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The Staff of SOH
1966, USS Kitty Hawk, CAG-11, F-4B Camo paint...
- Thread starter Navy Chief
- Start date
General scheme was applied to a number of carrier-borne Navy types for a short period of time in '66. I've seen photos of A-3s painted like this, too. Idea was to try to make the aircraft easier to blend in against background when at low level over land. Navy decided the advantages were outweighed by lack of visibility of the aircraft by flight deck crews at night. Safety was the overriding concern and the dark paint made things difficult for handling of aircraft on the flight deck.
gray eagle
SOH-CM-2025
I didn't know of US Navy camos either
Two U.S. Navy McDonnell F-4G Phantom II aircraft of Fighter Squadron VF-213 "Black Lions" on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) during that carrier's deployment to Vietnam from 19 October 1965 to 13 June 1966.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:F-4_Phantoms_on_USS_Kitty_Hawk_(CVA-63)_in_1966.jpg
Two U.S. Navy McDonnell F-4G Phantom II aircraft of Fighter Squadron VF-213 "Black Lions" on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) during that carrier's deployment to Vietnam from 19 October 1965 to 13 June 1966.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:F-4_Phantoms_on_USS_Kitty_Hawk_(CVA-63)_in_1966.jpg
gray eagle
SOH-CM-2025
Another Navy Camo experiment
A U.S. Navy McDonnell F-4G Phantom II (BuNo 150642) of Fighter Squadron VF-121 at Naval Air Station Miramar, California (USA), in 1966. The Phantom is one of the short-lived USN-F-4Gs, 12 were converted from F-4Bs with AN/ASW-12 two-way datalink communication system and approach power compensator which, coupled with the shipboard AN/SPN-10 radar and AN/USC-1 datalink allowed hands-off carrier landings.
Note the camouflage. This F-4G came from VF-213 which had been deployed with Carrier Air Wing 11 (CVW-11) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) 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.
150642 was converted back to an F-4B in October 1966 an again converted to an F-4N in October 1973.
VF-121 was a (F4) RAG (replacement air group), also known as a fleet replacement squadron (FRS) ; the last stop on the training pipeline for pilots and enlisted personnel.
A U.S. Navy McDonnell F-4G Phantom II (BuNo 150642) of Fighter Squadron VF-121 at Naval Air Station Miramar, California (USA), in 1966. The Phantom is one of the short-lived USN-F-4Gs, 12 were converted from F-4Bs with AN/ASW-12 two-way datalink communication system and approach power compensator which, coupled with the shipboard AN/SPN-10 radar and AN/USC-1 datalink allowed hands-off carrier landings.
Note the camouflage. This F-4G came from VF-213 which had been deployed with Carrier Air Wing 11 (CVW-11) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) 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.
150642 was converted back to an F-4B in October 1966 an again converted to an F-4N in October 1973.
VF-121 was a (F4) RAG (replacement air group), also known as a fleet replacement squadron (FRS) ; the last stop on the training pipeline for pilots and enlisted personnel.