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The Flying Pig - F-111 Aardvark
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- čas přidán 5. 04. 2021
- The General Dynamics F111 was not just any other aircraft of the Cold War. It was born as part of the Tactical Fighter Experimental program ordered by Robert McNamara himself to create a plane that could fit roles requested by both the Navy and the Air Force.
The F111 had a troublesome beginning in the 60s. And at the heart of it was an old grudge between the military branches.
Like many of its colleagues of the epoch, the F111 had unique innovations and cons that left the two branches divided. Although the Navy despised it, the USAF loved it.
Conceived as a fighter, bomber, and interceptor, the F111 pioneered the concept of using variable-sweep wings, terrain-following radar, and afterburning turbofan engines that were unique for its time.
It successfully served during the critical years of the Vietnam War, Operation El Dorado Canyon in the 80s, and Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War.
Called the Aardvark, or earth pig, for its long nose, the last F111s were retired from the USAF in 1996 and in 2010 by the Australia Air Force after a 40-year long career that spanned various combat configurations.
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Guy in my shop back in the AF used to work on F-111s. Told me a story of one that had strayed into the wrong airspace and had the entire Syrian AF launched at it. Said there are few things faster than an Aardvark fleeing in terror... when it got back to Incirlik the paint had peeled off the leading edges and the ground crew practically had to pry the pilots out of their seats with a crowbar! :-D
I've heard of numerous instances of F-111s out running everything in the inventory at Red Flag exercises, including F-15s!
"Faster boy, faster!" 😜
My dad headed up maintenance on those birds for quite a time (I forget which squadrons). He had a couple of pilots belly land one on the runway. Acceptably a complete write-off. Pops felt like a challenge that day and said no... we'll fix it. Got it back up in the air and tested out perfect except for some bullshit tick because they have to find.. SOMETHING. Senior Master SGT Lattimore. The guy in your shop might have served with Pops.
@@nullterm true, down low there is no aircraft that can catch an F-111, not even a foxbat
Which low ranking enlisted man got to clean the cockpit after the pilots dropped a load in their flightsuits?
In the mid-eighties, I was 14 and working on my brother's logging crew in the Adirondacks. We were on a densely forested site about 12 miles North of Lake Placid, New York that summer. (Before you tree huggers tune up your fiddles, we were doing a selective cut recommend to the landowner by the New York DEC.)
Apparently, this bit of forest was on a low-level flight corridor for the FB-111's based at Plattsburgh AFB. I found this out my first week there. I waa gassing my saw. There was a gentle breeze; the birds were singing; the squirrels were chasing each other; two raccoons, a porcupine, and a black bear were playing poker. Peaceful.
Then a shadow blinked over me, I heard the shriek of a demon from hell, and the trees were getting thrashed and dead limbs were falling on me - wrenched loose by the jet-wash. FB-111. That ended up happening a lot that summer.
As a child in the 1970's I attended a sleep away summer camp ran by an evangelical Christian organization called Word of Life in Pottersville, NY on Schroon lake right off the I-87 "Adirondack Northway". One morning I was awakened by a very loud thunder clap. I looked out of the window expecting dark skies and a deluge but was all I saw was a bright sunrise with clear skies. Years later while in college and enrolled in the AFROTC program then learned that near to my old summer camp was Plattsburg AFB a SAC base and home to a FB-111 Bomb Wing. So I finally solved my years old mystery of the clear air thunderclap as being probably being an errant sonic boom from one of the FB-111's.
I would have had change my boxers. I used to love going to the shows at Plattsburgh AFB. I also worked as a logger for many years a little south of there closer to North Hudson and Moriah. Closing that base was one of the biggest mistakes Clinton ever made. Look what it did to the once booming little city of Plattsburgh and count how many times the gov has since funded some big revamp of the base facilities and economy of Plattsburgh. I bet they spent more on those programs than keeping the base open and still none of them really worked.
I lived on that base in the 80s. I was quite used to the sounds, having come from Hahn AFB in Germany... but one day I was minding my own business when a 111 shrieked overhead in full afterburner. Must have been 100' off the deck. I remember my body running across the street and throwing itself inside a door before my brain even knew what had happened. 😂😂😂
Sorry about that.
