Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star

The Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star was an early warning aircraft of the Cold War. It was in service with the US Air Force and US Navy between 1954 and 1982. It was developed from the Lockheed L-1049 Super Constallation, which was a commercial airliner. Although it was generally used to provide early warning of approaching enemy aircraft, it played an important role as a fighter controller during the Vietnam War, directing the US fighters towards the Soviet-made Vietnamese MiG-21 combat aircraft.

The prototype of the EC-121 Warning Star, the PO-1W, made its maiden flight on June 9, 1949. Basically, it was a Lockheed L-749 Constallation carrying radars on the dorsal and ventral part of fuselage. However, the flight tests proved that the aircraft was too small for the large equipment. Thus, they decided to use the L-1049 Super Constellation instead. Having passed the tests satisfactorily, it would be introduced into service with the US Navy in October 1954. It was nick-named 'Super Connie'. A total of 232 aircraft would be produced for both the US Navy and the US Air Force, with the main variant being the EC-121K and the EC-121D.

Below, color photo of the aircraft; the US Navy WV-2/EC-121K, No. 143221, kept in the storage yard of the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Pensacola, Fl.

Technical Description

The Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star was a heavy four-engine monoplane. It had an all-metal fuselage and straight, cantilever low-wing, with dihedral angle. The wing supported a load equal to the aircraft weight. The tailplane had a wide horizontal stabilizer, with three vertical fins and three rudders. The aircraft had a large and comfortable cockpit, with the two pilots sitting in front side by side. The flight engineer, the navigator, and the radio operator sat behind them. The 28 electronic equipment operators sat in two rows in the fuselage.

To carry out its electronic surveillance missions, the Lockheed EC-121 was fitted with two powerful radars; one AN/APS-20 air-search, and one AN/APS-45 height-finding radar, which were set up in ventral and dorsal dome respectively. Later, they would be replaced by one AN/APS-93 air-search and one AN/APS-103 height-finding radar. The aircraft was powered by four Wright R-3350-34 turbo compound, 18-cylinder, supercharged, radial engines, each of which produced 3,400 horsepower.

Specifications

Type: airborne early warning aircraft.

Length: 35.54 m (116 feet, 7 inches)

Wing Span: 37.49 m (123 feet)

Wing Area: 153.29 m2 (1,650 square feet)

Height: 8.23 m (27 feet)

Power Plant: four Wright R-3350, turbo compound, twin-row 18-cylinder radial engines. 3,400-HP each.

Maximum Speed: 516 km/h (321 mph)

Range: 7,400 km (4,600 miles)

Service Ceiling: 6,280 m (20,604 feet)

Crew: 5 + 28 electronic operators

Below, the WV-2 (future EC-121) during a test flight in May 1954.

Below, the Lockheed EC-121K, the US Navy version, in flight in 1958.

Ventral view of the EC-121D in service with the US Air Force. You can see the large belly dome, which carries the AN/APS-93 air-search radar.

Below, the Warning Star of the US Navy flying over the Pacific and above a USS aircraft carrier.

A US Air Force EC-121 Warning Star about to take off.

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Lockheed F-94 Starfire

The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was a two-seat, all-weather interceptor used by the US Air Force during the Cold War. Entering service in 1950, it was the first jet-powered aircraft to combine weaponry with an air-to-air radar set. Thus, for more than three years, from 1949 to 1953, it was the first and the only all-weather jet interceptor in service with the US Air Force. As such, it saw useful combat service in the Korean War (1950-1953) and it would be retired in 1959.

The F-94 Starfire was a further development of the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star. Its prototype, the YF-94, flew for the first time on April 16, 1949. It was flown by test pilot Tony LeVier and it was introduced in May 1950 as the F-94A version. The F-94B and F-94C variants would also be produced, to a total of 854 aircraft built. It played an important role in the Cold War, guarding and protecting the United States from the threat of Soviet bomber attacks.

Below, a ventral view of the first jet-powered interceptor as it banks left in the skies in 1956. It has a swept tailplane and it lacks the rocket pods in the wing because it is the first F-94C version.

Technical Characteristics

The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was a two-seat, single-engine monoplane, with straight low-wing design. It had a cylindrical all-metal fuselage, with a tail assembly fitted with a classical straight tailplane (horizontal stabilizer) and conventional fin and rudder. It also featured wing-tip fuel tanks to increase its operational range. The fuselage of the F-94C version had a longer nose and a dorsal ridge, which extended from the tail fin to the cockpit, and a swept tailplane). The landing gear was of the tricycle type, folding up inwardly into wings and fuselage.

The F-94 Starfire was developed into an all-weather interceptor by adding an APG-32 and a Hughes E-1 fire control system (The F-94C had an APG-40 radar and an E-5 FCS) to the original prototype. It was also fitted with a rear seat for the observer. The initial production versions of the F-94 were powered by one Allison J33 turbojet. However the F-94C was equipped with a Pratt & Whitney J48-P-5 centrifugal-flow tubojet engine.

Specifications (F-94B)

Type: all-weather interceptor aircraft

Length: 12.22 m (40 feet, 1 inch)

Wing Span: 11.86 m (38 feet, 11 inches)

Wing Area: 21.81 m2 (235 square feet)

Height: 3.86 m (12 feet, 8 inches)

Power Plant: one Allison J33-A-33 turbojet engine, which produced 6,001 lb of thrust.

Maximum Speed: 975 km/h (606 mph)

Range: 1,455 km (904 miles)

Service Ceiling: 14,630 m (48,000 feet)

Crew: two

Armament: eight 12.7-mm (.50-cal) machine guns; Mk-40 folding-fin aerial rockets.

Avionic: APG-32 radar.

Below, the F-94C Starfire in flight in the skies over California. You can see the wing-mounted rocket pods, each holding 12 Mk-40 rockets + 24 in nose.

The F-94B version flying over the Pacific off the USA's western coast.

Below, the Lockheed F-94 fires a salvo of highly accurate 70-mm rockets.

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Kaman SH-2 Seasprite

The Kaman SH-2 Seasprite was a utility helicopter in service with the US Navy from 1962 to 1993. During the Vietnam War, it had been used as a search and rescue helicopter, but it would be adapted and upgraded for the anti-surface and anti-submarine roles in the SH-2F and SH-2G variants respectively. It was a reliable and versatile chopper, which was a familiar sight on the world's oceans for more than three decades.

The prototype, the HU2K-1, performed its maiden flight on July 2, 1959. It would be introduced into service with the US Navy in December 1962 as the SH-2 Seasprite, which was a ship-based rescue helicopter. It flew dramatic missions in Southeast Asia, such as the one flown by commander Clyde Everett Lassen on June 19, 1968. On that day, he went deep into North Vietnam under heavy fire to rescue a downed F-4 Phantom II's crewman. Lieutenant Lassen was one of only two naval aviators to be awarded the Medal of Honor during that armed conflict.

Below, a photo of the Seasprite after it was upgraded to fulfill the anti-submarine warfare role in 1969. You can see the Mk-46 torpedo and the search radar on helicopter belly.

Technical Description

The Kaman SH-2 Seasprite was a twin-engine helicopter, with four-bladed rotors. However, up until 1969, it had been a single-engine craft, with a three-bladed main rotor. The new power plant gave the Seasprite a much longer range and anti-submarine warfare capability. It had a compact sturdy fuselage and a cockpit big enough to accommodate a pilot and a co-pilot. The rear compartment had room for two seats and a stretcher for rescue missions (it housed a systems officer in the anti-submarine version).

The SH-2 Seasprite was powered by two General Electric T58-GE-8F turboshaft engines. However, the Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite version featured two General Electric T700-GE-401 turboshaft engines. For the anti-submarine and anti-surface role, the helicopter was fitted with a Litton LN-66 radar for detecting surface ships and submarine periscopes and snort masts, an undernose infrared turret, and an ASQ-81 magnetic anomaly detector ("bird").

Specifications

Type: versatile utility helicopter

Length:  16 m (52 feet, 9 inches)

Height: 4.58 m (15 feet)

Main Rotor Diameter: 13.51 m (44 feet, 4 inches)

Power Plant: two T58-GE-8F turbshaft engines.

Maximum Speed: 265 km/h (165 mph) at sea level.

Range: 679 km (422 miles)

Service Ceiling: 5,670 m (18,602 feet)

Crew: 3

Armament (SH-2G): two Mk-46, or Mk-50 light-weight torpedoes; two AGM-65 Maverick missiles; two 7.62mm machine guns.

Below, The SH-2 on the launch-pad of a US Navy's destroyer in 1971.

Below, two pictures of the Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite version. The ASQ-81 magnetic anomaly detector can be seen in the sponson located on the starboard side.

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Kaman HH-43 Huskie

The Kaman HH-43 Huskie was a rescue helicopter, which was in service with the US Air Force and Navy for more than twenty years. It had a twin, intermeshing rotor design, with each rotor turning in the opposite direction. Thus, it lacked a tail rotor. However, this design was not unique, because it was based on the German Flettner Fl 282 Kolibri, which had been developed during World War II. It had originally been designated H-43 Huskie by the Air Force, but in 1962 it was rechristened HH-43.

