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  • DubiousDan

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    F-51 Mustangs at Cheyenne Municipal Airport in Laramie County, Wyoming, in 1949
    7276690-6482847-image-a-28_1544521971955.jpg
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    toddnjoyce

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    I thought they were called a Spectre.
    'Spooky' is, to this day, one of the callsign's in use for AC-130 missions as well as the AF name for the AC-47. The AC-130U is officially dubbed 'Spooky II'.

    Spectre is the AF's official name for the early AC-130 models (E/Hs) that carried over from the program office's PAVE Spectre project. Spectre is also the 16 SOS's 'name' for lack of a better term.

    What the AF calls a plane, what the troops call it, and mission callsigns sometimes, rarely, line up. For example, let's take the F-16.

    The AF calls it the Fighting Falcon or Falcon, depending on what source you look at. Generically, the fighter community refers to the F-16 generically as the Viper, as that's what the Hill AFB guys came up with as a fitting name for their fighting machine. To my knowledge, there is no AF fighter squadron known as the Vipers, but there are some uses of Viper as an F-16 mission callsign I'm aware of.

    Derisively, the F-16 is also known as the Electric Jet due to it being the first fly by wire aircraft in the inventory. Lawn Dart is still around due to the F-16 mishap rate.

    There are some others that Boeing/LM stick on it for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) marketing, but those generally don't mean squat to pretty much anybody.

    Within the F-16 variants, there are significant variations as well, known as Blocks. Blocks refers to major contract changes the AF made along the way, and apply to most airframes. For instance the Block 30 is a 'standard' configuration, Block 40/42 was a Block 30 airframe with Block 50 software. Block 50 was a mission specific airframe + software upgrade. Block 60 is a Block 50 with a different avionics suite.

    It's crazy.
     
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    Cvhjr

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    'Spooky' is, to this day, one of the callsign's in use for AC-130 missions as well as the AF name for the AC-47. The AC-130U is officially dubbed 'Spooky II'.

    Spectre is the AF's official name for the early AC-130 models (E/Hs) that carried over from the program office's PAVE Spectre project. Spectre is also the 16 SOS's 'name' for lack of a better term.

    What the AF calls a plane, what the troops call it, and mission callsigns sometimes, rarely, line up. For example, let's take the F-16.

    The AF calls it the Fighting Falcon or Falcon, depending on what source you look at. Generically, the fighter community refers to the F-16 generically as the Viper, as that's what the Hill AFB guys came up with as a fitting name for their fighting machine. To my knowledge, there is no AF fighter squadron known as the Vipers, but there are some uses of Viper as an F-16 mission callsign I'm aware of.

    Derisively, the F-16 is also known as the Electric Jet due to it being the first fly by wire aircraft in the inventory. Lawn Dart is still around due to the F-16 mishap rate.

    There are some others that Boeing/LM stick on it for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) marketing, but those generally don't mean squat to pretty much anybody.

    Within the F-16 variants, there are significant variations as well, known as Blocks. Blocks refers to major contract changes the AF made along the way, and apply to most airframes. For instance the Block 30 is a 'standard' configuration, Block 40/42 was a Block 30 airframe with Block 50 software. Block 50 was a mission specific airframe + software upgrade. Block 60 is a Block 50 with a different avionics suite.

    It's crazy.

    In Okinawa in the early ‘70s the pilots of the highly classified SR-71 called it the “Habu”after the weasel looking mongoose that killed King Cobras on the island. Locals matched them for sport(betting) in a cage - never saw a snake win. Meet a few of the pilots.


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    easy rider

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    'Spooky' is, to this day, one of the callsign's in use for AC-130 missions as well as the AF name for the AC-47. The AC-130U is officially dubbed 'Spooky II'.

    Spectre is the AF's official name for the early AC-130 models (E/Hs) that carried over from the program office's PAVE Spectre project. Spectre is also the 16 SOS's 'name' for lack of a better term.

    What the AF calls a plane, what the troops call it, and mission callsigns sometimes, rarely, line up. For example, let's take the F-16.

    The AF calls it the Fighting Falcon or Falcon, depending on what source you look at. Generically, the fighter community refers to the F-16 generically as the Viper, as that's what the Hill AFB guys came up with as a fitting name for their fighting machine. To my knowledge, there is no AF fighter squadron known as the Vipers, but there are some uses of Viper as an F-16 mission callsign I'm aware of.

    Derisively, the F-16 is also known as the Electric Jet due to it being the first fly by wire aircraft in the inventory. Lawn Dart is still around due to the F-16 mishap rate.

    There are some others that Boeing/LM stick on it for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) marketing, but those generally don't mean squat to pretty much anybody.