@@gotmythumbs I forgive you.
Thank you Dark Skies for mentioning Australia in this video and especially her nickname here. She was an amazing aircraft that will be missed in this region for her power, strength and reach in SE Asia. She could fly from Australia to Jakarta (our biggest threat of the time), bomb them and return on one fuel load.
Aussies don't play with heroin smugglers.
Apparently the government in Jakarta knew a lot about that capabilities of the F-111. A quote attributed to an Indonesian government minister when there were discussing a matter that could affect Australia was something like "We should tell them quietly before we announce it. Remember they have a plane in Darwin that could put a bomb on this meeting table through that window over there..."
I reckon it's nose cone looked more like a kookaburra's beak than a pig's snout. .
I remember the F111s doing dump and burn over Brisbane Australia during the River fire festival. So spectacular.
The most public display of this is at the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics (the extinguishing of the flame/cauldron). The cauldron was extinguished just as an RAAF F-111 flew over and went full flamethrower; the meaning was that the bird was carrying the flame to the next location.
@@Billhatestheinternet 0
The dump and burn was incredible to watch. Seeing a plane streak over Southbank with a flame twice as long as itself trailing behind it is truly a sight to behold.
It was an amazing memory for me too. But I was in the bush. Camping. 😂
Yeah, the early dump and burns at Riverfire were sooooo low over the river. Had to have been lower than the tops of the high rise buildings. Gob smacked how loud they were. Such an awesome spectacle. Went out to Amberly and saw them as well at one of the air shows. The high speed run down the runway with the wings swept back was something to behold.
As a proud Aussie I love how we made this aircraft as good as it is even better I'm miss the pig
Should have kept it flying
The Australians were also thinking of buying the British TSR-2 bomber, but delays and the ultimate cancellation of the TSR=2 meant that they opted for the F-111 Pig instead.
@@TheJoeSwanon From memory the only reason they retired it was due to the costs of refitting it and it had asbestos somewhere (fuel tanks I think?). I'm pulling at the ol memory strings here cos it was years ago but I recall something. And I think the govt at the time decided it was cheaper to bin it.
@@Dave_Sisson TSR-2, what a jet. I've seen the one they have at Imperial War Museum Duxford in the UK, amazing aircraft but the expanding cost and delays were what sank it unfortunately.
@@Dave_Sisson actually half way through the TSR-2 development process the RAAF was offered the F-111 with an earlier delivery date and a much cheaper price promised compared to the TSR-2. That is why the RAAF cancelled their option for the TSR-2, though ironically neither American promise was reached. Six months before the RAAF officially signed the purchase order, Britain's Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral of the Fleet, Lord Louis Mountbatten tried to convince the Australian government to buy the Blackburn Buccaneer instead, and flew to Canberra to discuss it with the then Prime Minister of Australia, and famously dropped three scale models of the buccaneer and one of the F-111 on the PM's desk and said you can have three of these for the price of one of them.
A moment of respect for the Young Pilot who lost his life after flying into a mountain during a ground radar training mission. Six Sqd Amberly RAAF base. 2007
😔
Amen 🙏
I also served at Amberley.
1 & 6 sqn were the cornerstone of a terrific Air base in the 80's and 90's
That's the reason we believe that five of the six Aardvarks were lost in the Vietnam conflict and one ship was lost on the Libyan raid. They disappeared without a trace or enemy claiming victory. The early terrain following radar would penetrate water and follow the bottom of a lake. There were 3 ride settings hard, medium and soft. Hard hugged the ground best but there were extinct volcanos in Northern Laos that would cause them to climb too hard and ripped the wings off!
🇦🇺
RIP the mighty Pig. I'll never forget seeing four of them doing a simultaneous low pass dump and burn at the RAAF 70th Anniversary Airshow, RAAF Richmond NSW 1991. The noise was incredible, it felt like an earthquake. Made a pretty lasting impression on a young lad.
