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WILLIAM
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THE OBSERVER'S
BASIC BOOK OF AIRCRAFT
-MILITARY_
The most compact reference source to the
entire spectrum of today's military aircraft
for pocket or bookshelf, this volume of lhe
Observer's BASIC Book of Airclaft illustrates
the vast majority of the aeroplanes serving
with the world's air forces and naval air arms,
from attack bombers to assault transports;
from strike fighters to support helicopters.
For the first time in a book of this size com-
parison silhouette drawings are provided to
enable differing versions of one basic air-
craft design to be readily compared. and tn
addition to no fewer than 406 individual
drawings and 140 photographs, the rcader
will f ind an enormous wealth of information.
much of which has remained previously
unpublished, concerning the production
status of each aircraft type. quantities built
of each version, the air arms by which it is
uscd, its characteristics and its history.
Never before has so much fact been gathered
l)etween the covers of so small a book.
An indispensable companion to this
volume is The Observer's BASIC Book of
Aircralt devoted lo civil aircraft which
illustrates and describes all the most im-
portant long-, medium- and short-haul
transports, feeder liners, cxecutive trans-
ports and utility aircraft, agricultural, sporls
and touring aircraft, and commercial heli-
copters. Unrform with this volume.
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THE OBSERVER'S BASIC
BOOK OF AIRCRAFT
-MILITARY_
I
THE OBSERVER'S
i BASIC
Tho Obsorver'e Books BOOK OF
AIRCRAFT
nltil)l wlt,l) l,LowERs
Iul"rEnil.lBl 'l'lUil{s
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oBAttBt I )(XtS
IIOTUr! ANI) lONlBr (lr('LooY MILITARY
AtnenAFf IrtItNtt
Anot I t1'Bo't'unE t,An(.ltill Mo'l'ns +
BlfiP; t\tt,$t c ll Compiled by
coMMoN lNlltc'l.t IilltIrBt ttt;cs I WILLIAM GREEN
COMMON FT'N(II MOt$tttJ
AtltoMonIt.rt WllA'lIIlriR i With silhouettes by
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IlA[.WAY I,OCOM(r',llvlfi I|()NI) LII'I' DENNIS PUNNETT
oAnDllN rLOWtilr l,AlN't'lNo
cAc'rI HrA tftSrrrts
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LIC!IIIN' MODNRN ART
IrunNt'rullll cllURclllls
SCULI'1'Unll COMMI]IICIAL VEHICLES
lt^Fl(: AlllcltAlrl' cIvIL
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lt^tilc Allt(;R^rl MILTTARY
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lllilALDltY FREDERICK WARNE & CO. LTD.
FREDERICK WARNE & CO. INC.
LONDON NEW YORK
O FREDERICK WARNE & CO. LTD
ABOUT THIS BOOK
LONDON ENGI,AND
$67 Suplr-rr,rrNrrNc the annual Obseruer's Book oJ Aircraft, which,
cach year, surveys the newest aircraft and the latest variants of
cxisting types that have appeared in the preceding twelve months
or are expccted to appear during the currency of the edition,
this volume of The Obserter's BASIC Book of AircraJt l'as a
different purpose: it has been designed to provide the most com-
pact reference source possible to the world's most important
and most widely-used military aircraft, irrespective of age. Thus,
on the pages that follow will be found attack aircraft ranging
from the Douglas Skyraider, phased out of production in t957,
to Ling-Temco-Vought's Corsair II which entered service ten
years later, in 1967; fighters from the MiG-r5 and F-86 Sabre
which met in combat over Korea, having appeared a score of
years ago, to the variable-geometry F-rrr now being delivered
t,ililrAll\' orr coNcltliss c,\'fALoG CARD NO. 66-17234 to the U.S.A.F.; and trainers dating back to the'thirties in the
shape of the T-6 Texan and contrasting sharply with their suc-
cessors of the 'sixties, such as the supersonic T-38 Talon. But
although the piston-engined old stagers that rub shoulders on
the follolving pages with the very latest military types differ
radically in appearance and performance from their intended
successors, the aircraft illustrated and described in this book
have one common denominator: they are all serving with world's
air arms in substantial numbers, or, in the case of the newest
models, are in quantity production.
To facilitate comparison between the widely-differing aircraft
that make up the contents of this volume, they have been divided
into the following broad categories:
Ftcntrns Pages 8 7t
Bol,rspns exo Alt.,tcx Arncnepr 7z 1o7
Parnor, ANtt-suulrlntNn aNl RncosNalssaNco
Arncnent ro8 rzg
Arn OnsenverloN Posrs I30-r35
Rutlcr P€l tii'lLtc'adn nitirl G1.rteda, tI irBorrittca inct nbd !l.ondon TnetNnns r36-r89
r li(3. r 66 TlaNsponrs 19o 239
I-Inr-rcoprnns z4o-267
ABBRDVIATIONS EMPLOYED IN THE TEXT cotJN l nY SERVICE TITLE ABBREVIATION
bIna saicd ddietiotanil st oo fil ltuhsctrira tpinogrv car wpildiucr tvs,a rpicctryfo ormf aanirccerasf,t uty'epiegsh tsa nadn pdr odvimideinng- ll,lt).iblril,l,,,tr,iI .Dl CueIrmyFopu ededeza aAl vAEia6thcreiio6apn Ei aMcnui liaALtaor rr iFaDonoracnofnicaDa D!]c,iotuhma.. . A 4-.{F..tFr.'..
tions, The Obscrotr's IIA SIC Ilooh oJ Airctuft <tftcrs details of production Iriillilrrl Ihmvoimat lrio. A.F.
quantitics, first fliglrt clrtcs, rncl thc principal variants of each type, as Iririlcc AJmac de I'Air Fr. A.ts.
iwunsfeeol rl onarfs a itrlibiosbntir neigvni atsthoioc nsinrs r,ci rulal rnlr ccrnrxrtpl tolrlnnl)rncctr iiioltt noh .lsso, f bbrcuvcht niic nnh c ocforedlsleosrna r'styo: toin mclaukdee esxot emnsuivceh -{c,i00lorn-'nnarnl'yy ((Wli)) LdAtvviaafttteLuu ilAf d t,Lesir6rto grDnedaeirteuuk ttrsi{iqclfe uht eeel'nA Nd meBarvu6 anDclde Dednscr, eTpcuiblclik FOLru.. lllik..lni. yluit,
trlrinediegcr der Bundesrehr Kriegsmarine
\L sDccd Nhxinrurrr sDectl in Com, rad. Combat radius Ileeresuiegerei Fed. G. Amy
lclel lliaht 'I'lc. rad, '.factical radius (;hana Ghana Air tsorce Chan. A.)'.
MNI.. ccrliumisbc NMlaaxxiimmuumm cartutaisininsapgbclecd CSr'.I 'rOlnLg c SChruoirst intagk era-nogffe alanndding GCI{ua[^iinitieemaala IfFuICieooorryzcryaaesl AAdE66'edrrileevleaDiad ndtceie o AndGe iurd a G'ltH'euomairnciafteoila R0CHu.uaEaiint.t.A.. .AAAII....0FI...
MNMIlao..n rr.ega cncn rcdg.r. e. MNMLooaanrxxgmii-mmraaulun mcgnre u cr iasnccincnrlluigugmicr sabisnn pcgrcaccted VSIsn..Tl ..c Occli.lL. VSSIneeeiarwtti iailccelae vlc e cltliaemkilbein-goffl mandding I]IIHInr.Iroadua(liDBoiqlrdngueamsryias AngkIam!t'ua1ne)e zfrUMnIjaradda al iaAqarIyrrniaa aa Ar rnaAR iira Lei rHn6pF g FouoiAoenrbcrridlcedriku e FeIonflrdacoenesla lHlrAIrum.aao.tUqn.nrF.i... A ,AAAA.I....FF.FI.....
spced AAM Air-to-air missile Irelanal frilh Air CoryB r.r.c.
