With the dust slowly settliung from SOC’s last quiz, and Distiller back, i guess it’s time again for a nice little obscurities & trivia quiz to enjoy/loathe/ignore….
Have fun!
Wrong answers given so far
Correct answers given so far. Apologies for the late correction round, but last night my keyboard went wfu thanks to a nice cuppa tea
And the final round….
-1-
a- What was the heaviest weapon ever launched by an aircraft?
b- What aircraft launched it?
c- When was it launched?
d- From what base did the aircraft operate?
I thought this would be one for Dis. The Minuteman dropped-then-launched from a Galaxy is the one i was looking for. At a weight of 87.000lbs (including cradle), i don’t think anything heavier was ever launched/dropped. The Minuteman was dropped from the back of the Galaxy at 20.000ft, then stabilised and put into a vertical position for it to launch it’s own rocket motor at some 8000ft. Two actual Minuteman drops were made, but there were five preceding test drops of full-scale concrete models 😀 . The project got canned for a number of reasons.
The base from which the tests were flown was Vandenburg AFB though, as it had the facilities for the missiles.
-2-
Eleven of the Chinooks which were used by the US Army were built in Italy. How could this happen?
Distiller has got it: these were ordered by Iran, but never delivered because of the revolution. The US Army gladly took them over, as 85-24734 to 85-24744. They were stored for some time, until two of them became MH-47Es and the rest go to be CH-47Ds, all with fy 1992 serials.
-3-
During the wars between Chad and Lybia during the 1980s, the French used one aircraft which could hardly have been further away from it’s intended operational surroundings. What aircraft was this, and for what was it used?
Yes, the French depoyed an Atlantic (not -que, as it was one of the first generation) to N’Djamena in Chad for electronic warfare, flying command post and relays duties during the clashes with Lybia in the 1980s. There are rumours that this aircraft was actually given a desert camo paintjob, but i’m pretty sceptical about that. I will gladly be proven wrong though. Scores for Frank and MPA.
-4-
Exactly twenty years after D-Day in Europe, the first US military jet was shot down over South East Asia. What was the type of aircraft, and where was it shot down?
An RF-8A it was, 146823 from VFP-63 det. C. This one flew from the Kitty Hawk, and the pilot (Lt. Charles Klusmann) had already bitten some FLAK on May 21st but then he could make it back. On june 6th he lost his hydraulics and ejected, and despite an early and pretty improvised rescue attempt he was caught by the Pathet Lao. He was lucky though, as he managed to escape on August 30 the same year.
-5-
Name all Soviet and Russian aircraft with a canard + wing + tailplane design.
Frank and Sean had the bulk of them, being:
T10-24
Su-30MKI
Su-33
Su-34
Su-35
Su-37
Su-47
MiG Ye-8
MiG 1.42
I want to illustrate this one with a pic, as it definatel has something horizontal aerodynamic beyond the wing’s trailing edge:
The one failing was the modified Su-7, 100LDU. This one was the T-4 FBW testbed, we had it mentioned in a thread here not too long ago.
-6-
What was the first aircraft with overwing engines to enter military service, and with what country?
I was thick again, forgetting to mention that it should be about jet engines, being litterally mounted on the wing rather than on the fuselage. Sorry everyone.
Still, Frank understood what i ment and came with the right answer: the VFW-614 which flew as a (VIP-) transport with the Luftwaffe. 
-7-
What were the competitors to the following aircraft for getting a production contract:
a- Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet
Yes, Frank’s got it! Three conglomerates joined in the contest, apart from the eventual winner these were Aerospatiale/MBB with the E.650 Eurotrainer and VFW with the T.291. I don’t know if a T.291 mockup was ever built (or if it survives, but i hope this will get Deino digging 😉 ), but the E-650 made it to a full-scale mockup. This survives at the nice and friendly Luftfahrtausstellung in Villingen-Schwenningen in the Black Forest. Unfortunately, when i was at the museum in 1991 (running out from the hangar together with the owner to see some French Mirages flying by) the full-size model was in a shed under tarps, and appearantly it’s situation hasn’t changed much since. An inventory of the museum is at http://www.luftfahrtmuseum.com/htmd/dmr/dvi.htm for those in the neighbourhood…
b- Fiat G.91
The Breguet 1001 Taon (not the twin-engined Br.1100 Taon!) was indeed one of the competitors to this competition, and the original Etendard was the other competitor which made it to the skies.
