RAFG Jaguars & Tornadoes: Zulu alert
 

As an avid model builder I wonder if someone in the Prunosphere might be able to help me with a small query.
It's well known that, during the Cold War, Jaguars and Tornadoes would have held Zulu alert with tactical nuclear weapons.
Despite some digging I haven't been able to find out how the jets would have been configured, although some semi-educated guess work
has come up with the following assumptions on my part.

Jaguar;
Weapon on the centreline pylon;
Fuel tanks on both inner pylons
Outboard pylons ?

I've assumed that the Jags would not have had the over-wing AIM 9 racks, or rear fuselage chaff / flare dispensers as they were Gulf War 1 mods.


Tornado:
Weapon under the fuselage: was this on the port, starboard or centre pylon:
Would a fuel tank have been carried under the fuselage?
Inner pylons: smaller fuel tanks, with AIM 9's on the stub pylons?
Outer pylons: Boz and Sky Shadow.

Can anyone out there add or correct these assumptions. Obviously I don't want to compromise OPSEC here, just trying to make sure what I model is as accurate as possible.

Thanks in advance.
B

Try the Military forum bob.

The Jags on Q had the can of instant sunshine on the centre line pylon. Both inner / outer wing pylons, as far as I can remember, were fuel tanks.

Thanks Krystal

Bob
RAF Jaguar never carried fuel tanks on outer wing pylons.
Left outer - AN ALQ101-10 ecm pod. Right outer Phimat chaff dispenser.
CB

I beg to differ, Jags 78-80. Fuel certainly because I have an abiding memory of a 20 Sqdn driver when I was on Q slapping the tank and saying he thought it was a bit empty. I replied, that, as I'd fuelled it prior to Q I was confident it was full, before kindly adding it wouldn't make much difference because there wasn't going to be anything left to come back to.

You can differ as much as you like but I repeat that RAF Jaguars never carried fuel tanks on the outboard (underwing) pylons. Inboard pylons carried 1200L tanks (which you could 'slap' to check they were full) as could the centre pylon, but not the outers.

Isn't it that only inboard pylons and centre pylon were wet and capable for fuel tanks. The outboards were for only 500kg or so therefore for AAMs, chaff-flare dispensers and whatnot.

They had a flare / chaff dispenser fitted just in front of the oil access doors on the underside of the engine doors in RAFG

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....3db4cad5b2.jpg


You can see the flare dispensers on that just forward of the rear strakes, the left wing as you look at it has a Phimat fitted which is chaff, the right has the ECM pod, they were fitted well prior to the GW in RAFG. but I cannot remember the phimat or ECM being fitted on Q, simply the bomb on its pylon that pitched it nose down and attached to the centreline one and inboard droppers.

We did do a sidewinder fit on the inboard port pylon using phantom mountings, but that was rare to see.

Thanks all for the comments and information. Personally I have never seen any pictures of a Jag with tanks on the outboard pylons.
However, as a non-service spotter, I'd be happy to hear from anyone who has seen this fit.

226 OCU fit was tanks inboard, CBLS on outboard or in tandem on centre line. Lepus flares also carried on centre line. No WE177!

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....d6d799927a.jpg

Sidewinder fit, though I could swear we had them on the inner pylon on 20 Sqn

89 Weapons - SEPECAT Jaguar in detail

The only mention of Sidewinders seems to be carriage on the top of the wing pylon, though mention is made of Sidewinder acquisition rounds on the outer pylons.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....870ff59d3e.jpg

Could you jettison the upper wing sidewinders and pylons without harming your aircraft in flight?

The jag international used to carry the over wing Sidewinders, but not the RAF one as they just had a wing fence, they were later retrofits. early trials I suppose on our jets had them on the wing pylons as shown, but I thought it was the inboard, I'm probably wrong, I remember testing them with a torch or a ciggie.. they were mounted on a Phantom rail...but hey ho those rails got around. I think the Harrier at Newark has some, but don't quote me.

The overwing pylons and rails could not be jettisoned, and the missiles could only be removed in flight by firing them. I also recall carrying Aim9 on the outboard underwing pylons. They could not be jettisoned either but they were quite light weight so not really an issue. ECM and Phimat were also not jettisonable from the outboards - green (inert) cartridges fitted to the pylons.

Interestingly, the general concensus was that the overwing Aim9s actually provided more lift and less drag - the Jaguar being blessed with not much lift and plenty of drag, every little helped!!

The ECM pods used to be jettisonable, but the RAF were losing so many when pilots were clearing stores in an emergency that they fitted dummy carts so they had to bring them back. And of course that meant retaining the phimat and it’s balance weight.

Tornado GR1 in the Strike role:

1 x WE177 on LH Shoulder Pylon (under fuselage) - centre position with SWHDERU
3rd Drop Tank 1500-Litre on RH Shoulder Pylon
AIM-9L on stub pylons
2 x Drop Tank 1500-Litre underwing
BOZ + Skyshadow

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....8785549096.png