Dcon. cr. Economical cruising ASM Air-to-surface missile Israel Eeil Avir Le kr&l LD.r''/A.F.
sPccd IIVAR High-velocity Airrcorcakfett I-Itvdaoolyr-y CoaBt AtrY'Aoireacrozo iDoAnadeurit eipcnaen re tl raIdi liMeL xaCrre6i nteIat . dxM'lIivialiontaiarree IIIttvaa. ll,.C AN.A.aF.Fv..y
Japan Japan Ar Seu-Defence Force J.A.S.D.F.
Japan Maritime Self-DefeDce Force J.M.S.D.F.
-do- Japan Ground geu-Defence Force J.G.S.D,t'.
AIR FORCE ABBRDVIATIONS JKoerdnayDa RoyaKl eJroryrdaa Aniairn FoArcire Force JKoern, .A A.n.F..
The air arms currently operating each aircraft type are listed in abbrevi- KKoorre@a ((gN)) KoreanB elepoupblelic's oA{ mKoerdm l'oAricre sF oArcior Force lR{..PO.A.K.F.A.A.F.F..
ated form on the following pages under "Operators", and the abbrevia- Kuwait Kuwait Air Forco Kuw. A.F.
tions employed for each service are as follows: Laos n,oyal Lao Air Forco Lnos A.F.
Lebanoq tr'orce Aerieme Lib&naho Leb.4.ts.
CONTRY SERVICD TITLE ABBREVIATION Libya Iibyan Air lorce Lib. A.ts.
lr l{,Or1ll!s Ill.All'itii.,rPrloerlRi(iFI,(rvrnIlr Ie, rI y\,'rtllr,ull\ir0rtro)o0ffo,(+laa,,'e/ro rrer' A'x'iprIyrrurLl\cLrxlr'irlrrq lc!lllr tl raa;rce lz ix!gnrtrlrrhrfAz lrN e'llrallrro(el,rBi N i \rr n\l's iu A,rl(nr 1iAlrlr i'lic Aui(rlr,s6lAa( flrc)frAt !rNllhlgrl4rJtrv6ud tir!friC'irr(,riohrn!lr(rlna,crr!l ila trrl l1:r{rlre ar irrY))l' anlxer,linDrA arralkrnriirra.L(alarr- yfllrHrrn j( l', laot^ii i lss ui lin r rAl 1 :hnlAe iAv A tlt rlrrf A(vliirr fFll r(nt iliollluiAiigilirrss',,jrrnlrrri rolI ri ,r'tgDv eAi lt rlNiritCr)ArlNNlekr}lreiI irojcnrri'oorc'irhiollrrlrooiernlanFotroo!(l ti)€niirirvcnrvlchttnoiwIcorrrtccikryoooirnccorainr€lrrcnooa)cir,onf,ister € nny ABBAAAl}ICc(CAnIOlC(oRRnClltilllerhonz,ro.luuaflr.htra...b.gMag ceglgnb.ACNiArlrilgmtC,,n4,cinz....ga. v, .. .... Nh .e. bNe .nAAAA .AA AAA. N .Ar1. y A.AAN..... .i..a.,.A.. FIFFF.AAFirFF.. FIYA.a,.FF'.A...,.!.!......FJF,v'.'IF...rF..ry.F.... lMM1I-MNNNlNNP?P?PPIISsSsstill{ii,aeI haoooeeaaeaohoioguoeiraigcnoumuhhxrlrlwnktmtirr-ealvurhleeuiatwiddtiFsira suncepahrsgacrireizadahariiag oidcpl naaalaisaAoalsyDAoayaiignaniDlyralJaiuaeaarnlbsigediar FueFzoKarocC eTnAuR e.iAedPK*AFItotArrolrovsoAutpe6KSitylFrrFjlyu'niDFse'oaIkrnomaouoaouliamkIer ,ucroersrnilPrh tzNied6c A6cAelocevei iy O Naeraon-ie eanei^MellzAYaU { ikik ReurgI c r aelMAAJirda llpodwaiAA esiAh drta re d6lnartiSnai io 66lAie6naadktAs ojrrarrNZakiddriI ier6aaDinjolcryeue6'aienaueeeeAarau' t anta Ar recndamst iw mcDr Acirn Ala NiLdiliriena,aA aaPSkreio eioeiLutie r Aa nD reMr orud ia ldduc ClUr c wriddcudFi dFehPrcnWetAiFLaha l uuo ecoouh'ltiAiua6 Soll Figim modlgdvrrcI tPglMrNr6rccuiol aMioavFiaaarcsmalenleeFerii .ac S kgenegac6ercaSsoMFhaluodenegpaamrfhleroegofitweaanyceArtdDryl 8oeuocnNireieraaiiDchliaaBnntiegua MtMtPRlNPPPS[IXrNRPPnAnnSsrriIiiitea,.,aa€r..aa,oo.,ihe.icao..A LgugNmI MD rukldmx$ir,il.NNea.N.St.i... .. .r.W. . .A .a. r. .e A.z o aAeAAA A AAAAtA..A.A.utAAr..ArF..A. A.h.AhF..EF.FrdF..l.l.FF..F..C.',.!..]FF...F .. F....F.F' l..F..,.'.4N.A.....,...tAIrf'...g.
li,r,1! larIlll "\'ero\i,blr( ul)rl,oIrre DRa. hDoamn.. AA..FF.. Abbreaiations continued on pqge 272
figllfiers Figlfiers
BAC LIGHTNING
cquivalent of Mk. 3. F. Mk. 6-Similar to F. Mk. 3
apart from cambered wing and larger ventral tank.
F. Mk. 5z-Four ex-R.A.F. F. Mk. zs supplied (r966)
to R. Saud. A.F. F. Mk. 53-Basically similar to
F. Mk. 6 for R. Saud. A.F. (34 ordered r965) and I{uw
A.F. (rz ordercd 1966) with cannon and attack pods.
T. Mk.54-Trvo ex-R.A.F. T. Mk. 4s delivered (r966)
to R. Saud. A.F. T. Mk.55-ex-R.A.F. T. Mk. 5s for
R. Saud. A.F. (six) and l(uw. A.F. (two).
CToyupnet:r y( Fo.f OMrkigsIi].nA :z C,U n3 Li,t eI6Gd, I}S(IiznT g&Nd oI5mN3.G) Single-seat All- D5F5i.m fMet.nk s3.i oi3nn .s(;X: hPSe7pi5ga6hn)t,, o31f49 N ffott...7 zr oi3n Si.n qP.u;h alodetrnooggntr,ha Rp(h.iAn: cL.F.ig .phrtonbineg),
weather Interceptor I'ightcr and (T. Mks. 4, 5, 54 &
55) Two-seat Conversion 'frnincr.
Power Plants: Two (F. \{k z & T. Mk. 4) Rolls-Royce
Avon zro turbojets of r r,z5o lb.s.t. and r4,43o lb. with
reheat, or (F. Mks. 3 & 6 and T. Mk. 5) Avon 3or
turbojets of r3,zzo lb.s.t. and r6,36o lb. rvith reheat.
Estimated Performance: (Specification applied to F.
Mk. 3 but is generally applicable to other marks) M'
speed, r,5oo m.p.h. at 4o,ooo ft.; m. cl., 5o,ooof
fi./min.; time to 4o,ooo ft., z'5 min.; s. ceil., 60,000 ft.
Weights : Loaded, 4o,ooo-4z,ooo lb.
