS Eielson AFB, Alaska>59th WRS Kindley AB, BermudaWB-50Ds had improved data collection/nav equipment, range and flight performance, and were much needed in the mid-late 1950s for the critical atmospheric nuclear sampling mission. Processing of the 'bug catcher' sampling papers was done by personnel of the 1009th Special Weapons Squadron, Bolling AFB assigned to each WRS, or sent to the McClellan AFB central laboratory for detailed analysis. Prior to weather satellites in the mid-1960s the WB-50D fleet was responsible for world wide storm track sorties flown between the multiple bases listed above. They were replaced by WB-47Es and WC-130Bs as of fall 1964 after a decade of service and thirteen aircraft lost to all causes with six fatal crashes and more than sixty AWS personnel killed, including a 140-day interval from 31 August 1956 to 17 January 1957 when 33 lives were lost in three fatal accidents.Boeing WB-50D s/n 48-115 (B-50D-105-BO) pictured at an open house, Ladd Air Force Base, Alaska in May 1957 with 'bug catcher' on upper rear fuselage, underwing pylon F-50 sampling pods (modified 700-gal drop tanks), and AN/APQ-82 Doppler radar at the forward lower turret location.
>>65309366checked, I'm not aware of any (Mosquitos) painted in a pale pink or off-white scheme though it was apparently used for some PR Spitfires assigned to lower altitude sorties. Pink and very light tan/off-white was sometimes used as desert or tropical camo for P-40 fighters and maybe ? some other Allied combat aircraft.American photo reconnaissance Mosquitos were mostly Canadian-built and given the USAAF designation F-8. They were in high demand in Europe thanks to their long range and versatile internal bomb bay. Another subvariant of the PR XVI were used by the 25th Bomb Group, 8th AF for 'Mickey' radar mapping of potential targets. These aircraft used modified B-17 H2X sets to create annotated map photographs of the radar display that a bombardment navigator would expect to see incoming to a strategic target (for a subsequent combat sortie). 'Mickey' PR XVIs had a bulbous nose radome similar in appearance to the later Mosquito night fighter variants, housing the H2X scanner; the radar set had a tendency to arc or explode when first switched on due to it drawing a heavier current than the plane's electrical system could safely bear.American F-8s were also used to accompany 8th AF bombing raids deploying chaff (aka Window) and also to photograph the bomb drop itself and the damage assessment. Night photography by the 654th Squadron flew 'Joker' missions accompanying B-25s and B-26s with photo flash bombs fused to illuminate at 4,000 to 6,000 ft altitude. Typical F-8 camera installation was two K-19Bs at split vertical angles in forward bomb bay and a third in the rear.Pic is a 25th BG USAAF F-8 named "Pamelia" probably in early 1945.
>>65283626Yes: there was a recon variant of the Black Widow, but that had a differently-shaped cockpit. Also the only Black Widows with the turrets were some of the night-fighter variants.
>>65311173>derpSee one of my (OP) first posts in this topic thread: >>65280817We already know what the F-15 Reporter is. (the P-61 night fighter—actually it was the un-built proposed P-61E day fighter prototype—from which it was developed is not a reconnaissance airplane. Posting a pic of the P-61 itt is off topic and rightly called out as such)
>>65311202>> "We already know what the F-15 Reporter is."Well the person higher up in the discussion who posted a picture of a P-61 clearly didn't. I was agreeing with you and (for the sake of the misinformed person further up) adding some further information. Cool fact about the Reporter being developed from an unbuilt day-fighter version of the P-61 by the way, I didn't know that.
>>65282035>German flag>US N-numberHuh?
>>65309980>They were replaced by WB-47Es and WC-130Bs as of fall 1964Those replaced the WB-50s in the weather reconnaissance mission, but you forgot the WC-135B Constant Phoenix that picked up the isotope air sampling mission in 1965. The initial 10 were converted C-135B cargo aircraft, but they later converted an EC-135C Looking Glass command post into a WC-135C. The current fleet are three WC-135Rs converted from KC-135R tankers beginning in 2019.Pic rel is one of the current ones. You can see the air sampling intake on the fuselage above the wing.
>>65287719Nothing, aside from some sort of bachelors for your ROTC/academy program. Just get comissioned, and then accepted into the USAF flight school. At graduation, ask for it on your wish list and if you're lucky one will be open. As the pilot, you're not typically involved in all the gizmos in the back. You're just the bus driver carting them around in patrol patterns that make tanker racetracks look exciting.
>>65312847And the final step in the lineage: the OC-135B Open Skies. Three of the WC-135Bs were converted into totally unarmed treaty aircraft meant to lower conflict risk after the end of the Cold War. They were permitted to fly anywhere over the ex-Warsaw Pact and carried the treaty authorized synthetic aperture radar, recording cameras, and IR imaging sensor.Only two of them were ever used and they flew until 2020 with the US abandoned the treaty. The US tried to see if anyone else wanted them, but none of the European potential buyers were interested since Russia retaliated with their own withdrawal in 2021. They sat around Offut for a couple of years before moving to the boneyard in 2022.>>65312862He could also try enlisting the in the Army and applying for the warrant officer flight training program (they even take people off the street for that sometimes). Much more likely to just end up in a helicopter though.
>>65311379>picture of a P-61This is the pic >>65283158This is the reply post: >>65283626>night fighter>not a reconnaissance aircraftEnd of discussion. (already was dealt with prior to inserting (You)rself)
>>65312847>>65312923>WC-135BDidn't "forget" them, simply did not mention them and, my post specifically was about the B-29/B-50 nineteen-fifties decade and brief-mention immediate successor to WB-50D in the weather mission (my post also was already at textlimit). Feel free to post more of the C-135 derivative ELINT SIGINT and monitoring reconnaissance platforms.
