Hughes Falcon missile used as an air-to-ground weapon!

[thierry laurent]

According to Lt. Col. Bowers article about the 432nd TRW use of the Phantoms in Vietnam in the last SAM mag, Falcons were introduced because of intelligence reports notifying the use of steam locomotives by the NVA to move supplies to the south. It was believed that the very sensitive IR seaker of the missile would be able to detect the steam engine heat and guide the missile as a smart bomb would do. After two months of use without detecting any steam locomotive, they went back to the AIM-9. Go figure. This is the first time I'm reading such a story. BTW his F-4D had a terrific intake art I had never seen up to know. 

[Tony T]

That's why we see those bizarre mixes of Falcons and Mk.82 bombs...

meanwhile the Udorn BARCAP and alert F-4Ds still carried them for air-to-air as the primary heat-seeker through to the Spring of 1972, including top of the range Combat Tree F-4Ds.

 

F-102s also used Falcons against trucks on the Ho Chi Minh trail. Fairly miss rather than hit and all, frankly, a bit stupid. Sort of kids wanting to see things go whoosh at night and not fly into the ground trying. 

But Vietnam was a very strange, messed-up war. 

 

Tony 

[Tony T]

Oh, and F-15s fired AIM-4Gs against hills or towers in the development of large aircraft infra-red countermeasures (the ground target replicating a moving heavy and the Eagle somebody on the ground firing a manpad)

 

It's a funny world we live in

 

Tony 

[John1]

4 hours ago, thierry laurent said:

According to Lt. Col. Bowers article about the 432nd TRW use of the Phantoms in Vietnam in the last SAM mag, Falcons were introduced because of intelligence reports notifying the use of steam locomotives by the NVA to move supplies to the south. It was believed that the very sensitive IR seaker of the missile would be able to detect the steam engine heat and guide the missile as a smart bomb would do. After two months of use without detecting any steam locomotive, they went back to the AIM-9. Go figure. This is the first time I'm reading such a story. BTW his F-4D had a terrific intake art I had never seen up to know. 

What size warhead did the Falcon have?    Would it have been able to even do significant damage to a locomotive?   I heard a version of the same tale, just that they used sidewinders against campfires and trucks.  

 

I’m taking both versions with a grain of salt.   

[Finn]

Project Stove Pipe:

 

http://www.ausairpower.net/Falcon-Evolution.html#mozTocId231607

 

Jari

[Tony T]

Hannants have the 1/32 Brassin AIM-4Ds and -4Gs back in stock.

 

https://www.hannants.co.uk/search/index.php?product_category_id=&product_division_id=&manufacturer_id=362330&code=&product_type_id=&scale_id=953&keyword_search=AIM-4&setPerPage=25&currency_id=

 

Don't know what kit to put the Gs on (there's no Six available) but maybe peeps are putting them on a trolley in a diorama (?)

 

Tony