Flashback to the 80’s US military Aircraft (100 Pics)

F-14’s BABY! One of the sexiest jets in my opinion. This ones belongs to VX-4 “the evaluators” some time in 88 or 89. VX-4 did testing and evaluation for the F-14 fleet before being disestablished in 94.

507th Tactical Fighter Wing F-4D landing after a sortie from Nellis, I believe during a red flag exercise in 85. Note the gun pod on the centerline station. Earlier versions of USAF phantoms didn’t have internal gun because back in the day senior leadership didn’t think that dog fights would be a thing. They thought air to air battle would only happen at long range. Then Vietnam happened and the thinking changed on that regard. Later versions of the F-4 did eventually get a internal gun.

The marines mighty iron tadpole! An A-6E of VMA(AW)-332 “moonlighters” in 88 at MCAS Futenma in Japan. The A-6 was an all weather attack aircraft with the us navy and marine Corp. This aircraft would see combat a couple times during the 80’s with action against Libya and Iran.

SLUFF gets a little love. Maintainers look over this A-7D from the Oklahoma ANG’s 125th Tactical Fighter squadron. Note the open radome and the gold radar antenna.

The SLUFF had a fat larger cousin called the BUFF also know as the B-52. One of the longest serving aircraft with in the USAF. The last ones being made in 1962. They are still in service to this day and are expected to be for decades to come. These B-52’s looking gorgeous in their SAC color scheme. The B-52 and B-1 would routinely sit on nuclear alert during the 80’s. Ready to fight world war 3 if needed.

Flight deck of the USS Constellation in 1987. F-14’s, A-6’s, S-3’s and a new comer at the time, the F/A-18 Hornet, can be seen here.

Last minute tweaks are needed to get this F-15C ready for its flight. The jet belongs to the 18th TFW based in Kadena air base japan. The unit is still there flying the same type of jet from way back then. The F-15 has been with the USAF for 42 years now. It’s one hell of a jet and even still looks impressive to this day.

NAS Bermuda was a frequent spot for a lot of anti submarine warfare aircraft back during the Cold War. This P-3C being no exception. This one belongs to VP-30 which is still flying the type but is in he process of transitioning to the new P-8.

The 80’s where a time of transition. Prior to then most US navy and marine Corp tactical aircraft had bright colorful schemes but that changed during the decade of Reagan as color began to fade away and gray became the norm, as with this F-4S from VMFA-312 “checkerboards” in 1989.

United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE) operated several types of tactical aircraft during the 80’s most of them shown here. Aircraft closet to the camera to farthest away are F-111, A-10, F-15, F-4, F-16 and F-5.

Even More tomcats! I included a lot of the F-14’s in this post because well who doesn’t like the tomcat! The pic is of a gaggle of tomcats from VF-111 sundowners on a damn cold day in the pacific during the winter of 87. Note crews are on top of the jet to get the ice build up off before it gets launched.

F-4E at George Air Force base at sundown. The longer nosed F-4E was a later model of the famed jet with an internal 20mm M61 Vulcan cannon. This was added because of the lessons learned early during the Vietnam War

A-10’s on the a taxi way at Sembach Air Base in West Germany, one of the forward operating bases for the type.

The EC-135C looking glass. This jet is a dooms day plane. It’s mission was to provide command and control for nuclear forces after land based command centers had been whipped out in a first strike. That way a retaliatory strike could be issued, assuring MAD.

A fine looking F-14A of VF-154 black nights getting ready for a cat shot off the deck of the USS Constellation in 87.

The flight line at Tyndall AFB during a William Tell air to air weapons meet. It was held every two years. This one taking place in 82. pictured is F-15’s (top row) from the 18th TFW and F-106’s (bottom row) from the 318th FIS. The F-106 first entered service in 1959 and was finally retired in 1988.

The F-14 wasn’t able to operate from the small carriers within the midway class that where still in service at the time and because the F/A-18 wasn’t available in large numbers it left the F-4 to solder on well into the 80’s with active us navy fighter squadrons. This F-4S belongs to VF-151 “vigilantes” which was forward deployed to NAS Atsugi. Picture was taken around 85.