When I was a little older I was invited to a presentation evening at Kingsford Smith (SYD) where the RAAF introduced the G-model upgrade; a friend's dad was the president of a local aeronautical club and asked if I'd like to come along... pretty sure I agreed before he'd even finished speaking! The highlight of the evening was going out to a hanger where they had a newly-upgraded airframe with the Pave Tack pod and a full array of (dummy) ordnance laid out in front. They had a scaffold platform set up, we were allowed to climb up and look inside the cockpit.
Then a few years ago I sat in the cockpit of A8-109 at HARS in Albion Park Rail, a very special aircraft, highest airframe hours of the entire fleet and it was the very last to be shut down when they were finally retired in 2010. Yeah, the F-111 is pretty special to me. :) #RAAF100
I've lived on or near Eglin AFB my entire life, and we all KNEW when the F-111s were in town. Not as loud as F-4s and F-35s, but damn loud, nonetheless.
@@Bakaat777 Hi mate, I've read that Eglin is home to some distinguished US aviators, and I believe a fair bit of flight testing was done there over the years?
Must have been awesome growing up with Aardvarks and Phantoms flying overhead on the regular. Greatly looking forward to seeing the RAAF F-35 display down south at Wings Over Illawarra Airshow in November. Cheers from Sydney 😉
@@sixstringedthing Get a good set of ear protectors! The F-35 at full military power, makes it sound as if the sky is being ripped apart.
I have some great stories about growing up on and around Eglin. We got here in '65, so I've seen pretty much everything that flies or flew for the AF come through, getting tested. "We" have the Climatic Laboratory and an electronics test chamber that my father worked at. When they tested the Vulcan Gatling gun cannons, we all thought it was the rapture. LOL
@@Bakaat777 I am jealous af, as the kids say. :)
My best mate grew up north of Sydney near Williamtown (home of RAAF Squadrons 2, 3, 4, 76, 77, 2OCU), went there for high-school "work experience" program and has some great stories about chucking a coke can into the exhaust of a Mirage SNECMA ATAR engine that was on the test stand and watching as the mechanics brrrted several hundred rounds from a Vulcan at the test range. I have no way to verify any of it of course, and he's an Aussie so..... ;)
The F-111 -was- STILL IS a magnificent aircraft.
Interesting that DS didn't mention that the innovations from the F111 played a pivotal role in the development of the F14 tomcat.
Yeah I agree nor did he mention how that the F111 on carrier landings would blowout its hydraulic lines in the landing gear or how the wing mounted pylons would cause instability and unnecessary drag on the aircraft as the wings were being swept.
Speak slower ! Much slower !!
Yes! There’s a great talk here about the design evolution of the F-14, much of it talking about how the F-111B was the source of much of the requirements and components
czcams.com/video/SsUCixAeZ0A/video.html
It also didn't mention Grumman's XF10F swing-wing fighter project of the early 1950s.
The B-1 as well. It was a groundbreaking aircraft. I had a conversation a long time ago with an F-111 pilot at an airshow. He said the only way to replace one with a newer model was to build more of them. His WSO was there too (this was before they were decommissioned). He was describing having to keep his head down in the scope while the pilot was doing maneuvers - and keeping his gut in check. Very cool bird indeed.
I worked on F-111C in the RAAF back in the '80s. A very capable aircraft and central to our defence. They are very warmly remembered by Aussies who've seen them display at various events around the country over the years, their famous "dump and burn" display was quite memorable.
@mick mckean ...were you at 3AD?
@@charmevildoer hi Michael, yes I was at 3AD from Jun84 to Mar89.
Sweet. Somehow I've missed this all my life. I looked it up and the first hit was a top ten. Even the lowest quality vid was impressive. From the land of top fuelers, I salute you!
o7
I worked on them in the 70's. It had a really bad reputation but it generated a lot of campaign cash.
@@bingosunnoon9341 Yeah, I imagine. To progress the program, lots of congress critters needed to have their palms lubricated. OTOH, it did diversify production and built up manufacturing in more states. But, yeah, it's more expensive doing it that way. Variable-sweep wings were all the rage back then, but I notice that there has not been another aircraft built on that design principle.