>>65305462F-5B-1-LO Lightning s/n 42-67379 (P-38J-5 equivalent) photo reconnaissance modification named "Ginger Snap" of the 27th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th PRG at RAF Mount Farm 1944aircraft was lost on 13 June 1944
>>65311798it hasn't been delivered to the germans yet
>>65313546That's a combat sent
>>65313546>>65313953>That's a combat sentyep, RC-135U chin fairing
>>65287104Another F-13 (B-29-50-BW s/n 42-24813)—just a couple production numbers away—of the 3rd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 11th PRG taxiing past the 19th Bomb Group 314 BW flight line on Guam, Mariana Islands in 1945.This plane also shares the distinct 3rd PRS 'F' nose and vertical tail markings. Note the AN/APQ-13 belly radome.
>>65314174Grr!
>>65314393except that's an AEW planeStart a separate topic for AEW/ECM electronic warfare and early warning combat aircraft
>>65287506RB-29A that survived the Korean War only to be lost a year later: B-29A-20-BN s/n 42-94000 former F-13A (converted February 1945 at the Denver Modification Center immediately after USAAF delivery), "Tiger Lil" pictured here circa 1951 at Yokota Air Base, Japan with crew.Shot down on a routine photographic mapping mission 7 November 1954 over the Sea of Japan by Soviet MiGs; eleven crewmembers (one did not survive) bailed out of the flaming Superfortress which crashed into an unoccupied house 10 miles east of Kenebetsu on the island of Hokkaido.
>>65290508another F-5E-2-LO s/n 43-29009 (P-38J-15 equivalent)13th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th PRG camera bay service at RAF Mount Farm, Oxfordshire early 1945
>>65309492nice
F-5F-3-LO s/n 44-25140 "The Comely Coolie" of the 28th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th AF on Okinawa 1945. This is a later conversion from a P-38L-5-LO Lightning; note the different camera installation from the F-4s and F-5s.tail of a P-38J-15-LO fighter (s/n 48-28299) is at left
>>65322451>48-28299*43-28299
>>65312847>>65312923You seem like the guy to ask (or anyone else who might have some good suggestions). Any good detailed books about the RC's? How about Soviet/Russian ones?
>>65323141(not him, am the OP) the best C-135 book is 'The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker: More Than a Tanker' (2017)by Robert S. Hopkins III who is a former Cobra Ball pilot and Phd historianThat 2017 edition^ is a much revised and expanded reboot of the 1997 Aerofax / Midland (paperback) book by same authorSoviet/Russian check out Yefim Gordon's books on the Tupolevs
Flight line of what look like fresh painted F-5E-2-LO Lightnings (P-38J-15s) at RAF Mount Farm, Oxfordshire in spring 1944
>>65306456>>65308788checked, Israel was the only country to receive an export version of the Ryan Model 147 Lightning Bug >>65304811 reconnaissance drone, a ground-launched version of the AQM-34L Buffalo Hunter with same basic sensor fit. They were delivered in the early 1970s and company-designated Model 124I by Teledyne Ryan (note the deceptive use of the '124' Firebee / BQM-34 target nomenclature even though these were equivalent to the NRO / SAC recon drones of same time period). Rocket boosted from the ground, similar to the U.S. Navy's ship-launched Model 147SK (which flew missions over North Vietnam and China); IDF didn't have an air launch DC-130 capability but (with Sikorsky CH-53s) mid-air recovered them by helicopter as USAF did with their Model 147s. 124I was used operationally in the Yom Kippur war and an unknown amount thereafter into the 1980s.
>>65306759Nakajima C6N had the slimmest, narrowest fuselage that could be designed around the Homare engine, Fowler and split flaps along the laminar flow wing trailing edge and leading edge slats to minimize carrier landing speed with its high wing loading. It outran the U.S. Navy's F6F Hellcat
>>65327402>F-5F-3-LOthere may have been over 1,200 photo reconnaissance conversions of the P-38 production series from 1942 through 1945, including the late L variant, the most-produced and definitive Lightning. The F-5F-3 and F-5G-6 were the last two photo recon conversion designations, the former of which more closely resembled F-5E, F-5C and other earlier conversions in the nose camera configuration. The F-5E-3 and -4 were converted from P-38Js and Ls, respectively and had the same basic port oblique camera appearance as immediate preceding E-2, C conversions, but the F-5F-3 >>65322451 had a slightly smaller, lower port camera window and sometimes an extended below-nose housing for aft vertical cameras.A larger bulbous appearance reached its peak with the last run of P-38L-5 photo recon conversions as the F-5G-6, over 375 of which were built. The redesigned F-5G nose included a small forward oblique camera window in addition to port/starboard and vertical. Pic is one of the USAAF surplus F-5G-6s at a post war event; due to the relatively larger number of P-38Ls available of which some had low airframe hours this was a popular option for civilians wishing to pick up a Lightning, and F-5Gs were also pressed into business for aerial mapping duties. Several of the warbird P-38Ls of past decades were re-converted (back to fighter plane nose configuration) from F-5Gs.
RB-57 taking off from my hometown airbase KAFB
>>65335654god, what a machine
>>65335654Too bad one of these got damaged in a belly landing earlier this year.
>>65335654Kino. Kirtland has lots of weird, rare and spooky shit
