| Deadone | 21 Oct 2014 3:15 p.m. PST |
Whilst many aviation enthusiasts get excited about the latest (and IMO boring) stealth fighters, I've always loved the classics. And we've just had two classics retired: 1. Greek Air Force A-7 Corsair II (replaced by F-16C/D) There were the last A-7s in service anywhere in the world. janes.com/article/44758/a-7-corsair-ii-finally-retires-from-service
2. Oman Air Force Jaguars (replaced by F-16C/D). This leaves India as last user of the type. janes.com/article/44750/oman-retires-jaguars
Both are classic Cold War attack planes and have served their air forces well.
This year we also saw the last of European Mirage F1s with France retiring theirs (leaves only Morocco, Gabon and Iran as operators). Next year sees the retirement of French Navy Super Etendards leaving only Argentina as an operator. After that we will see wholesale retirements of MiG-21/-29s in Europe other than in Poland as well as wholesale retirements of F-5 in Asia.
Sad to see this old warriors going to the boneyard.
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| Striker | 21 Oct 2014 4:43 p.m. PST |
I've always liked the look of the A-7, especially in camo. |
| Lion in the Stars | 21 Oct 2014 7:07 p.m. PST |
Yeah, the SLUF is an iconic bird. I have a pair of 1/100 models of them in my Vietnam gaming box. The Jaguar is also a pretty slick-looking bird. Though to be honest, I think the prettiest is the old Blackburn Buccaneer. |
| Mako11 | 21 Oct 2014 7:21 p.m. PST |
Yep, the SLUF is one of my favorites too. |
| Deadone | 21 Oct 2014 7:48 p.m. PST |
Buccaneer was indeed a pretty bird – classic 1950s British stylings. You certainly don't get curves like these anymore.
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| 15mm and 28mm Fanatik | 21 Oct 2014 10:19 p.m. PST |
I like the F-7's fighter cousin, the F-8 Crusader:
The Jaguar is unusual in that it's the only fighter which carried AAR's on top of the wings:
The JASDF Mitsubishi F-1 is based on the Jaguar:
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| Bellbottom | 22 Oct 2014 2:40 a.m. PST |
Yes, the Buccaneer, not so much built, as carved from the solid |
| Jemima Fawr | 22 Oct 2014 3:01 a.m. PST |
The RAF still has a few running Jaguars – they're used for ground-handling training at RAF Cosford and can regularly be seen being taxi'd around by excited engineers (and me, on one memorable occasion)! :) There was an EPIC RAF information film from the 1980s featuring Jaguars doing their thing to the soundtrack of 'She Sells Sanctuary' by The Cult. I'd love to see that again, but I've never found it on Youtube. Yeah, I loved the Buc. |
| MCV 80 | 22 Oct 2014 3:44 a.m. PST |
You may like to watch some Jaguars (among others) landing on a just finished Autobahn in Germany. YouTube link Cheers,
Benjamin |
| Katzbalger | 22 Oct 2014 4:07 a.m. PST |
A7 and Jaguars are two of my five favorite "cool" aircraft ever (the other three being the A-10, C-130 in all its forms, and the WWII F4U). Well, they had a looooong life (in service). Rob |
| tuscaloosa | 22 Oct 2014 5:25 p.m. PST |
Nice link, Benjamin and thanks for the OP, TH. |
| SouthernPhantom | 30 Oct 2014 9:15 a.m. PST |
Now I'm honestly wondering if someone will demil and sell those A-7s on the 'warbird' market. If it happened with CF-104s, I think it could happen here. |
| Gravett Islander | 30 Oct 2014 2:40 p.m. PST |
The Omani Jaguars were based in Thumrait (Moon base Alpha)when I was out there, story told of how they used to practice low flying by buzzing the cars of fellow pilots on their way into the base. At least one car ended up with dents on the roof.
Sounds a bit far fetched, but perhaps that was the effect all that sun and sand had…………. |
| Lion in the Stars | 30 Oct 2014 8:08 p.m. PST |
I'm not so sure that's a tall tale, Gravett Islander. Couldn't tell you how often I got buzzed by US (national guard!) RF4Cs back before the local guys transitioned to F4G Wild Weasels, including one time at over mach 1. The sonic boom is unmistakeable. Pretty sure the pilot was following US Highway 395 through central Oregon, because my Mom's place during the summer was just off 395. |
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