This brand new at the time F-16C was used as an aggressor at RAF Bentwaters. The 527th AS flew the type for just a few years before being disestablished at the end of the Cold War.

The US navy did manage to get some air to air kills during the 80’s. In 1981 two Libyan SU-22’s fired on two US navy F-14’s from VF-41 “black aces” (one of them being pictured here. See the Kill mark on the nose). The F-14’s engaged and shot down both Libyan fighters with out loss. This was also the first time that both dueling fighters were of a swing wing design.

An A-7E from VA-86 “sidewinders” taxis from the apron to the runway at NAS Fallon for work ups before being deployed in 1986. The pod under the wing of the jet is a LANA pod used for navigating at low altitude.

Aggressors were plentiful during those times. The air to air threat from the Soviet Union was seen as very significant and air crews trained regularly for it. This F-5E from the 57th Fighter weapons wing was tasked with that training, acting as red air.

Back in the day the USAF has dedicated tactical recon aircraft like this RF-4C. This one belonging to the 67th tactical reconnaissance wing at Bergstrom Air Force Base. Now days this capability can be performed by a pod fitted to a fighter like DB-110 or TARS among others.

VF-21 “freelancers” became a tomcat squadron in the 83/84 time frame. This tomcat, being relatively new in 86, is on its way out to do some Dissimilar air combat training around NAS Fallon.

A very early F-16A block 10 from the 429th TFS on a deployment to Soesterberg Air Base in The Netherlands during April of 85.

The Philippines was once home to Clark Air base and the 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing’s F-4E’s (pictured) and F-4G’s. The base has since closed down and the unit moved to Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska. In the foreground you can see two MK.82 500 pound bombs on a triple ejector rack.

The air national guard operated several types of aircraft including the A-7D. This one belongs to the Ohio air guard. The type was retired by the early 90’s.

Another relic from the 50’s. This time a RF-8G crusader. This type served in the navy in the reconnaissance role right up till May of 87.

Strategic Air Command (SAC) operated mostly heavy, large aircraft during the 80’s. The one exception being the FB-111A. This jet sat on nuclear alert, ready to dish out buckets of instant sunshine (namely in the form of B61’s or AGM-69 SRAM missiles) if the soviets ever attacked. It was capable of flying low and at high speed (above Mach 1) which made it easier to penetrate soviet air defenses. Something the B-52 couldn’t do and wasn’t replicated till the B-1B came in service.

The 52nd Tactical Fighter Wing operated 3 squadrons of F-4 phantoms during the 80’s at Spangdahlem Air Base in West Germany. This wing is still there today, although it has been reduced to one flying squadron with F-16’s. Note the light gray and black ECM pod under the forward fuselage. This type of pod helped to protect aircraft from radar guided threats like ZSU-23 or SA-6 among others.

Are black at whites tasteful? This F-14 is from VF-154. Picture was taken in 87. F-14’s were the main fleet defense fighter in those days. They also had a secondary reconnaissance role when fitted with a TARPS pod. Later in life the jet was pressed into service as a fighter bomber once the A-6 was gone from US navy carrier decks in the mid to late 90’s.

A F-15A from the 318th FIS “green dragons” sometime after they traded in their F-106’s for eagles in 83. The unit was stationed at McCord Air Force Base. The F-15 possesses a great time to climb and can even beat out a Saturn V rocket (same one that NASA used to get to the moon) to 50,000 ft. Doing so in just one minute 17.2 seconds during the streak eagle program. Having this ability makes it a great interceptor for air defense duties.

This C-130H was part of Military Airlift Command. The command had several other aircraft in the inventory including the C-141, C-5, C-27. The C-130H is still in service with several units with in the Air Force.

