Ah, the good old days!!!!!

[John HOLBROOK]

As test beds for electronic equipment. They took one A3 and transplanted a complete F15 nose on it to test the fire controll system!!!! Raytheon loves them!!!!!!

Here is a photo of the remaining A3s at Van Nuys mixed in with other A/C..

[John Sukey]

Not only was the connector different, the impedence of the earphones was different.

GO FIGURE!!!!

We in the Navy used an ARC 28 for UHF communications....

Arc 28? ANTIQUE! We used ARC 34's in the 100's then moved to Arc 51's in the SLUF's and finally to ARC164's. The FM was 622's until replaced by ARC 186's. Funny story about that On the FM, we heard someone break into a pilots conversation telling him to get off the freq, as it was restricted. Found out he was an army type in Missouri. Pilot replied "this is an A7 over Tucson! Heard no more from the army. Skip can be odd, we once picked up a fire engine in NEW YORK!

However When I was in Panama just before taking out pineapple face, they STILL had some ARC 5's for ground comm.

[John HOLBROOK]

Hey John, the ARC 28 used vacuum tubes!!!!!!! As did the AN-ASB 1 radar bombing system, also the optical bombing system we used was taken from the Norden Bomb Sight!!!!!!!!!!

Remember, I am from the Stone Age of Naval Aviation!!!!

[Weasel]

We don't have real Navy now days. What was once the US Navy is now "Carnival Cruse Lines".

[CTMC(ret)]

Bring on the EMP!! We'll who still has comms!!

[Weasel]

Some of the old times might find this amusing. Myself I find it disgusting that the military has gotten in this shape for no good reason other than lack of discipline and pride.
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htm.../20100622.aspx

[Critch]

Great pictures. Isn't that pretty much the same plane the AF called an RB-66?

[John HOLBROOK]

There was only about 3% interchangability between the RB-66 and the A3D.....

[Viking68]

I just found this forum by accident. I am an ex AQ in the original Heavy Ten at Whiidby. I need to make a couple of corrections. I was an Avionics shift supervisor and Avionics QA. The UHF radio was the ARC 27 vice 28. The VHF radio was the ARC - 38. Both types were tube types. The A-3 carried two ARC- 27's back in the hell hole under the tail. The ARC -38 was mounted right below the 27's.
The bombing system was the ASB-1/1A or ASB-7. The gear in the -1 was all vacuum tube and the 7 was mostly transisters.

[rstbkt69]

Weasel LOL. I have been in the F-18 community since 85. I'm out of the Navy now but still involved with the F-18's. That F-18 tanker joke is always passed around by people that work on different platforms. Never has been considered.