Pity they didn’t mention its iconic feature.. the “dump and burn”. It could dump fuel out the back and have the afterburners ignite it and turn it into a massive Zippo lighter. Was great at air shows and the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games flyover.
So technically low altitude napalm
So… a safer fuel dumping. Interesting
F-14 had that also, but it was a forbidden maneuver, unless an emergency was declared, I assume.
@@vascoribeiro69 Um no we got a fireworks display in Brisbane called Riverfire and it would end with a F111 dump and burn.... So it pretty much was a standard function for the pilots.
I was on the harbour for the closing ceremony. F111 with dump and burn flew from the stadium over the harbour bridge and strait out the heads.
Like a flaming arrow signaling the end.
Just brilliant.
Sydney in 2000 was the place to be.
New year's eve on the harbour was the best.
The FC-111 certainly changed my life. As a teenage son of a RAAF test pilot, we were posted to the US in 1969 where the old man flew them for 2 years down in Texas, before becoming the Project Officer for their procurement from General Dynamics for the next 3 years, working out of Washington DC. I remember him saying the Radar System would fly you into a cave if you weren't careful. I recall a visit to the Fort Worth factory. They let us wander around this mile long building with many airframes in various states of build. Dad knew the plane inside out & became the 'unofficial' consultant for the RAAF until it's retirement. I still have GD models of The Pig on my shelf.
One of the rumors I've heard from a former pilot was the guidance computer on these was so good it could fly about 10 feet, quite reliably above ground with terrain mapping radar. So much so they could likely penetrate soviet airspace unopposed to drop nukes. They had said they could do it even above Mach, which is crazy to me but I have little reason to doubt em.
That was a Wives Tale. The TFR on a 111 in Hard Mode would go a minimum of 100' off the deck, although it would do it at Mach. However, at that configuration the Pilot and WSO are just along for the ride as the computers are actually doing the flying...The lack of human reaction time would plant the aircraft in the first hill along the route.
I think in a Discovery wings episode, this lost to the F16 in a bombing competition.
Australia lost 5 of these due to crashes, that radar was ok, but it may have killed 10 Aussie pilots. It did have some issues and was not perfect. 10 feet is not probable haha
@@stevejones1488 The Aussie version had strengthened undercarriage, still couldn't handle the potholes.
@@shaider1982 it was replaced by the less capable F15 Strike Eagle in the bombing roll.
it paved the way for the Grumman F-14 Tomcat. F-111 was such an amazing plane
Grumman had been working as early as 1952 with a swing-wing Naval fighter. The Jaguar was never adopted, in large part due to the horrible J-40 jet engine.
In some ways it was the other way around. Grumman had worked on swept wings since the 50s as a way to have jets stall speed low enough to land on a carrier but able to go super sonic to meet a threat before it could endanger the carrier.
And, isn't Odd that the F-14 [Vs the F-111B], a follow-on to the Grumman XF-11 Jaguar, ended up the tandem-seat arrangement, which was Previously how the USAF wished it would be?! Yet, the few times (obviously not the Laconia-Pass Head-on out of Loring/&/Plattsburg) crews had to 'Bail' from a "Vark", the Crew Capsule worked rather well! Also, the Spark-Vark was the Only air-to-air Victor, as it flew it's Iraqi opponent into the Ground, while being quite un-armed. Too bad the FB-111H got snuffed post Carter-Admin, it could've been a far cheaper. faster plane than the B-1 program.
OOF. That feeling when a Skyraider Pilot says your plane is too clunky.
The Skyraider was a great aircraft. The F111 was anything but.
I have to wonder if the Skyraider pilot was Navy or Air Force. The 'clunky' remark is probably about the F111B carrier tests. I've been told landing on a carrier at the best of times in the best aircraft is challenging, the 'B' was evaluated as too heavy with the TF-30 rated as underpowered.
All through its' service, the F14A and C was rated as underpowered as well ... it too used the TF-30. The '30 was also prone to compressor stalls and caused a number of fatal Tomcat crashes. The Tomcat finally got a proper engine when the higher thrust GE F110-400 was adopted for the F14B and F14D. However, this adoption was actually too late, the F14 was retired a few years later with the largest part of the fleet still being the venerable F14A with TF-30 engines.
