How Bout Some "Camo"

[Robbie Stuart]

USFG PHOTO

Members of the 20th Special Operations Squadron conduct an open-water training exercise using a specially-painted UH-1N Iroquois helicopter Date 15 June 1983.

USFG PHOTO

Released to Public ID: DM-ST-89-00183 An air-to-air right side view of three Israeli-built F-21 Kfir aircraft with the new Marine Corps paint scheme. Date 12 October 1988.

USFG PHOTO

Two U.S. Air Force Bell UH-1P helicopters over Cambodia, circa 1969.
Original caption: "USAF helicopters inserted special operations teams into Cambodia. Communist supplies moved from the port of Kompong Som, through Cambodia, to South Vietnam along the Sihanouk Trail. Until 1969, this artery, named after Cambodian leader Prince Sihanouk, was left largely untouched.

USFG PHOTO

Two McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantoms of fighter squadron VF-194 Red Lightnings intercept a soviet Tu-95 Bear reconnaissance plane on 10 March 1977. VF-194 was assigned to Carrier Air Wing Fifeteen (CVW-15) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea (CV-43). Note the experimental camouflage scheme of the Phantoms.

USFG PHOTO

A camouflaged U.S. Navy Sikorsky SH-3A Sea King helicopter on the fantail of the guided missile destroyer USS Mahan (DLG-11) in May 1967. The U.S. Navy stripped several SH-3As of their ASW-equipment and used them for armed search-and-rescue missions in the Gulf of Tonkin and North Vietnam. This helicopter was assigned to helicopter anti-submarine squadron HS-2 Golden Falcons as part of Carrier Anti-Submarine Air Group 57 (CVSG-57) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CVS-12). However, the SAR-helicopters were often based on guided missile destroyers (then called "frigates"), which had small landing pads with less than one meter clearance to the superstructure. This SH-3A, BuNo 148985 (tail code NV-70), was lost at sea two weeks after this photograph was taken on 23 May 1967, with the loss of the crew of four.

USFG PHOTO

A camouflaged U.S. Navy Douglas RA-3B Skywarrior aircraft of reconnaissance squadron VAP-61 World Recorders (BuNo 144846) with its cameras arranged before the plane. VAP-61 was used for reconnaissance over Vietnam until disestablished on 1 July 1971. This aircraft became an ERA-3B in 1982. It was later sold to Hughes and Raytheon (civil registration N547HA) and finally srcapped in 1999. Date unknown.


USFG PHOTO

U.S. Navy North American RA-5C Vigilante aircraft (BuNo 150834) of heavy reconnaissance squadron RVAH-13 Bats having just landed on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) during that carrier's deployment to Vietnam from 19 October 1965 to 13 June 1966. The U.S. Navy experimented with aircraft camouflage and painted half of the aircraft of Attack Carrier Air Wing 11 (CVW-11) with dark green colours to blend in with the Vietnamese jungle. The results proved inconclusive for the U.S. Navy, whereas the U.S. Air Force concluded that the camouflage was effective. U.S. Navy planes would not be camouflaged until the 1980s. 150834 was one of three replacement aircraft for RVAH-13 on this deployment, as the squadron had lost three of its six aircraft. Date May 1967.

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[Holedigger]

Nice pics. Love those Phantom Camo jobs!

[The Inspector]

How about the Bo 105 done up like a giraffe?

[kalamazookid]

Love the shot of the Phantoms with the Bear. Interesting sort of splinter-camo scheme on the Phantoms.

[Robbie Stuart]

How about the Bo 105 done up like a giraffe?

I don't know about that one, but the one's I used to work on were painted like School Buses.

[jet1]

last shot....although ours were not camo in the 70's....we relied on SPEED!

[Django]

I've never seen that camo pattern on the F-4 before. Neat.

[Second Air Force]

Nice photo of the F-21s. We lived in Yuma when they were assigned to the MCAS and I saw those airplanes frequently but never got a photo of them.

Scott

[sdennison]

MMMmmmmm...camo.

[needle]

(Unknown photo credit.
Pictures found at http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/m/mi-24.htm)

[Sasquatch]

I've never seen that camo pattern on the F-4 before. Neat.

The F-4 scheme was designed by famous aviation artist Keith Ferris and famous F-14 pilot and squadron boss, Cdr. C.J. "Heater" Heatley and was called the "splinter" or "ferris" scheme, meant to confuse enemy pilot's as to what direction and angle the camo'ed airplane was flying. I've seen photos of it applied to F-14s and F-4s...and I believe it was also tried with varying degrees of success on other aircraft too.

--Tom

[airnutz]

USFG
Two McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantoms of fighter squadron VF-194 Red Lightnings intercept a soviet Tu-95 Bear reconnaissance plane on 10 March 1977. VF-194 was assigned to Carrier Air Wing Fifeteen (CVW-15) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea (CV-43). Note the experimental camouflage scheme of the Phantoms.

Ahh..the "Ferris paint scheme". I was TDY on Coral Sea Dec/76, Jan/77 and have a few photos of a coupla F-4's in this scheme
in my photo album. I would hope I have some negatives of these birds below decks with their BuNo's in my stash somewhere...

[airnutz]

Whoa Sasquatch..I type much slower than you..when I started my post, you werern't "here" yet!!

[Sasquatch]

Cool that you saw them in person, Airnutz...especially if you have shots of them on the hangar deck!

--Tom

[TimAPNY]

MMMmmmmm...camo.

Wow, that is funny stuff. I bet that was before Tailhook!

Tim