The Huskie had first been adopted by the US Navy in 1949, ordering 29 units. It was an observation and training helicopter, which would eventually be designated OH-43 (originally HTK-1). In 1958, it would be introduced into service with the US Air Force in two versions: the H-43A and the H-43B, to carry out rescue operations, to deal with accidents, and to put out fires. In the 1962, they changed their designation and became the HH-43A and HH-43B. Three years later, the Huskie would extensively be used in the Vietnam War to carry out rescue operations. 

The Kaman HH-43 prototype, the K-125, had performed its maiden flight in 1947, being powered by a piston radial engine. However, in 1954, Kaman Aircraft, at the behest of the US Navy, replaced the piston engine with two Boeing YT-50 gas turbine engines, using a completely different fuselage design (a box-shaped one); this prototype was designated the K-225 (HTK-1). Later, after several test flights, the US Air Force would replace them with one turboshaft engine as the power plant to propel the helicopter; an Avco Lycoming T53-L-1B, which put out 825 horsepower. This would become the HH-43B version. Meanwhile, the TH-43E was the trainer variant employed by the US Navy, being originally called the HTK-1E.

Above, the HH-43B version, painted grey and orange, with its underslung load of firefighting chemicals.

Technical Characteristics

The Kaman HH-43 Huskie was a three-seat, medium helicopter, with a box-shaped fuselage. It featured twin rotors on two shafts, revolving counterwise in an intermeshing pattern. Each rotor had two wooden blades, which were attached to the rotor head only by dragging hinges. Each rotor blade had in turn a servo flap, which made the cyclic pitch changes by twisting the blade.

The Huskie fuselage had twin tail booms joined together at their rear ends by a narrow horizontal plane, which was fitted with two pairs of large vertical fins for directional control. The helicopter had a landing gear composed of four vertical struts fitted with wheels and skis. It had a comfortable cockpit that featured a large dome-shaped Plexiglass windshield.

Specifications (H-43B)

Type: three-seat, rescue helicopter

Rotor Diameter: 14.55 m (47 feet, 9 inches)H

Length: 7.80 m (25 feet, 7 inches)

Height: 3.88 m (12 feet, 9 inches)

Weight: 2,095 kg (empty)

Power Plant: one 825-HP, Avco Lycoming T53-L-1B turboshaft engine.

Maximum Speed: 165 km/h (103 mph)

Range: 560 km (348 miles)

Service Ceiling: 7,740 m (25,394 feet) 

Above, the Kaman HH-43 in service with the US Air Force. You can see the turbine engine exhaust extending backwards between the two tail booms.

The Huskie in Vietnam, with olive-green paint.

 

Above, two views of the US Navy HTK-1 version (later TH-43), powered by the two Boeing gas turbines, which delivered 380 HP each.

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Hughes TH-55 Osage

The Hughes TH-55 Osage was a light, training and utility helicopter in service with the US Army between 1964 and 1988. It was replaced by the TH-1A Iroquois. It was also used by almost every police department in the United States of America for search, security and monitoring duties. Hughes built almost 3,000 helicopters both for military and civil usage.

The prototype of the TH-55 Osage, Model 269, first took to the air on October 2, 1956. It would take the helicopter almost four years to enter the mass production phase in 1960, with the first variant being the Model 269A, which the US Army would designate the TH-55 Osage. The main civil aviation variant was the Hughes Model 300 (269B), which was a three-seater chopper. The Model 300C was the most widely produced version, with more than 1,000 units.

In military service, several countries adopted the Hughes TH-55 Osage, mainly for pilot training. It was supplied to Spain, Sweden, Japan, Colombia, Nigeria, and Algeria. It would also be produced by the firm Schweizer, which developed the new TH-300C trainer version.

Technical Description

The TH-55 Osage was a light, vertical take-off and landing, and hover aircraft, which is propelled by two bladed rotors. The main rotor was fitted with three blades of metal construction, with aluminum core spar. The tail rotor was of the teetering type, with just two blades, freely pivoted as one union; these blades consisted of steel spar, with glass-fiber skin.

The helicopter featured a simple, rod-like boom, which was made of alloy metal. It had a ventral, triangular fin, while the extreme end was fitted with an upper oblique fin. The cabin of the TH-55 could accommodate three crew members, sitting side by side, with an instructor and two students. It consisted of a metal frame with Plexiglass, which gave the pilot and excellent view. The TH-55A version was powered by one HIO-360-D1A piston engine, which delivered 190 horsepower.

Specification

Type: light trainer and utility helicopter

Rotor Diameter: 8.18 m (26 feet, 10 inches)

Fuselage Length: 9.40 m (30 feet, 10 inches)

Height: 2.66 m (8 feet, 9 inches)

Weight: 474 kg (1,050 lb)-empty

Power Plant: one 190-HP, HIO-360-D1A piston engine.

Maximum Speed: 153 km/h (95 mph)

Range: 360 km (224 miles)

Service Ceiling: 3,110 m (10,200 feet)

Above, the civil version of the TH-55, the Model 300.