Too funny 😂😂
The Military Aviation Museum here in Virginia Beach has a Navy Skyraider that they fly regularly. The damned thing is HUGE!
@@henryhorner3182 how so
In Australia we absolutely loved our F-111's. It was a very sad day when we had to finally retire them. We also loved the F-4 Phantom's that we had on loan from 1970 to 73 while we waited for the F-111's to arrive.
F-111 is an iconic aircraft
an*
Gadaffi was a fan of this.
Really? I’ve never heard of it until I clicked this video.
I don't know why everyone remembers F-4 but not F111.
The OG F35
I was friends with a kid growing up, whose Grandfather worked on the development team at GD for it. Later in life I got the privilege to train on the weapons system when I was in the USAF. After his GF's passing, my friend inherited most of the personal files and correspondence of the F111 from him. He was gracious in letting me pore through all the history making memories he had. So many infamous and high position people's interactions, along with so much real, in the moment engineering and testing procedures. I truly consider this one of the most treasured gifts of my life.
He is a primary source, and those letters should be looked at by an historian.
Indeed, a great treasure. Thank you for sharing. 🖖
@@rpbajb AGREED 🖖
@@rpbajb he is well aware of what he has, and they have copied most of the collection, and use those in presentations and such. I got to have carte blanche access to the originals in the mid 80s, and the family has been very open and available to many organizations and researchers. Of course I will not share the family name, as I have seen the great interest in such a treasure, but the family does allow a distinct amount of people to research those papers and materials.
@@elmerfudpucker3204 I'm happy to hear it. I've done the same with my wife's uncle's diary. He was a radioman on the Attack Transport USS Windsor, and participated in many of the island invasions in the Pacific theatre (Kwajalein, Saipan, Guam, Peleliu, Leyte). Before he passed, he would occasionally talk to me about his experiences ashore. Jaw dropping stuff, sick-making some of it.
“Whispering death” was the moniker given to the F-111 by those on the receiving end of their bomb strikes. Flying faster than the speed of sound F-111 was gone and their bombs were on target by the time the enemy on the ground heard the engine roar.
I remember, as a kid, watching the F111s and the Mirages doing take-off and landing exercises here in Australia at the Amberley RAAF base. The F111 in particular was very much loved by us Aussies. i was sad to see it go....
Nothing said about how Australia upgraded the computer systems,,I lived in a valley near Richmond air base and loved how the F 1-11's hugged the ground through the valley awesome to see
The way it's wings can do that. Looks totally badass.
The Mig 23 does the same thing with its wings, they do look badass
I remember toys from my childhood that could do that.. They always broke, being broken was a universal feature of variable wings.
@@alexwest2573 And the F-14 Tomcat, of course which is probably the most famous variable geometry aircraft in history.
The Panavia Tornado does the same thing as well.
A really great adaptation and engineering tour de force (considering it was designed in the early 60s)
Love the F111 Australian variants. Fond memories of dump and burns, flyovers at events and best of all sitting out in the surf under their flight path. One in located in a museum about 50 minutes away, so I get to see it regually. The museum staff stated it could could be readily returned to flying condition, but highly unlikely due to excessive maintenance costs.
Was driving down the beach on Fraser Island off the Queensland coast. An F111 flew right over the 4wd we were in. Astonishing crashing sound right overhead then we were looking into the exhaust pipes. Needless to say all our heads tried to mimic a tortoise as we tried to scrunch our heads down into our shoulders involuntarily. Had to be only a hundred feet or less off the deck. Another one of our crew was abseiling some kids down in northern NSW. An F11 flew below their elevation over a lake and it was flying upside down and it was only a hundred feet off the deck as well. Stories of farmers out on the Darling Downs seeing their cows drop all 4 legs to the ground as these Pigs came over as low as they dared. Almost got to sit in the cockpit down at the Ballina air museum. At the very least I got to walk around it and inspect it up close. Soo good. Best was the dump and burns at Riverfire over the Brisbane River. First one they were only just above the Kangaroo Point Cliff elevation. Booming sound and the heat from the some 300 foot flame out the back. Awesome.