    Within the F-16 variants, there are significant variations as well, known as Blocks. Blocks refers to major contract changes the AF made along the way, and apply to most airframes. For instance the Block 30 is a 'standard' configuration, Block 40/42 was a Block 30 airframe with Block 50 software. Block 50 was a mission specific airframe + software upgrade. Block 60 is a Block 50 with a different avionics suite.

    It's crazy.
    Learn something new everyday. Thank you.
     

    Dad_Roman

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    Wasn't Puff an AC-47? Same thing...different designation.
    Yessir....difference being civilian/military.



    Maybe its the passage of time - and I am “ misremembering” ? - but I swear we had a USAF “twin tailed flying box car” gunship shoot for us one dark night in Tay Ninh Province in late 1970-early 1972. Am I remembering something wrong? It was a gunship without a doubt - stayed over us a long time. Answered prayer whatever it was.
    Good call....seen the latter piccy you posted. Didnt even know of that bird.




    I thought they were called a Spectre.
    Proper names....yessir your right. Guess Ive read too many stories about them. Nose art named "Spooky" then there was a "Spooky II" and I also got used to them being referred too as such in the multitude of stories Ive read.



    'Spooky' is, to this day, one of the callsign's in use for AC-130 missions......

    It's crazy.

    Daaaaamn......or what HE said^^^^^


    .
     

    vmax

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    'Spooky' is, to this day, one of the callsign's in use for AC-130 missions as well as the AF name for the AC-47. The AC-130U is officially dubbed 'Spooky II'.

    Spectre is the AF's official name for the early AC-130 models (E/Hs) that carried over from the program office's PAVE Spectre project. Spectre is also the 16 SOS's 'name' for lack of a better term.

    What the AF calls a plane, what the troops call it, and mission callsigns sometimes, rarely, line up. For example, let's take the F-16.

    The AF calls it the Fighting Falcon or Falcon, depending on what source you look at. Generically, the fighter community refers to the F-16 generically as the Viper, as that's what the Hill AFB guys came up with as a fitting name for their fighting machine. To my knowledge, there is no AF fighter squadron known as the Vipers, but there are some uses of Viper as an F-16 mission callsign I'm aware of.

    Derisively, the F-16 is also known as the Electric Jet due to it being the first fly by wire aircraft in the inventory. Lawn Dart is still around due to the F-16 mishap rate.

    There are some others that Boeing/LM stick on it for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) marketing, but those generally don't mean squat to pretty much anybody.

    Within the F-16 variants, there are significant variations as well, known as Blocks. Blocks refers to major contract changes the AF made along the way, and apply to most airframes. For instance the Block 30 is a 'standard' configuration, Block 40/42 was a Block 30 airframe with Block 50 software. Block 50 was a mission specific airframe + software upgrade. Block 60 is a Block 50 with a different avionics suite.

    It's crazy.
    Same kind of craziness for naming weapons in the AF
    Back around 1987 or so, we got the first of what ended up being the M4 carbine.
    Our Shift Commanders and Flight Chiefs got them mostly.
    The armorers called them a GAU

    We found out that meant Gun, Aircraft Unit.
     

    toddnjoyce

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    jrbfishn

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    In Okinawa in the early ‘70s the pilots of the highly classified SR-71 called it the “Habu”after the weasel looking mongoose that killed King Cobras on the island. Locals matched them for sport(betting) in a cage - never saw a snake win. Meet a few of the pilots.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
    Almost....Habu refers to the snake: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habu
    I was there from '70 to '72. Machinato housing by Naha City. We left 11 days before the Japs took over the island.
    No Cobras, but plenty of Habu snakes. The short fat one was deadly. The only Cobras were imported for shows. Mongooses to. Not aware of them being native to the island.

    As teenagers, we had a LOT of fun in that 2 years. I did not want to leave. But it all changed after it changed hands. Shame too. Taxes tripled the prices. A lot of laws changed to.

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    Younggun

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    The Demon Core. A 14lb chunk of plutonium that is inert being 95% of critical mass but has been involved in several incidents where it can in contact with other objects causing massive bursts of radiation resulting in the deaths of those in he vicinity.

    1a97dc56b1a08b10b882cb3eb784479b.jpg



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    easy rider

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    The Demon Core. A 14lb chunk of plutonium that is inert being 95% of critical mass but has been involved in several incidents where it can in contact with other objects causing massive bursts of radiation resulting in the deaths of those in he vicinity.

    View attachment 156686


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    Along that line:
    Fat Man:
    20Fat%20Man%20being%20lowered%20and%20checked%20on%20transport%20dolly%20for%20airfield%20trip_0.jpg


    Little Boy:
    77-BT-124%20Little%20Boy%20about%20to%20be%20loaded%20into%20Enola%20Gay.jpg
     
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