VF-84 “jolly rogers” is one of the more famous fighter squadrons with in the US navy having appeared in several films including The Final Countdown (1980) and Executive Decision (1996). They flew F-14A’s right up until the 1st of October 1995. The name still lives on though till this day with VFA-103 flying the super hornet. This F-14 is on the flight deck of the USS Nimitz just before launch in the fall of 87.

The most numerous tanker aircraft in the 80’s with the USAF was the KC-135. This one shown here is a KC-135E with the Wisconsin Air national guards 128th ARW is refueling an F-111F from the 48th TFW during exercise Open Gate in 89.

The scooter also know as the A-4 (A-4M pictured here) was still in active front line use with the USMC. This one was with VMA-322 “fighting gamecocks” in 88. The unit was deactivated in 92 following the draw down of forces after the Cold War.

Soviet nuclear subs were seen as a large threat to US carrier groups. S-3 Viking was fielded to counter act the threat. It was used in the ASW role up until the 90’s when the primary role of was shifted to aerial refueling. Picture is from December of 1980 when VS-32 was aboard the the carrier USS John F. Kennedy.

VF-301 was a reserve squadron in the navy that operated the F-4S Phantom until October of 84. For a time they operated them in the Ferris scheme. The scheme was thought up by aviation artist Keith Ferris. From what I heard this scheme was great at concealing the true movement of the aircraft but was ultimately not fielded as it was to labor intensive.

This is a old work horse left over from Vietnam. The OV-10A bronco got its start over the skies of south east Asia as a forward air control aircraft. Basically what it’s job was was to pick out targets during close air support work and ensuring that friendly forces didn’t get fragged by striking aircraft . They did this by marking them with white phosphorus rockets that were shot by the OV-10 or relayed coorodiance to the striking aircraft.

The E-2C was the navy’s airborne early warning aircraft. It detected targets at long range and vectors Fighter to intercept them. This aircraft has been in production since 1960 with the E-2D being the model produced today.

Nuclear war was a very real possibility back then and was trained for regularly. This F-16C carries the practice round of the B61 tactical nuclear free fall munition. This jet was on exercise Sabre Thunder and flying over Bardenas-Reales Range in the summer of 88.

The 10th TFS flew F-16’s for a number of years before the draw down after the Cold War saw the unit get axed. This jet is being taxied into its shelter.

The new bomber on the block. The Bone (B-1B) was the newest bomber within SAC during the 80’s. It ability to fly low and fast coupled with its large payload made it a great aircraft to carry out a retaliatory strike on the USSR if needed. The jet being based at Grand Fork AFB was on display during friends and neighbors day at the base in June of 88. The silver bombs on the rotary launcher underneath the gear door in the pic are B61’s. The B-1B was at first a nuclear only bomber. It later got its conventional bomb capability in the 90’s.

The A-6E TRAM was the US navy’s medium attack aircraft. It saw attack several time during the 80’s including action in Lebanon and Libya. It’s was with drawn from service in February of 1997 after 34 years of service. This one was attached to VA-36 in 89.

A F-14A (yes more tomcat!) from VF-31 “tomcatters” (also the last US navy squadron to operate the tomcat) on the deck of USS Forrestal some time during the mid 80’s. The A model of the F-14 was prone to compressor stalls with its TF30 jet engine. A great many a tomcat fell victim to this and later models were equipped with a different engine (GE F110) that had better performance in all flight regimes. Some pilots have said that you didn’t really fly the F-14A. What you did was fly the engines instead as it was the limiting factor on performance.

April 15th 1986 saw the US bomb Libya during operation El Dorado Canyon. VA-81 “sunliners” was one unit that took part in the strike. This A-7E was load for a SEAD mission with 2 MK.20 rockeye cluster bombs, 1 AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles and 2 AIM-9L sidewinders Air to air missiles for self defense.

8th TFW “Wolf Pack” first got its F-16’s in May of 81 and still flys the type to this day. These F-16A’s were on a TDY to Clark Air Base in 83.

Zweibrücken Air Base was home to a squadron of RF-4C recon aircraft. The 38th TRS flying the jet till the early 90’s. This jet undergoing its preflight check was on a stop over in Bierset, Belgium in 86.