F-111 is one of the most beautiful aircrafts crated. I've always been a fan of the design.
I wish it had remained crated.
This is one of the most incredible aircraft ever made
Attending an airshow in the early '80s at Topeka, Ks, saw one of these do the fastest flyby I'd ever witnessed after accelerating within view of the crowd to a speed so close to the speed of sound, the sound trailed the airplane by nearly two city blocks.
@@whalesong999 thats just incredible, so sad its such a forgotten aircraft
@@lmj06 Yeah, it was at Forbes Field, big airshow that weekend. As I recall, the show announcer gave an outline of what the airplane's mission was and after going some distance away, began to accelerate from a couple miles away to pass over the runway at about 600' or so. They were really pushing it and pulled up into a slow roll at about a 45* angle with the afterburners lit. Quite spectacular. There were several good airshows in that era at that field, showing off F-15s and F-14s as well.
I was fortunate to see the last of the Vulcan bombers perform at an airshow at Offutt airbase in Nebraska, impressive on a whole different scale.
@@whalesong999 damn man, reading cool stories like this makes me think i was born too late, that must of been one hell of a show
I had the great privilege to serve as a weapons technician ( AFSC 46250 ) on the F-111A while stationed at Mt Home AFB, Idaho from April, 1981 to November, 1984. The F-111 will ALWAYS be very special to me. Thanks for this video!!!!
Hello. I was also at Mountain home from 82 to 86. I loaded weapons and maintain the weapon systems 462. That was the 289th Squadron. Then I went to 366 EMS Squadron in shop maintaining and repairing weapons components such as the pylons and bomb racks. I've been out so long I don't remember all the names I'm old
@@davidclemens1578
We`re all getting old Dave my friend. I`m certain we passed by during our time at Mt Home. I was assigned to LSC / Hanger 204 when you were there.
I was an autopilot specialist in the USAF. The F111 was one of the aircraft I was trained on but never worked on. It has triple redundant sensors (gyroscopes) and dual redundant wiring. If one gyroscope went bad, the computer would take input from the other two. I think the "ride" over the terrain could be set to hard, medium, or soft - or something like this. It determined how tight to the terrain it followed. It had doppler radar that sent out three beams ahead.
Thank you, for mentioning Australian contributions!
I served in the Australian army and deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and 2012.
I saw my first 2000 pounder dropped close in real life by a f111 before my first deployment. It was always a comfort knowing what the coalition could bring if we got into trouble on the ground.. well it was beaten by 3 m555 in 2012 Lol
The F111 was an extraordinary aircraft. Its designers actually fulfilled and in area aspects exceeded expectations of the AF. Soon enough, as Navy officials disliked playing second fiddle for an 'inferior Air Force plane', insisted that it be replaced, which it was after McNamara left the D.O.D. It had an extraordinary service lifespan for a multipurpose fighter with Air Forces across the globe.
Friend of my parent's was an Aussie F111 pilot. He had to land one once with wings swept back, needless to say that was not fun.
He also was fortunate as one of the pilots who flew overhead at the opening of the Sydney Opera House in 1973.
He passed away last year
In 1973 Mildenhall I had just returned from a long mission. I walked out into the fog and an F111 pierced through the fog low and slow coming in for a landing. It sent chills down my spine seeing like that.
Back in 1982 while in the U.S.Army, I was stationed in North East Germany. One over cast day I was outside of the motor poll maintenance building and looked up the cloudy sky I saw a black dot. Seconds latter a F-111 flew over the base going low level supersonic. The sonic boom scared the crap out a lot people that day. I was one of two or three people that saw it. It was reassuring that the F-111 was on are side considering that in the early 1980s was the hight of the Cold War.
Gelnhausen 84-86. 10 KM from Fulda (as in Fulda Gap). Salute!