Armament: (F. Mks. 2 & 53) Two 3o-mm. Aden can-
nnoonn aanndd ttwwoo F.lririreessttrreeaakk AAAAIMVlss,, oorr ((.Fb.. M1vklk.. 5533)) ttwwoo
ground-attack rocket pods or two r,ooo-lb. bombs;
((ff''.. iiUUtt<<ss.. 33 && 66)) TTwwoo FFiirreessttrreeaakk oorr RReedd TToopp AAAAMMss..
RIO(.:pAAe..r.Fta'.t.,o, r((sFf: .. ( MMF.kk ssM.. ks5s22., , zf5i,3 3&e.& T_r'6.. _Mlavrnkkdss' .. T5544. ,, M555k)s .R +. ^S&au dS..)
AA..FF.,,. ((FF-. MMkk.. S<r: && TT.. MMkk.. 5<5<)) KKuuww.. AA..FF..
FFiirrsstt FFlliigghhttss:: ((PP..rrBB)) AApprriill 44,, rtgg5577;; ((pprree-p'roduction)
AJAtpnilyrrii llr r3i,., 1rrqo9S<6S8r:;; (((FFF... MMMkkk...3 rr))) JOOuccntte.. 221096.,, r1rog9<s6ogz:;; ((FF.. MMkk.. 6?)) F. Mk.6
Junc 16, 1965;('1. Mk.4) May 6, rs59; (T. Mk. s)
March 29, r962.
I>roductiort Ilistory: Prototypes (3); pre-production
(z); Ir. Ml<. r (zo*); Ir. Ml<. rA (+o*); F.Mk. z (4o-
5o); F. Mks. (r & .53 (ctrrrcnt procluction). *Approx.
[/ariants: F. Mk. z--liqrrippirrg Nos. r9 and 9z Sqdns'
rvith zncl n'l'n1t (1967). T. Mk. 4-Side-by-side
tltincr ctpivitlcnt oI Mk. z. T. Mk. 5-Trainer
Fi4ll.ters 1l Fighters
CONVAIR F-roz DELTA DAGGER
thc fighter's engine at the same time as the tank is being
rcfilled. At the beginning of 1967, 16 of the zr Air
National Guard Fighter-Interceptor Squadtons were
equipped rvith the F-rozA, each squadron normally
having two TF-rozA two-seaters on strength. TF-
rozA-Orders for r r r originally placed were cut back
to 63. Weapons capability retained but Hughes
MG-ro system not installed.
Dhnensions: Span, 38 ft. r| in.; length (including
CONVAIR lr-roz DDL'fA DAGGER probe), 68 ft. +? in., (TF-rozA), 63 ft. 4$ in.; height,
zr ft. z! in., (TF-rozA), zo ft.7 in.; wing area,695
C?royoz2uncAt..')r ySS ioni.dfg Oclc-r-bisgyci-nrst: i dAUcl.l S-Tr.vArvc.olth-sccra tI nCteorcmebpatot r Paronfdic i(eTnFcy- 3sqzn. dft .F igPhhtoetro-Ignrtaeprhc:e pFto-rro Szq{u (a5d6ro-rno.z8) of U.S.A.F.'s
'l'raincr.
Pozoer Plant: One Platt & Whitncy IS7-P-zl turbojet
of rr,7oo lb.s.t. and g,zoolb. with reheat.
Performance: (Figurcs in parcnthcses relate to the
TF-rozA) M. spccd, 8z.S (6+6) m.p.h. at 4o,ooo
(38,ooo) ft., with two 23o U.S. gal. tanks, 63o m.p.h.
at 36,000 ft.; nor. cr., 54o m.p.h. at 35,ooo ft.; time to
4o,ooo (3z,ooo) ft., 4'25 (z'8) min.; s. ceil., 54,ooo
(5o,ooo) ft.; m. range, r,35o mls.
'Weights: Nor. loaded, z7,7oo (27,778) lb.; max.,
r,5oo lb.
3
Armament: Up to six AIM-4A or -4C Falcon AAMs.
