Early Tornado display at Farnborough - what bombs?
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Early Tornado display at Farnborough - what bombs?
Can anyone identify these bombs please from back in the day.
https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1035728
https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1035728
I ended up being the proud owner of P03 for a brief while at the end of its flying career. Then management had another plan - one of several interviews during my career without benefit of chair or coffee. Say no more.
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Look like US Mk 83 1000lb bombs.
https://aeqdefense.com/product/aircraft-ordnance/
The M55 Jag carried 4 standard UK 1000lb bombs.
https://aeqdefense.com/product/aircraft-ordnance/
The M55 Jag carried 4 standard UK 1000lb bombs.
Look like US Mk 83 1000lb bombs.
https://aeqdefense.com/product/aircraft-ordnance/
The M55 Jag carried 4 standard UK 1000lb bombs.
https://aeqdefense.com/product/aircraft-ordnance/
The M55 Jag carried 4 standard UK 1000lb bombs.
At the 75th anniversary we we given British Aerospace display bl755 to load onto the 1(f) GR7 static hide display. Really light weight (fibreglass?) however no way they could have flown. The only real bit was the suspension lug which was glued in, we know because two fell out and had to be re-glued. Was terrified Prince Philip would put weight on one as he walked around the ac.
Last edited by dctyke; 26th Sep 2021 at 19:34.
GreenX, superplumb and MAINJAFAD; No, really, they are fake bombs to make it look as if the display was being flown with a warload. No such bombs were ever seen on a production GR1.
Last edited by Timelord; 26th Sep 2021 at 15:36.
Dave Eagles refers to the display in his book "Testing Tornado"
After the clean display of 1976 it was clear that they needed to demonstrate with a weapons load to show the aircraft in its normal environment. He writes
After the clean display of 1976 it was clear that they needed to demonstrate with a weapons load to show the aircraft in its normal environment. He writes
In September1978 I took P03 to Farnborough and this time we carried out a full show with eight 1000lb bomb shapes under fuselage and two 1500 litre fuel tanks and two ECM pods under the wings
Last edited by CAEBr; 27th Sep 2021 at 18:51.
Fake Mk 83s
Timelord, the OP did not ask if they were fake or real, he asked what they were. They are fake Mk 83s on TSCs and actually, a preferred fit of the RSAF IDS variant in pre-1760 1553 databus days
It seems highly unlikely that a competent test team would grab a random or immature aerodynamic shape, mount them to the TSCs and then fly them on a display aircraft. Stores carriage tends to be a bit more serious and demanding than that.
I don't subscribe to the the theory that these 'display' stores were so light that they could be carried by an individual in the manner described either - pretty hard to get an arm around the bulk of a Mk82 let alone an 83 and the weight would reflect the strength required to survive the demanding aerodynamics of under-fuselage / TSC carriage. MACE lugs also have a minimum carriage mass in order for the geometry to turn into an actual retention mechanism.
So why not display with the UK-only 1000lbs bomb? Well, even in an ideal world there is little motive in displaying an aircraft to potential customers with a weapon that they would not use. Moreover, obtaining the original clearance for TSC use was not quick or easy due to the additional girth of the UK bombs. Even with the final design the TSCs flexed and the bombs clanked against each other in flight... an interesting phenomena for a weapon(!).
Still, the UK bombs did give the aircraft a somewhat more aggressive look:
