Lepus Flare
 

Please could someone tell me what colour this munition was and possibly show a picture ?

The flare itself was housed in a white, bomb style housing about the size of a Lightening Pod.Released normally from medium level or in a loft/toss profile,I personally saw it released from Jags and Buccs.It gave off an orange glow from what I can remember although this doesnt neccesarily mean the flare itself was orange,could have been yellow or white,someone else will have to confirm that.

Certainly was a sight to behold when used as the whole target area was lit up.Depending upon weather conditions the guys used to get a fair few passes out of one flare.Long time since they were used in the UK,must have been late 80's early 90's when I last saw one.

Saw one dropped by Harrier at sea-again very impressive, we were carryng out DIDTAX at the time, using up old parachute flares from Mk6s.

Thanks for that , so the casing was white . For example , what might have been a representative load for a Jaguar including the Lepus , and how would the different munitions be organized on the aircraft ?
Was this flare used to illuminate the target for a strike or was it used for recce photograhpy ?

Lepus flares were also used on the F4 in its night ground attack role in the early 70's. The delivery was toss. Pre-flight, the flares were manually adjusted for time of flight before parachute opening. Thus 3 flares could be released in quick succession at, say, 30, 35, and 40 degrees of pitch and theoretically straddle the target at co-height. The lead a/c generally carried 6 flares.

That is interesting , so how would this lead F4 be armed ? What would it carry on which hard points ?

Is this of interest
 

De Havilland Sea Vixen FAW.2

1x2,000lb or 2x1,000lb or 4x500lb bombs
4xRed Top AAM or 4x 36 2 inch RP batteries or 8 Glow Worm RP Flares or Lepus flares, or the Bull Pup Air to Ground guided weapon.
It also carry the older Firestreak AAM, but only on the starboard inner pylons.

Harrier GR Mk.1

• 8 x bombs up to 500 lbs (225 kg)
• 5 x bombs up to 1000 lbs (450 kg)
• 6 x launchers for 19 x 68 mm unguided rockets
• 4 x launchers for Type 155 SNEB rockets
• 4 x cluster bomb units
• 2 x fire bombs
• 8 x 12,7 kg practice bombs
• 2 x Martel guided missile
• 2 x AIM-9D Sidewinder
• 8 x Lepus flares
• 1 x reconnaissance pod
• 2 x 455 litre or 2 x 1500 litre tanks

Tornado GR.1 / GR.4

• two IKWA-Mauser 27mm gun
• MBB CWS (container weapon system)
• MBB MW-1 lateral dispenser
• Hunting JP.233 dispenser
• Wasp ASM, Wasp pod
• Kormoran anti-ship missile
• AIM-9L Sidewinder AAM
• AIM-9B Sidewinder AAM
• AGM-65A Maverick ASM
• AS.30(L) ASM
• BAe Alarm ainti-radiation missile
• BAe Sea Eagle anti-ship missile
• Pave Spike laser pod
• LGB smart bomb 1,102lb
• Paveway II Mk13/18 1,000lb bomb
• Napalm dispenser
• GBU-15 CWW (cruciform wing weapon)
• GP 1,000lb bomb
• Beluga dispenser
• BL.755 dispenser
• Lepus flare
• LR.25 rocket pod

Jaguar
Two 30mm Aden guns with 150 rds of ammunition in the single seater and one 30mm Aden gun on the port side fitted in the trainer. The Jaguar IS carries a variety of un-guided ordnance such as the AS-30L ASM, Hunting BL755 CBUs (cluster bomb units), RAF-type slick and retarded 1000 lb (454 kg) bombs, Matra Durandal anti-runway bombs, Lepus 8in reconnaissance flares and Matra F1 and 155 (SNEB) rocket pods. The Jaguar IS also carries two Magic-II missiles over the wing, for protection from enemy interceptors. The aircraft is also suited to carry a tactical nuclear payload. The Jaguar IMs use the Sea Eagle AShM for maritime strike.

The only situation I believe it was utilised in was for striking a target,its use became defunct after the advent of NVG's.Recce of a target is/was usually done discreetly and a lepus flare certainly isn't discreet!!

I have one in the office.

Lepus Flare
 

In RAFO, formerly SOAF, we used them for a while for night ground attack. My recollection is that we got illumination of about 1 KM square which gave illumination and time for 4 a/c to make one pass each. They were also used in daylight as a target at which Sidewinders could be fired!

In the Night G/A role in the early 70s the F4 was normally used in a 4 or 5 aircraft strength attack. The lead aircraft carried 6xLepus plus two underwing tanks and normally tossed the flares in pairs to straddle the target and provide three minutes of illumination. The number two carried three flares and filled the remaining stations with bombs, rockets and two wing tanks - this aircraft was the reserve flareship and, if required, tossed three single flares to straddle the target. Aircraft not flaring peeled left/right at the IP and turned in to deliver bombs/rockets when (if!) visual with the target.

The transit was flown at 500 feet above the highest obstacle near to track and the IP-target run was at 400feet. If this sounds too easy, just try it on a dark night using only map and stopwatch! When the IN was reliable it was comforting to have groundspeed and an accurate heading but the pucker factor was probably a lot higher than on TFR.

It was not surprising that the search continued for technology to make night attack more effective but in the early days the techniques used were pioneering and produced a credible ability in ideal circumstances to achieve a round-the-clock attack capability.

Didn't they c*ck up your night vision?
sw

There was an article in an aviation magazine some years ago in which a Sea Vixen pilot describes using Lepus during the Beira blockade.

His observer had asked the pilot to maneuver the aircraft so that he could see the effect. As the observer was buried deep inside the aircraft, the only way this could be arranged was to roll inverted after the loft. The pilot then accidentally looked straight at the flare and, when he looked back at his instruments, all he could see was a mass of black and white shapes. Not an ideal situation on a dark night over the sea, and the only way home involved a carrier landing.

Luckily,his observer was quick on the uptake and was able to assist the pilot to get straight and level. By the time they got back to the carrier, his normal vision had returned and they landed safely. The pilot swore his observer to secrecy as he thought there might be something wrong with his eyesight. It was only years later, at a medical lecture, that he discovered that several pilots had had similar experiences and that it was quite normal.

Night vision was destroyed by the white magnesium light of the flares and, when the visibility was reduced in haze, the sensation was like being inside a goldfish bowl. Nevertheless, it was occasionally possible to attack even tank-sized targets. Larger objects such as bridges with a line feature to follow in to the target or ships with a wake were much easier and splash target results were quite good.

A stick of Lepus helped to provide a roughly horizontal visual reference but one or a pair together were no help at all.

Not the best way to survive against a defended target but it gave a 24-hour capability and, with the benefit of surprise, provided a worthwhile option.

They were also available to the Harrier force (according to most sources). They can also been seen lurking amongst other stores on the flight deck of RN Carriers during the Falklands war

According to Sharkey Ward's book, he launched one during an operation during the War. presumably this was carried on the centre line pylon, as he mentions arming missile son take off - anyone know better?

Didnt they drop something similar to do the demo missle (Aim 9?) firing thats on one of the Falklands CD's?