VF-21 was on its last phantom cruise during 1983 before they switched to the tomcat. They flew from the carrier USS Coral Sea (CV-43). Which is the carrier in the picture. Three years later this carrier and its air wing would take part in operation El Dorado Canyon.

F-111 Aardvark was a fast attack jet, being able to fly faster than twice the speed of sound. This jet had a conventional and nuclear strike role and could carry dumb or guided weapons. The jet pictured was a F-111E based at RAF Upper Heyford with the 20th TFW. The base closed down in 93 and the wing moved to Shaw AFB and currently operates F-16’s. The F-111 was unique as it had its fuel dump nozzle right between the two engine nozzles. If the pilot dumbed fuel and at the same time had the afterburners on it created a flame longer than the jet. Video of it is here. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BXmnr6_jKuw

Sunset for this post. The sun sets in the back ground as a T-38 talon rest on the ramp. The T-38 was and still is the main fast jet trainer aircraft for the USAF. This jet was introduced in March of 61 and is still in service today. It was later the basis for the F-5.

While mostly serving in secret and not being revealed to the public until 1988, the F-117 was the worlds first production stealth aircraft with 63 being made (including prototypes). First entering service in October of 1983, they were initially stationed at a remote airfield within the Nevada test and training range north of Las Vegas. The unit they were assigned to, the 4450th Tactical group, would use their assigned A-7D’s for pilot proficiency during the day and then train with the F-117 at night to keep the stealth jets away from prying eyes when the programs was still classified.

US carriers where inherently vulnerable to soviet submarines and also their warships. In order to defend them against the reds the US navy flew the mighty and surprisingly nimble S-3 Viking off their flat tops. This jet could carry anything from drop tanks (pictured) to dumb bombs, rockets, torpedo’s and even nuclear depth charges.

This TR-1B dragon lady was what the air forces used to train U-2 pilots. It’s pretty much just a stretched U-2 with an additional cockpit fitted. These jets are still in service with US Air Force and will will be for quite some time. It’s a tried and true airframe having been in use for over 50 years.

An F-14 tomcat (right) with its prey, the F-5E tiger II (left) at NAS Miramar in California. In order to train F-14 crews in the art of dog fighting the US navy used several types of aircraft including the F-5E/F during the 80’s to act as enemy aircraft. The F-14 was the navy’s main fleet air Defence fighter at the time. though they did also use the F-4 and later on the F/A-18. The F-5E was assigned to naval fighter weapons school or also know as TopGun and the F-14A is from VF-21 “freelancers”.

The spark vark or more officially call the EF-111A Raven, was an electronic warfare aircraft the US Air Force used for jamming of enemy radar’s and communications. It was based off of the F-111A fighter bomber that was combat proven in Vietnam. Turing this time was the only jammer aircraft that could fly supersonic which ment it could keep up with other strike aircraft capable of such speeds such as the F-4 or F-16. One was even credited with a kill of an Iraqi mirage F.1 during the gulf war. EF-111A’s where only found at three bases; Mountain Home AFB, Cannon City AFB and RAF Upper Heyford. This one was based at Cannon City.

The air national guard had a sizable fleet of combat aircraft during the decade of greed. This Minnesota air national guard F-4D is sitting alert at Ramstein air base. The home unit of the base, the 86th TFW, was transitioning from F-4’s to F-16 and needed ANG units to stand alert for them during 1986.

As the service life of older Vietnam era aircraft like the A-7 and F-4 was coming to an end during the 80’s and the USN and USMC needed a replacement for them. That’s how the F/A-18 Hornet came to be. This one is with VFMA-122 “crusaders”. The unit is still active today and still flying hornets but they changed their name to “werewolves” for political correctness reasons.

It maybe not be as sexy as a fighter but it’s still just as important, logistically speaking. The C-141 starlifter was the back bone of military airlift capability during this time. Not as large as C-5 but still at had an impressive max take off weight of 342,100 pounds. (There’s a your mom joke in there some place) They where later replaced by the C-17.

