Gulf War Eagles

[Stormer]

Simple questions:

Were the F-15C's from Eglin painted in the ghost grey scheme during the Gulf War (1990)?

 

When was the MSIP applied?

Edited July 29, 2020 by Stormer

[DONG]

Yes to the first question.

 

Don

 

[Martinnfb]

The F-15C/D aircraft with the MSIP upgrade began entering the Air Force inventory in 1985. (8:132-133) The last F-15 aircraft modified for MSIP improvements left Robins AFB on 20 March 1997. F-15C/D aircraft are currently assigned to Eglin AFB, Florida; Elmendorf AFB, Alaska; Kadena AB, Japan; RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom; Langley AFB, Virginia; Mountain Home AFB, Idaho; Nellis AFB, Nevada; Spangdahlem AB, Germany; and Tyndall AFB, Florida. (8:77,91,93)

 

source

[Stormer]

So the 1991’ish MIG killers would most likely have been updated?

[lawman56]

Stormer, I can tell you from personal experience that every F-15 I saw at King Fahd Air Base in Dammam Saudi Arabia was painted in "ghost grey". One of my (Desert Shield portion), of my job as an MP was to help augment the USAF Security Police in securing the aircraft pending arrival of more AF personnel. There was an interesting section of the taxiway that the perimeter road crossed that had a crossing gate and traffic light. It was not uncommon to be stopped by the light and arm as F-15s, A-10s, C-5s, C-141s, etc.. crossed from runway to apron. I will look, but somewhere in my Army stuff is a photo I took of an aircraft crossing. Can't remember which type or nationality, but I do remember all the US tactical aircraft, with some A-10 exceptions, were grey. Unfortunately, at the time I was a wee bit pre-occupied to notice tail letter markings lol.

 

I hope that helps some, but honestly my forte is in ground pounders, not so much the zoomie stuff 

 

Joe

[Stormer]

Any info is appreciated, especially from a fellow “sherif”

[cmayer]

For color schemes: yes, all USAF F-15C/Ds in Desert Storm were still painted in the 1970s-era "Compass Ghost" (lighter) 2-tone gray scheme; specifically, FS36375 and FS36320. I don't think the "Mod-Eagle," or "PACAF-Eagle," darker 2-tone gray scheme started to appear until ~1992, a year or more after Desert Storm. The Eglin jets had a mix of "original" color national insignia and the newer, tactical black outline national insignia. Recall the color U.S. insignia were the "borderless" full-color blue disc/white star/red white bars, without the overall blue outline surround, as applied by McDonnell in the factory-paint scheme, and maintained by USAF paint shops until they began the black-outline insignia. Check photo references for the specific airframe you want to do. I recall some of the full-color aircraft had their 2-tone gray camouflage so faded that it nearly looked like one color overall; which would make an interesting model. 

 

As to "MSIP" upgrade: also yes, all the C-models in Desert Shield/Storm had the MSIP upgrades and would have had the cockpit layouts and antennas associated with that. The Eglin jets, specifically, were 85 and 86 models, and were MSIP configured from the factory...but that is completely separate from the camouflage/color schemes at the time...so "Light Grays" and MSIP configuration for all the Eglin, Langley, Bitburg, and Soesterberg F-15C/Ds in Shield/Storm...also: AMRAAM AIM-120 missiles did not get to the theater until the end of hostilities with Iraq...F-15 CAPs in April 91, and maybe as early as March, began carrying AIM-120s, but during air-to-air engagements of "Desert Storm" proper (Jan-Feb-early March), ordnance loads were AIM-7Ms and AIM-9Ms...hope that helps. Cheers.

[lawman56]

All those letters for weapons frighten me. That's why a vast majority of my dioramas are armor or WWII aircraft. Us Army guys can't understand what AIM or the others stand for. All we understand is "Guns go boom" 

[lawman56]

But there's no pictures! Picture good. Word bad.....

 

Reality check; I do have an actual working knowledge of the acronyms, just not well versed in the ability to identify such by sight, differentiate between sub-models, or what years certain weapons were used. That being said, my model building OCD will not allow me to just slap generic weapons, missiles or hard points on an aircraft without thorough research, which includes asking in these forums. I've found the folks here to have a wealth of knowledge and are very willing to share in both a tactful and informative way. which is also why I'm more than willing to share anything I can that may be helpful. I've been on my share of sites where if you question the "rivet counters" than you are an ignorant peasant. (which is a topic alllllll to itself!)

 

I guess the TRUE answer to the paint scheme question is, "Everything was covered in sand, so tan is the right shade" 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2020 by lawman56