![]() ![]() Low drag as opposed to the old style fat bombs resulting in a more aerodynamic shape for carrying on external stores racks. #Us bombs every 12 minutes series#Mark 80 series of "Low Drag General Purpose (LDGP)" bombs. Navy and Douglas Aircraft develop new bombs for A-4 Skyhawk. Weapons release can be controlled on an individual basisīRU-42 Triple Ejector Rack can carry up to three 1,000lb weapons that can be dropped individually or "rippled".Ĭirca 1950 - The U.S. Each ejector unit is equipped with a safety stop lever that can be rotated to prevent accidental release.īRU-41/A MER improved reliability and incorporated an electronic control unit. Bombs are hung by two suspension lugs 14 inches apart, 30 inches for the Mark 84, and release is achieved by the firing of a pyrotechnic charge that actuates a piston pushing the weapon away from the rack. Each of the six weapons ejector unit has four adjustable sway braces and two mechanically locking suspension hooks spaced 14 inches apart. Today's Multiple Ejector Rack (MER) and Triple Ejector Rack (TER) evolved from the MCBR and MBR, and attach to an aircraft's main pylons (racks).īRU-41 Multiple Ejector Rack is a weapon suspension unit capable of carrying up to six weapons of 1,000lbs each. Patent Number 3,122,056 for the development of the MCBR. JUN 1960 Fitch conducts the first test flights with the MBR where live bombs (eighteen Mark 81 High Explosive) were released. Fitch flew the first flight of an A-4 Skyhawk carrying a load of 16 Mark 81 inert bombs on what became known as a Multiple Carriage Bomb Rack.įor his efforts he was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal.Įarly 1960 - Douglas Aircraft Company utilizes the MCBR development for a production version of the MCBR that is designated the Multiple Bomb Rack (MBR). MAY 1959 - Fitch conceived the idea of bomb racks that could carry multiple bombs on the limited number of weapons stations of the A-4C Skyhawk. MCBs, MBRs, MERs and TERs: įEB 1958 - Patuxent River U.S. This rack has the same safety feature as the Aero 7A rack. Wings Aero 20A (suspension lug spacing of 14 inches). #Us bombs every 12 minutes movie#Small inspection windows facilitate verification of a positive hook lock.Ĭenterline w LB-18A Camera POD for in-flight still and movie film recording. Sidewinder = A-4C/F/G/H/K/L/N/P/Q, TA-4G/Hīullpup = A-4B/C/E/F/G/K/L/M/N, TA-4F/G/KĬenterline Aero 7A (two sets of suspension lugs with a spacing of 14 inches and 30 inches.) This rack receives a safety pin to "safe" the rack by opening the firing circuit, grounding the ejector pyrotechnics, and mechanically blocking the ejector hooks from opening. Special Weapons = A-4A/B/C/E/F/L/M, TA-4F ![]() Weapons Systems (Mfg.-Installed Provisions): The elevator behind the bombs is used to bring them up to the flight deck. Mk-82 bombs without fuzes ready for loading aboard VA-144 Roadrunner Skyhawks 07AUG69. ![]() The Mark 11 is presently undergoing evaluation at the Naval Aviation Ordnance Test Station, Chincoteague, Virginia, and is expected to be operational in 1959. Navy by Flier Industrialist, Howard Hughes. Frank Markquaret, a Naval Ordnance Engineer in the Bureau of Ordnance, conceived the Mark 11 gun and POD. Stroop, Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance, indicated that with the Mark 11 gun and POD meeting the firepower requirements of future attack aircraft, there will be a gain in aircraft structural simplicity, since there would be no need for internal fixed guns. Ease of rearming, replacement of the gun, and maintenance are notable features which add to the practicability of the gun. Its primary application is in air-to-ground attack, where its controlled variable rate of fire makes it extremely effective. This new weapon, which will offer a significant contribution to Naval Air Attack Capability, is carried and fired in an external pod which is fitted to the bomb rack of carrier-based aircraft. This gun, called the Mark 11, was shown to Naval Aviators and representatives of the press at the Third Annual Naval Air Weapons Meet, held at NAAS El Centro, California. Navy today unveiled a new pod-mounted weapon, a 20mm aircraft gun capable of firing 4,000 rounds per minute. Mark 11, 20mm Aircraft Gun, in the Mark 1 POD, attached to the bomb rack of a Douglas A4D-2 aircraft, April 14, 1958. ![]() Photo from Phil Thompson, former RAN Aviator.Ī-4M = 2 US MK12 20mm cannon (400 rounds)Ī-4N, some A-4H = 2 French DEFA 553 30mm cannon (300 rounds) It does display aiming circles to assist in judging "lead", a poor substitute but better than nothing. The original A-4 Gun-sight, only one generation removed from WWII type gun-sights, had no radar to calculate "lead" (how far ahead of a turning target to aim). ![]()
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