Here is the Taon:
c- L 29
Both the TS-11 and the Yak-30 ran in the competition in which the Soviets decided to buy some 1800 Delfins. The Poles decided they liked the TS-11 enough to build it for themselves (and India), the Yak went nowhere. Cooperative points for Sammie and Frank. Here’s the Yak-30 prototype, a single-seat variant called Yak-32 was also developed which did some aerobatic and record-breaking work. Of course the Yak-30 trainer is not to be confused with the Yak-30 fighter, which also made it to prototype status but looked completely different.
d- Hughes OH-6
Bell YOH-4 and Hiller YOH-5 were the answers i wanted to hear. The YOH-4 was a direct predecessor of the Bell 206/OH-58 series, while the YOH-5 entered limited production as the civilian Fairchild-Hiller FH1100. First the Bell product, then the Hiller helo:
-8-
What carrier aircraft took off on two wheels, but landed on three?
Me blundering as per tradition… the Buccaneer indeed only used the nose-up takeoff from carriers. Shame on me once more… 😮 Anyway, the jet i was looking for was the Scimitar. Not the little tank one, not the one for slashing your enemy, but the Supermarine one.
-9-
Give the name of each of the following country’s military display teams, and tell with what aircraft they perform.
a- Morocco
Marche Verte, CAP321. Not too hard i guess.
b- Saudi Arabia
A bit more difficult, but yes: the Saudi Hawks flying Haks.
c- Chile
Los Halcones they are, first with Pittses, now with Extras.
d- South Korea
Par Benelos is on a roll here. The Black Eagles they are, flying Dragonflies. These should definately be nice, and no need for earplugs when compared to T-37 teams either 🙂
e- New Zealand
The Red Checkers, but the CT/4Bs have been replaced by CT/4E’s now.
f- Ukraine
I would of course have preferred them being called Ukrainskie Sokoli, but Ukrainian Falcons is an undisputable translation. The MiG-29 is indeed their mount.
g- Turkey
And finally the Turk Yildizlari or Turkish Stars with their former Dutch NF-5s. Thanks to their maneuvring slats (later more or less adopted for the F-5E/F), these are more maneuvrable than standard F-5s.
-10-
Some countries really made an effort collecting aircraft of a certain type for their airforce. Name at least three countries which (occasionally indirect) supplied aircraft of the mentioned type to the following airforces:
a- F-104/Taiwan
Germany, Belgium and the USA are all correct. The other two countries were Denmark and Japan.
b- F-5/Greece
The Netherlands is correct, as are Norway, Jordan, Iran and the US. There could well be one more…
The possible ex-Lybian F-5A for Greece could be 67-22551, as this was appearantly noted in 1985. But since it hasn’t been reported ever since, this could well have been a misread. Although it has to be said that 551 wasn’t seen in Turkey like all other ex-Lybian F-5s either.
c- Hunter/India
Okay, we have the UK, which is correct. Belgium and the Netherlands being the other ones. Some of the Dutch Hunters already had some experience with a more tropical climate, as some of them were Biak (New Guinea) veterans from 1960-1962. One of Pegasus’ points here.
d- MiG-21F-13/Syria
Skythe has the required three: the Soviet Union, East Germany and Hungary. And if you want, you can add Poland to that list too.
-11-
What countries use the F-16 in a recce role?
The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, the US and Taiwan are correct. Greece is not, and why should they when they have quite an inventory of RF-4E’s
I’m not so sure about Turkey either, but Israel is pretty much a given. As is Norway.
-12-
Identify the following aircraft. So that means type, identification number and operator:
a- Buster Gonad
Pegasus scores this one, with a nice pic to boot. XZ118/Y it was, definately the best ‘Viz’ (a cartoon magazine) character used in the Gulf although there were more.
b- Miss Piggy
The ‘real’ Miss Piggy was an F-4C, 64-0776 which had scored three MiG-21s while in Vietnam. It flew with the last operational F-4C unit at the Oregon ANG, and it’s now at the USAFM at Wright-Patterson.
…but on the other hand, i didn’t know the two WP-3D’s had been given Muppet names, so WP-3D N43RF (BuNo 159773) is correct.
c- The Underachiever
Oops… me bad again, it’s The Overachiever. Yes, F-117A bort 818 it was. Apologies.
d- Hanoi Taxi
Yes, this is C-141C 66-0177. In 1973, when it still was a C-141A, this was the first Starlifter to repatriate a batch of POWs from North Vietnam. It’s still flying with the Reserves at Wright-Patterson, in the nice 1970s-colours to commemorate it’s 1973 mission. It is not to go to the scrapman in the desert either.
e- Ryazan’
Obviously, a Tu-95MS. Anyone care for the bort number?
f- Double Trouble
Frank’s correct on this one. It’s the US Armies Ka-32, 91-00218. It was given the name for its coaxial rotor obviously, and the black crows Heckle & Jeckyll are the nose art on this bird.
-13-
While there are plenty of export customers for the Westland Lynx helo, there is only one which didn’t use it in a maritime role. Which force got the land-Lynx?
One for Flood. The Qatari police got three Lynxes in 1978, but they were sold back to BAe in 1991. I think all three actually survive as instructional airframes in the UK, at Arborfield, Fleetlands and Middle Wallop. This after they had been plucked for spares. There were a number of other potential customers in the Middle East, but these all backed out for one reason or the other (in Egypt’s case it was peace, in Iraq’s case it was war).
-14-
Misawa in Japan took pride in being the US fighter airbase closest to the Soviet Union. What was the Soviet airbase closest to the USA, and what was the last type operationally deployed there?
Well, there were indeed regular Tu-142 deployments to San Antonio in Cuba, but this wasn’t a permanent presence so while it’s definately a good call, i’d like to abuse my quizmaster priviliges once again. A permanent base, please.
While Provideniya and even Dikson had occasional small-scale deployments, there was no permament unit there (which there in fact weren’t at Shemya either, it was only a veeeery regularly visited Forward Operating Location). The closest permanently occupied base, with PVO fighters (the last ones being Su-15TM FLAGON-F’s) was Anadyr.
-15-
What replaced the following aircraft:
a- EC-121R, USAF
Yes, the small and silent QU-22 replaced the large and loud EC-121T. Both served as signals relays aircraft in the Igloo White (“people sniffer”) program during the Vietnam war. The QU-22 could be flown without a pilot, but usually had a flyer aboard. Which was rather unfortunate really: more than one QU-22 was lost because the pilot had fallen asleep, only to wake up with too little fuel to return to base… I guess the poor guys were literally bored to death.
In other words, something as wonderful as this…
got replaced by this…
b- OV-10B, Luftwaffe
Pegasus scores with the civilian-operated PC-9Bs The operator is actually Condor Flugdienst, which is better known as a charter airline.
c- DP-2E, US Navy
Yes, the DC-130A.
d- Lim5, Polish Navy
The spectacularly paint-chipped Naval FRESCOs were indeed replaced by spectaculairly camouflaged Iskras.
e- EF-10B, USMC
And score one for Phantom, as the Skyknight was finally replaced by the EA-6A. The EA-B didn’t come until about a decade later in USMC inventory.
I don’t think it’s too hard, but good luck nevertheless.
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March 26, 2004 at 7:55 pm