A-7A Corsair `Streetcar 305'

[ericg]

Some more work.

 

The hardest part of the conversion to get right was going to be the two cannon ports, one either side of the nose.

 

I found a good clear shot of the port to enable me to trace around it using the Sillhouette Studio software. The trace line is in red.

 

 

I refined the shape and sized it up for the model.

 

 

The shape was then cut using Oramask 810, and applied to some thick plastic card.

 

I drilled and filed the shape out.

 

I extended some panel lines to enable me to position the ports correctly on either side of the nose. I then used the inner part of the mask to assist with sizing and position of each port.

 

 

Using my JLC razor saw, I cut the four sides of the part out. This looks a bit brutal, but it is a very quick and easy way to get accurate and straight lines through some thick plastic over curved surfaces. The extra cut lengths are easily filled.

 

 

The new part was laid into position to check for fit.

 

Some plastic tube cut at a fine angle and then bent to assist the port to follow the curve of the fuselage.

 

 

Part of the Zacto nose cone had to be ground away to allow the combined port to be shoehorned into position. I allowed the front of each port to be slightly proud of the fuselage to allow me to sand it to shape.

 

 

Filled and sanded. The NACA vent that I filled earlier has been exposed, behind the port.

 

 

I used some 2 part epoxy filler to blend the part together by packing it into the front of the port and then using a cotton bud moistened with Mr thinner to smooth it in.

 

 

 

 

[easixpedro]

That’s a brilliant way to make that cannon port. Have done several conversations and just drilled it—was never happy with the result, but this looks great! Thanks for sharing!

Peter

[Dandiego]

Sharp, clean installation. Looks really good.

 

Dan

[Barry]

Nicely done Eric!

 

Barry

[Kagemusha]

Proper modelling. 

[CZPetrP]

You can cope. Good Job - nice

[crobinsonh]

Very nice work. 

[Finn]

Nice gun ports Eric, how about a close up of the wing tip:

 

 

Jari

[Troy Molitor]

Crazy good.   Love following along.   

[dodgem37]

That's sweet.

 

Sincerely,

Mark

[Starfighter]

Great work as usual, Eric! 

[Burner]

This narrative will describe the mission I flew on July 10, 1968. My A-7A, Corsair II, callsign Streetcar 305, was armed with two AGM-12C, Bullpup B missiles. This is the largest of the line of Bullpup missiles and it had a 1000# warhead. I carried no other external ordnance on this mission. Our standard loadout for a typical bombing mission during that timeframe was 12-Mk 82, 500# General Purpose bombs in addition to 1000 rounds of 20mm loaded in the two internal cannons.

 

My squadron, VA-82, was deployed onboard the USS America (CVA-66) and I would end up flying almost 100 combat missions during this 9-month cruise. Most of our missions were over North Vietnam although the two missions described here were just below the DMZ. The squadron Executive Officer (XO) and I were to fly together in mutual support. He would attack his targets first with me looking out for enemy opposition (AAA, SAMS, or Migs) and then we would move on to my target with him supporting me.

 

His mission was to destroy dredging equipment operating in the rectangular moat surrounding the city of Hue Phu Bai, the old imperial capital of Vietnam and the 3rd largest city in Vietnam. We planned the attacks to be late in the afternoon so the sun would be low on the western horizon and make the targets have maximum contrast and definition. As we approached the target, we rolled in at about 7000’ and planned a 20-degree dive. I lined up behind him and offset about 1000’ as he started his attack as I followed him down. I was puzzled when he pulled off the target without a missile launch. Even though most of the squadron pilots had flown a couple of Bullpup deliveries in training to get some familiarity with the weapon but due to the high cost of the weapon, we didn’t have a lot of experience with it. But, when a Bullpup Missile launches, there is no doubt something dramatic has happened with lots of smoke and a very fast (Mach 1.8) missile. The only difference in the small Bullpup and the large one was the size of the warhead, which is not evident until it impacts the target on the ground. So, I was expecting a large fireworks show when the XO launched his missile but was puzzled when he pulled off his run with no apparent launch.