@Geoff Walters,
I was at a rented Army base called Lucius D. Clay Kaserne, 2nd Armored FWD, about 30 or so klicks South of Bremerhaven. We where out in middle of BF nowhere. Mostly pine forest surrounding the base. We also had A-10’s over fly the base at least once a week. Sometimes they would give use a wing wave. Also saw a lot of A-10 while at Ft. Hood, TX, 2nd Armored, use the hard target range about 1000 yards behind are motor poll firing their GAU-8 30mm gat gun. That will always be the coolest air show ever. I think back that I should had joined the AF and worked on aircraft instead of fixing tanks, (45 Kilo)(M-60A3). Still had a good time on tank gunnery. Even got to fire the main gun a few times. (1979-1982) ETS as an acting Spec-5.
@@peterresetz1960 Cool! My town was about 20K people and beautiful. 45 minutes to Frankfurt on rail. You come back, fall asleep and miss the stop, the next stop was the East German border at Fulda. The Polizei (Western) would wake you up, boot you off the train, but nothing would be open in Fulda until the AM lol. I got to go into East Berlin thru CP Charlie back when it was East/West. You have a good day and hope civivie street is treating you well!
Was working in a paddock just near sale in vic one of these flew over the paddock at about nine in the morning the sonic boom scared the shit outta me lol
Aussie here....
I miss the old F111 floating around the skys....
You could be in the middle of nowhere and all of a sudden one would show up and shoot through.
Happened to me once lol, saw one of these birds fly low over us when we lived out in the country in Kilkivan, scared the fuck out of us, but it was awesome to see ^^
@@faylinnmystiquerose2224 1975
3 or 4 of em come over the top us from behind in the desert.....didn't hear em at all and very low and at speed.
Mountain range in front of us ......
They kept going at the same hight in formation straight over the top of it.
What a buzz.....
I can say the Pig was a well loved plane here in Australia, every time I travel interstate I hunt down the plane museums that have them just to see it one more time, really wished they could've kept 1 airworthy just to see it do one more River Fire dump and burn......
Awesome plane. I remember France denied airspace on the Libya raid. Tough on the crews.
Kinda funny when a bomb accidentally hit the French embassy in that raid.
@@peterresetz1960 oops
Yup, Flying from the UK to Libya, and not allowed overflight of France or Spain. The French refusal added over 2500miles to the round trip.
And the French had already been subject to Gaddafi's terrorism too!
They didn't hit the French embassy, it was a near miss, but it was probably close enough to have them scurrying for some white handkerchiefs to wave!
Reagan was suckered by his ally.
Ha ha ha they be like "Let's drop 1 in show! Target the Surrender Frenchie's parking lot!"
When I was a boy, my father was a navigator on EF-111, I always thought it was a cool looking aircraft. Thanks for this video.
Ardwaark is masterpiece to these days. This plane is so individual and independent, with its own eyes. No need for any datalink. Masterpiece.
My sister married an American USAF MP from "RAF" Upper Heyford in Oxfordshire, England in the mid 70s. I was lucky enough to spend some time on the base and was blown away by the F1-11s deployed there. I had a fantastic Revel 1/72nd model with working undercarriage and detachable cockpit! Over a decade later the EF1-11s used in Operation El Dorado Canyon took off from Upper Heyford and joined up with the bomber equivalents. These were also based in England at RAF Lakenheath, which I'd also visited as a young teenager. Fantastic aircraft.
The USAF never used the F-111 as an interceptor. It was a Conventional/ Nuclear tactical strike aircraft. With the FB-111 having a Strategic Nuclear role. Plus specialized versions being the EF-111 Jammer and a few recon versions used by the RAAF.
There was a poorly conceived notion of an F-111B naval fighter led to Tom Connelly's famous reply "Mr Chairman, there is not enough thrust in all of Christendomto make a Navy fighter out of that airplane". Other suggestions to use the airframe that way were also quickly quashed, and the F-14 eventually replaced the idea of the F-111 as a naval fighter, and F-15 killed the notion of it as a land-based fighter. The same moronic "it can do enerything" thinking led to the debacle of the F-35, late, expensive, under-performing in every role, and an absolute god-send for a corrupt company wanting multiple customers sucked into it for decades.