The Osage in the US Army service.

Above, the helicopter as a utility one in service with Los Angeles, CA, police department. It is fitted with search light, a siren, and a warning light.

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OH-6 Cayuse

The Hughes OH-6 Cayuse ("the Loach") was a light observation helicopter used by the US Army in the Vietnam War and other armed conflicts. Being part of the aerial cavalry, it was a high-performance and easily maintained helicopter. It was well armed, small and agile, being ideal for riverine support operations in the jungles of Vietnam. The OH-6A was the first production version. Hughes also developed a civilian version, which was the Model 500.

The first prototype, the YOH-6, made its maiden flight on February 27, 1963. The first batch of OH-6As was delivered to the US Army in September 1965 and it became fully operational in September 1966. It would be sent to Vietnam in 1968. This helicopter was nicknamed "the Loach" for the LOH designation. In service with the US Marine Corps, it operated together with the AH-1G Cobra as a team; the Loach designated targets using color smoke rockets and the Cobra attacked them with its lethal firepower. Later, in other armed conflicts, it would also be used for special operations for insertion of Special Forces behind enemy lines.

Technical Characteristics

The Hughes OH-6 Cayuse was a light helicopter, with a teardrop-shaped fuselage. The tailboom tapered towards the rear end, which had three fins. The main rotor had four blades, while the tail rotor had two. Each of the main rotor blades was attached to the one opposite by 15 flexible stainless steel straps. It was powered by one Allison T63-A-5A turboshaft engine, which put out 320 horsepower.

The OH-6 Cayuse had excellent control response, with little vibration at high speeds. The main rotor had a small diameter, which was useful among the tree-tops of Southeast Asia jungles. Due to being very maneuverable, it was also used for support and attack missions and medical evacuation. The AH-6G was the attack version of the Loach, while the MH-6H variant had two long planks on the sides ("people planks"), which was for Special Forces insertion.

Specifications (OH-6A)

Type: light observation helicopter

Main Rotor Diameter: 8 m (26 feet, four inches)

Length of Fuselage: 7 m (23 feet)

Height: 2.48 m (8 feet, 2 inches)

Power Plant: one 320-HP, Allison T63-A-5A turboshaft engine

Maximum Speed: 241 km/h (149 mph)

Range: 611 km (379 miles)

Service Ceiling: 4,815 m (15,800 feet)

Accommodation: one pilot and one observer, plus up to four passangers.

Armament: one 7.62mm XM27 machine gun, with provision for two 7.62mm M60 machine guns. The AH-6G version had two rocket launchers.

 Below, the OH-6 Cayuse in Japanese service

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M5 Light Tank

The M5 light tank was used by the US Army and Marine Corps during World War II. It made its combat debut with the 70th Tank Battalion in North Africa in November 1942. However, it would prove to be poorly suited for the European Theater, due to its thin armor and an underpowered 37-mm gun. This is the reason it would be replaced by the M24 Chaffee. The M5 only remained viable and effective in the Pacific war. Thus, the US Marine Corps used the M5A1 in small numbers in the last campaigns of the Pacific Theater. It saw combat action on Saipan, Tinian, and Okinawa Island.

The tank in 1943, during WW2

Technical Description

The M5A1 light tank had a much-improved and larger turret than its predecessor's; the M3 Stuart. This new turret had additional room in the rear of it for the radios. The hull was also longer, with an escape hatch on the floor behind the co-driver. The fuel tanks were re-located to the rear corners of hull, which had thicker armor at the sloping front (glacis). The tank rode on four road wheels contained in two bogies, with the sprocket drive wheel in front and the idler in the rear.

Compared to other light tanks that preceded it, the M5A1 had a stronger power plant as it was driven by a twin Cadillac V-8 gasoline engine, which delivered 220 horsepower and 488-lb of torque at 1,200 rpm. Each engine had its Hydramatic transmission, with four speeds forwards and one reverse. It was equipped with two driveshafts, which went forward to a two-speed synchronizing transfer unit bolted to the front differential. Until 1944, 6,810 units were produced by Cadillac and Massey Harris.

Specifications

Type: light tank

Weight: 15.20 tons

Length: 4.84 m (15 feet, 10.5 inches)

Width: 2.29 m (7 feet, 6 inches)

Height: 2.57 m (8 feet, 5 inches)

Power Plant: two 346ci Cadillac, V-8, gasoline engines.

Maximum Speed: 58 km/h (36 mph)

Range: 161 km (100 miles)

Armament: one 37-mm M6 gun;  three 7.62-mm (.30-cal.) machine guns.

Crew: 4

Below, the M5A1 light tank on exhibition.

Below, the 5A2 version as part of a private collection driving on a country road.

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