 

He grumbled something about his missile being a ‘dud’ and we recovered from the dive and climbed back to a roll-in position to attack again. The second attempt was a replay of the first with nothing apparent. We didn’t discuss it in the air but after getting back aboard the ship, I learned that both his missiles had been duds. That was an expensive afternoon with nothing to show for it.

 

The Bullpup had a powerful solid-fuel rocket motor which ignited flares on the tail-end as it launched to allow the launching pilot to visually track the missile and steer it to the target with a small joystick. Flying at Mach 1.8, it was extremely sensitive, and It was notoriously difficult to achieve pinpoint accuracy.

We proceeded north to my target and my mission was an attack on what photo analysts called a transshipment warehouse outside the town of Thanh Dam that they was suspected was being used to store explosives and weapons. It was a large, long, low building located adjacent to an open field. The enemy would drive trucks in at night and unload weapons and explosives. Below is a pre-strike reconnaissance photo of the warehouse. You can identify the warehouse as the large rectangular building on the right side with two white arrows near it. There appeared to be five hedgerows just to the right of the building in the photo.

 

 

I was fearful that my missiles would also be duds so when I rolled in and pulled the trigger, I was actually surprised when the missile roared away with a tremendous rush of debris and turbulence. The missile launch was picture perfect and streaked steadily towards the target. The XO didn’t mention any gunfire or other opposition, so I was able to concentrate fully on guiding the missile. As I said, it was very sensitive on the joystick and I was dismayed to see the missile eventually hit and explode in the open area just on front of the building. With that 1000# warhead, it made a gigantic explosion but when the smoke and fire faded away, as I flew over the target, I could see that the warehouse was still standing and largely intact with fires in the surrounding vegetation.

 

I recovered and climbed back to a roll-in point to launch my second missile. When I pulled the trigger, the missile again roared away but this time, it suddenly shot up above my head and I could barely keep it in sight as it climbed above my line of sight. Apparently, it was stuck in a nose-up mode and I had no effective control of it, so I immediately pushed the joystick full nose down to try to regain control. Lateral control seemed to be responding. After a few seconds, the rate of climb slowed, and it finally started coming back down. In fact, it was now streaking down at an alarming rate, so I had to counteract that movement with a full nose-up command. It was still out of control but at least it was responding somewhat to my control inputs. I was really having difficulty getting it under control. There seemed to be a delayed reaction to my control input. I could see the flares on the missile, and I thought it was going to impact the ground well short of the target. But apparently it was pulling out of it’s dive and from my point of view, it appeared to be streaking along at treetop level. I still had no effective pitch control and with full nose-up command, the missile incredibly seemed to fly right into the front door of the target. It hit dead center in the target and went inside the building with no apparent damage.

 

But, a few beats later, as I flew directly over the target, both ends of the building exploded like a Roman Candle in a large fireball and it completely blew out both ends of the warehouse. Then, as I flew directly past the target, I looked back and saw another massive explosion that blew debris and fire almost up to my altitude and totally destroyed the warehouse. Obviously, the photo intelligence guys had it right and it had been full of explosives. The after-action photo taken later by the RA-5C photo bird the next day showed that the warehouse was totally destroyed, actually vaporized, and all that remained was the scars in the earth showing the where the foundation of the building had been. There was nothing left of the target the next day which can only be identified by proximity to the five hedgerows.

 

 

We rejoined in formation and returned to the ship and recovered with a night landing. The XO was not as jubilant as I was and in fact, he never debriefed or mentioned that mission.

 

Tom.

Edited March 11, 2020 by Burner

[LSP_Kevin]

Welcome aboard, Tom!

 

 

Fantastic mission story; thanks for sharing it with us!

 

Kev

[MikeMaben]

 

     Hey Tom   

[CZPetrP]

Beautiful reading ... amazing story. Thank you

Petr