The F-117 wasn’t the only secret program the Air Force had during the 80’s. The 4477th test and evaluation squadron flew clandestinely acquired mig’s like this Mig-21 in order to grasp their capabilities. They even flew them against front line fighters of the day like the air force’s F-15 and the navy’s F-14 to see what their strengths and weaknesses where when up against the soviet designed Mig’s. They were based at Tonopah in Nevada.

RAF Bentwaters was home to the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing and several subordinate squadrons that flew the A-10. English based A-10 units had four forward deployed bases in West Germany they could go to if war had ever broken out between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Designed to mainly kill soviet tanks marauding across the fulda gap with its massive GAU-8 30mm cannon and AGM-65 Mavericks with armor piercing, shaped charged, warheads. It could and still does take a licking and keeps on ticking as evident during the types action during though out the years.

Very few types of foreign aircraft have been operated by the United States. This Irish made C-23 Sherpa is one of those aircraft. Used as a light cargo aircraft, it’s valuable for getting cargo or personnel into smaller air fields that the larger aircraft like the C-130 or C-141 could not operate from.

Before reaper drones or things of the sort the way you gathered quick (for the time) photographic Intell was by recon fighters like the RF-4C phantom II. It’s a purpose built version of the phantom with cameras in the nose and ejectable flash cartridges in the back. During this time they could only carry an electronic counter measures pod for self defense and where not armed. The Motto of these phantoms crews was “unarmed and unafraid”. These two jets are part of the 26th TRW based at Zweibrücken airbase in West Germany.

When advisories of the United States like the former USSR or North Korea test ballistic missiles the RC-135S is there to capture the moment. This jet gathers any electronic and optical intelligence (like photos and video) of the test missile so the US can learn more about its capabilities. These jets and other like it are assigned to the 55th wing at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. As a side note if you are ever around there, Offutt is home to the strategic air command museum. I Recommend going there.

First devised as a carrier born nuclear bomber, the A-3 Skywarrior would later in life change roles. For example during the 80’s some of these aircraft where tasked with electronic intelligence gather such as with this EA-3B assigned to VQ-2 “world watchers”. I believe they were the largest type of aircraft to fly off a carrier deck during this time. These jets would all be retired from the navy by 1991 after taking part in gulf war operations.

Not the best picture but I wanted to Include it to give a sense that things could have gone hot fairly quickly during the Cold War. This FB-111A from strategic air command was sitting on victor alert loaded with live B83 nuclear weapons (white things under the wing) and most like AGM-69 SRAM missiles in the bomb bay (not pictured). These jets could literally be in the air within 5 minutes should the soviets had unleashed a nuclear first strike using ICBM’s which have a flight time of about 30 minutes between the USSR or (Russia) and the US.

CH-46 is what the USN and USMC used for transport and utility duties. It could carry men, cargo and just about anything you needed on a ship or on shore. Here it’s picking up cargo for the USNS Mercy hospital ship while deployed.

There were still some combat prop planes kicking around during the 80’s like the OV-10 bronco (top) and O-2 strikemaster. These two types of aircraft were mostly assigned to the observation role were they found targets for attack or fighter bombers and marked them with white phosphorus rockets.

The KC-10 is a tanker aircraft based off the civilian DC-10 jet airliner. It was much larger and supplemented the KC-135. Back then it was the air forces newest tanker. She could also carry cargo or passengers if needed.

The coast guard operated the HH-3F pelican as its long range rescue helicopter. It was able to land on the surface of the water if need to conduct rescues thanks to its specialized hull designs. It was in service with the USCG from the late 60’s till the late 90’s.

A work horse thats left over from Vietnam, the F-105 was an fighter attack aircraft that carried out a lot of the bombing done during Vietnam. Some version were also upgraded into wild weasels to hunt down north Vietnamese SAM’s. By the time the 80’s came to be she was in the twilight of her career being retired in 1983. These jets were with the 419th Tactical Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base Utah.