Operators: U.S.A.F. (A.D.C., A.A.C., & U.S.A.F.E.)'
A.N.G.
First Flights: (YF-roz) Oct. 24, 1953; (YF-rozA)
Dec. zo, 19-54; (TF-rozA) Nov. 8, r955.
Production History: YF-roz (ro); YF-rozA (+);
F-rozA (873); TIr-rozA (63). Manufacturcd r954-8.
Variants:F-rozA-All cxamplcs in scrvice have under-
g<;no succcssivc uroclcrnisution programmes aimed at
incrcasing ovcrall c{licicncy at both high and low alti-
trrrlcs antl uguitrst cnctny cottl]tcnneasures. Full infra-
rctl caplbilily li)l tilrgct acquisition, lock-on and
cornplclion ol rrrrr llrs bccn pt'oviclccl, and provision
lirr nvcnty-lorrl e 7s-in. ttngttidccl rockcts originally
nrirtlc hus lrt't'tt tle lclt:tl. In-llight rcfuclling capability Tr -1 024
introtltrcctl lrorn r9(16, thc pxrbc, mountcd above the
coclipit, pcrrrritting frrcl to bc drarvu from the tanh for
trighters ,:t Itightcrs
CONVAIR F-ro6 DELTA DART
fuellcd or jettisoned in flight, and a refuelling probe has
bcen introduced behind the F-ro6's cockpit. F-ro6B-
Differs solely from F-ro6A in having a second seat in-
sorted immediateiy aft of the standard seat at some
cxpense to fuselage fuel capacity. Retains MA-r
system and missile armament of the single-seater, and
full operational potential. Each of the 13 F-ro6-
equipped Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons (1967) in-
CONVAIR F-IO6 DELTA DART cludes several two-seaters.
Dimensions: Span, 38 ft. :# in.; length (including
Country of Origin: U.S.A. probe), 7o ft. 8f in.; height, zo ft. 3$ in.; wing area,
Type: Single- or (F-ro68) Two-seat All-weather In- 697'83 sq. ft. Photograph: A U.S.A.F. Air Defence
terceptor and (F-ro68) Combat Proficiency Trainer. Command F-ro68 Delta Dart, the eighth production
Power Plant: One Pratt & Whitney (F-ro68) JZS-P-g example (57-zSt4.
or (F-ro6A) I7S-I'-I7 turbojet of r7,zoo lb.s.t. and
z4,5oo Lb. with reheat.
Piiformance: (Specification applies to F-ro6A but is
also generally applicable to the F-ro68 which has an
identical performance envclope apart from slightly
reduced range capability) M. speed, r,525 m.p.h. at
4o,ooo ft.; com. rad. (intcrnal fuel), 575 mls.; ferry
iange, r,5oo mls. at 6ro m.p.h. at 4r,ooo ft.1 s. ceil.,
57,ooo ft.
Weights: Empty, 4,646lb.; loaded (clean), 35,5oo lb';
max. overload. 38,25o lb.
Armament: Four AIM-4E or -4F Super Falcon
AAMs ancl one AIR-zA or -zB Genie nuclear-tipped
AAM.
Operators: U.S.A.F. (Air Defence Command).
First Flights: (F-ro64) Dec. 26, 1956; (F-ro6B) April
9, 1958.
Prodiction llistory: F-ro64' (257); F-ro68 (63).
Manufacturcd r956-6o.
Variants: F-ro6A-Principal U.S.A.F. Air Defence
Command interceptor. Became operational in June
rgsg and has undergone successive modernisation
piogrammes. Dquippcd with advanced Hughes
MA-r electronic guidance and fire control system.
This opcratcs with thc Semi-Automatic Ground En-
vironmint defcncc system. During r967, F-ro6s werc
being fitted with external fuel tanks suitable for reten-
tion during supcrsonic flight. These tanks may be re-
Description:ASIN: B0000CNIFOThe Observers Book of Basic Aircraft: Military
