Hi all,
Quick one this, did F-104’s ever have the AIM 9’s on the wingtips, or was it always the tip tanks ?
Cheers,
Mick C.
Long range patrols/intercepts tip tanks were required. A fast pop up alert short range intercept…missiles the more the more effective the aircraft could be. The idea was to pop up, fire at as many targets as possible and return to their launching point (if it survived the attack) or alternate recovery location (these were long straight sections of highway) were crews were waiting to re-arm and refuel them for another intercept. Of course, they were targets too (both the aircraft and the alternate landing sites) so there was some margin of loss expected.
Here’s a couple more. I think the Starfighter looks much cooler with Sidewinders rather than tanks on the wingtips.
That would make an interesting diorama. I know the AF practiced this overseas in Korea (and Germany I believe), I wonder if they held such excercises in the US?
Dunno if you noticed, but your pic is the same two birds as the one I posted… It’s been photoshopped, lol… Check the buzz numbers…
Hans check the shadow/sun agle on the two photos. More likely they are both from a sequence of photos of those two birds. The bridge below in the color shot looks like Oakland Bay Bridge, possibly near Alameda NAS (the piers, etc.)
The sun/shadow angles are different… Good eye… Guess that’s why I ain’t a photo-dawg… Looking over the color photo as well, I’m begining to think it’s more likely a still frame from film footage, rather than a photograph…
That’s funny Hans. Actually I have your photo in my collection as well and I never noticed they were the same aircraft.
It’s funny how today you just assume, if something is odd, that it’s Photoshopped. I do the same thing. You just can’t trust a photograph anymore.
What made me assume (I know, I know) it was photoshopped was the fading around the edges… I use that feature m’self on MS Picture It! Express to “age” it a bit… I didn’t check the angles, or the background close enough either… I just looked at both, thought the B&W photo had the bridge taken out and then clouds added to diguise the “missing” bridge… Another “Ah S**t” on my part…
That could come from resizing too.
Check the distnce between the sidewinder and the fuselage stars and bars on the top bird. Distance is different in both pics, suggesting a slight angle change for the camera. As well, you can see more of the USAF on the wing in the one pic. I spent a lot of time studing pics to find forgeries and altered ones. I’ve become quite good. I can even do them pretty good.
Might have a mission for ya…[:D]
Got a pic of George Peppard in The Blue Max standing next to a DR1 that I’d like photoshopped for a WW1 forum I frequent, lol…
Hi all,
Thanks for all the info, was hoping there was an option on the F-104 for the wintip mounted AIM 9’s… Dead cool look [:D]
Now all I have to do is find a 1:48 model with that option as I’m not quite sure how the launch rails were fitted to the wingtips. This is a plan for an upcoming ‘what if’ build, so there is no hurry…
Faked pictures ?? Noooo really, next thing you know the worlds bankers will be cheating us…
Back to the bench you slackers… LOL
Cheers for the input…
All the best,
Mick C.
That’s the Oakland Bay Bridge, all right, but it is the San Francisco side of the water. I used to drive the Ranger under that that bridge back in the Seventies (almost hit it once).