Mach 3 was an easy task for this jet. The SR-71 Black bird was a recon aircraft that was Alamo’s half spaceship half fighter (a version of it the YF-12 was a fighter/interceptor) but had the sole of a recon plane. She could fly so high that the crew had to wear pressure suits and could go so fast that the soviets couldn’t even intercept it. She was unique in that she used ram jets instead of turbo fan jet engines. I should really do a post of just this jet. All SR-71 black birds were based at Beale Air Force Base in the northern part of California though they could operate at other locations such as RAF Fairford which is where the picture was taken at.

The F-16C fighting falcon at Ramstein air base back in 1989. The parent wing, 86th TFW, wouldn’t be in the Fighter business much longer after the 80’s ended. In 94 the wing finished a conversion to being an airlift wing and is still active flying C-130J’s.

The F-111E was more of an conventional type of attack aircraft though it did also have nuclear role just like the FB-111A. This jet was based at Upper Heyford in England. This base would later close after the end of the Cold War.

Just like the US navy the Air Force had its own aggressor squadrons. Though they were only equipped with the F-5E/F Tiger for much of the 80’s only later being replaced by the F-16. They were based at Nellis AFB in Nevada, RAF Alconbury in England and Clark air base the Philippines. The F-5 pictured here is with the 527th Aggressor Squadron at Alconbury. They were the only aggressor squadron with in USAFE command during the 80’s.

The UH-1N was a work horse helicopter. It did anything from rescue work, general utility jobs, ICBM security detail and also shown here as a VIP shuttle. They flew high ranking generals or people of such importance around from bases to base. This type of helicopter still does this type of work till this very day around DC.

One other type of foreign aircraft the US used was the F-21 Kfir. The USN and USMC leased these jets from Isreal and used them for aggressor training. They were used only for a limited time between 1985-1989.

Another aircraft that was part of the ANG was the A-7D. She was conceived during the Vietnam war as an attack aircraft and served with the US navy and Air Force. The Oklahoma Air guard’s 125th Tactical Fighter Squadron used the A-7D during the entirety of the decade only trading them in for F-16’s in the early 90’s.

The Montana Air National Guard flew the F-106 Delta Dart in the interceptor role for the better part of the 80’s. This one pictured is the trainer model the F-106B. The F-106 was unique in that it could carry the AIR-2 Genie rocket that had a nuclear warhead. These Delta Darts would later be replaced by the F-16A/B ADF an air defense version of the F-16 that was capable of using the AIM-7 sparrow.

Some older but upgraded versions of the F-4 Phantom where still kicking around back such as with this F-4N that was with VF-302 “Stallions”. These jets would later be replaced by F-14’s.

The AV-8C Harrier I was an upgraded version of the original AV-8A. These jets are also of a foreign design having come from Britain. They were notoriously hard to pilot and wary harries killed more than their fair share of their own pilots. Later US made version of the harrier, the AV-8B which replaced the AV-8A/C, were much safer.

The cobra attack helicopter was plentiful during this decade and was in service with both the Army and Marine Corps. The AH-1T version was the first version for the USMC to feature and electro-optical and IR targeting turret in the nose. It was a specialized sea going version with twin engines and had the capability to carry the AIM-9 heat seeking air to air missile.

The C-9 nightingale was derived from the civilian DC-9. It was used a cargo and transport aircraft. The C-9 had a long career with the IS military only being retired in the 2000’s.

The T-2C buckeye was used to train naval aviators before they where assigned to a combat squadron. This one was rare as it was assigned to VF-43, which was an east coast aggressor squadron. These things were practically sitting ducks compared to the units other aircraft like the A-4E/F, F-5E and F-16N. Most of the time these jets would sport a high visibility scheme or orange and white.

The best air superiority fighter the Air Force had at the time was the F-15 Eagle. Here one undergoing maintenance on the flight line. It had better performance and avionics than previous generations of fighters. During the gulf war it proved itself by downing dozens of Iraqi Mig’s with out taking an casualties at all. It’s still with front line units and the Air Force is in the midst of buying new ones.

If your jet was shot down behind enemy lines this kind of helicopter would come to pick you. The MH-53J PAVE LOW was a beast of a helicopter and its brother, the more powerful CH-53E, is still in use with the Marine Corps. It has an Unrefueled range of over 600nm but could fly further out if needed with the help of mid air refueling. It also could sport 3 mini guns, one on each side door and one on the ramp for self Defence. The PAVE LOW was retired in 2008.

As the F-4 was starting to be retired from front line active duty service with the 52 TFW it was suplimented with the F-16C. The F-4G (left) formed hunter kill groups with F-16C’s (right) that would hunt down enemy air defense systems. They did this by using the F-4G’s sophisticated equipment (for the time that is) and expanding the weapons carrying capacity of the flight with the F-16’s. The F-4G would be able to find enemy fire control radar sites either fire on them with HARM’s, maverick missiles or cluster bombs or have the F-16C neutralize them with their munitions. It wasn’t later, till more advanced F-16 versions were made like the block 50/52, that sub type of F-16 is able to do the same mission by itself.

The newest bomber at the time was the B-1B. This variable geometry winged jet could fly at supersonic speeds and was designed to penetrate soviet air space at low level. Initially it was a nuclear only capable but after the iron curtain fell and the nuclear mission subsided it was modified into a conventional weapons truck.

The A-7 Corsair II was an light attack aircraft used by the Navy. Here is an A-7B with VA-305 “Lobos”. The squadron was part of the navy reserves. Here she’s loaded with live mk83 1000 pound bombs on the wings. Most likely the squadron was on works ups prior to a deployment.

Just like the S-3, the SH-3H sea king was made for anti submarine warfare. The S-3 was tasked with finding Soviet subs further out from the carrier while the SH-3H was tasked with finding them closer to the carrier group. If one where to slip through the claws of the S-3 Viking. The job of the SH-3H would be to hunt them down track them or destroy the sub during times of war. The two types of aircraft would often work as a team to protect the carrier group.

An A-37B dragonfly operated by the Illinois ANG taking off during an exercise. These jets would all be retired by 92 but the training version, the T-37 tweet, would solder on for a while yet. It was used for light attack and first saw action over the sky’s of Vietnam and also during operation just cause in 1989.

By far one of the best known fighters of the era is the F-4E phantom II. A trio of them front the 51st Tactical Fighter Wing are flying over the Korean country side during the mid 80’s. During the 80’s the 51st TFW had two squadrons of F-4E’s, one at Osan Air Base and the other at Taegu Air Base.

The A-6E intruder was by far the best attack aircraft the Navy and Marine Corp operated during the 80’s. It was able to carry a large bomb load and even could self lase target’s and attack them using laser guided bombs. Something that very few airframes of the time could do. During this time it saw combat against Iran, Syria, Libya,

On smaller ships that where not big enough to carry the SH-3H sea king helicopter (think frigate’s and destroyer’s) they carried the SH-2F sea sprite. Just like the sea king it specializes in anti submarine warfare. Some nations still use this helicopter today though they use the more capable and upgraded SH-2G. Pretty good for a helicopter that first entered service in the early 60’s.

This jet is an A-4E Skyhawk used as an aggressor to train fighter crews in air to air combat. Just like the F-5 it acts as an enemy aircraft. This specific aircraft is actually Vipers jet in the film Top Gun. It’s pictured here before the movie started production.

The CH-47 chinook was and still is the army’s heavy lift transport helicopter. This helicopter has seen great success being export to several foreign countries and is still in production till this day.

The cobra attack helicopter was born from a urgent requirement for a helicopter gunship during Vietnam. The UH-1 Huey was not the most ideal platform for said gunship so the army sent out requests from industry and Bell answer with their AH-1G. A later adaption of the cobra the AH-1Q (pictured) was the first to introduce a IR and electro-optical sensor mounted in the nose which gave it a guided missile capability in the from of the BGM-71 TOW missile. This one is on exercise (barely) over Germany in 1980.