I still miss my pigs... I loaded the red tails based at RAF Upper Heyford, UK back in 88-90. 77th AMU Weapons.
I was a weapons load crew member in the 55th, 1987-1991. Working SUU line at Upper Heyford was a blast with Mike Sansone and Mike Brown. Load Barn in 3-bay. Many memorable times.
And I was at Heyford when they arrived in 1970.. great aircraft!
I was stationed at Upper Heyford from May 72 to August 75. I also was 462 weapons loader and LSC team member until I PCS’d to Nellis to again work F-111E&A in the 57th.
I was in the 77th from 1970-74 crew chief on 065 B flight outlaws
How many days were we DID’T we play war games? On one momentous elephant walk, one walked with live nukes! Heads rolled that night. My husband was stationed at Lakenheath, I was at Upper Heyford. But it was still considered joint spouse since we were still in the same Nation!
My Dad was a member of the design team that developed the terrain avoidance radar for the F 111. He went on to work for NASA and worked on the Gemini and Apollo projects.
my dad too.
@@Jaybee_r For real? What is his name? My Dad has passed, but he may have known him an mentioned his name.
@@georgesakellaropoulos8162 sorry bro, all my respects. I was just joking around. I am reading rn Skunk Works by Ben R. Rich book, I am amazed of how your dad and team pulled off such a marvel of the engineering.
Had an ex RAAF pilot as an instructor. He told me the biggest thing you had to get used to on a low level run was the auto pilot would point the nose at the ground as you were cresting a hill, and the aircraft's inertia would carry you up over the top and then you'd go down the other side.
Good Video. Having worked on and with the F111Es and EF111s in the 80s and 90s. Some additional points: The F111F was the one of the first (if not the first) to have a Laser Guided bombs. The F111E and F111F did the proof of concept as using one ACFT's laser while the second release the Guided Bombs. The EF111s were so effective in their SEAD role that Libya's SAMs tracked ghost radar returns. The F111F used the laser guided bombs on Libya operation to minimize collateral damage. And finally the F111Es had a guest appearance in the Movie James Bond movie Octopussy and the warehouse was where the circle scene was filmed
I was on the team doing the PaveTac upgrade at The 'Heath in the early 80's and was at Heyford when they filmed Octopussy...Most of the base was out as extras in it.
The inter-service squabbling with regards to the F-111 makes one appreciate how good the F-4 must have been. Not only did the Air Force adopt a Navy plane, but so did the Marines!
It was a good aircraft but it wan't entirely good enough. Shows what good training and tactics can do in the fight. The MIG -21 was a better dogfighter.
regarding the Marine Corps use of the Phantom.. don't forget that the Marines are part of the Navy, and Marine pilots are Naval Aviators. They all have to be able to operate on carriers, so the requirements are the same (or very close). Air Force requirements differ quite a bit... as an example, compare the YF-17 (for the USAF) to the F-18, which is the YF-17 after being modified for USN and USMC use.
@@SkyhawkSteve tell a Marine that. They think they're Marines.
@@jonniez62 I spent 4 years in Marine Corps aviation as an avionics tech. I know that the USMC is a part of the Navy, and so do the other Marines.
@@SkyhawkSteve In practice the Marines are their own corp and have their internal "air force" separate from the naval "air force".
When Dark does an episode on Military Aircraft, I feel like I'm watching the modern version of Great Planes.
Dark has top-shelf production values but I really think the quality of the narration (including tone/pitch, which can be luck of the draw)is what establishes their channels as part of that very rare slice of YT worth watching 👍
Trained at the Jack Webb School of Narration, probably.
Whilst I find his videos very informative, I believe at times that he talks too fast
My family lived at Upper Heyford AFB when I first started High School. They had a summer works program to keep kids out of trouble and one of the jobs was to strip the fuel lines(if i'm remembering right) off the engines that had been pulled from F-111s before they were shipped back to the states for refurbishment. I did that for one summer and got to be around these planes a lot that year so they've always had a place in my heart.
No mention of the ability to melt its windscreen, rear "flamethrower" or the spark-vark role? Hmm...regardless still an awesome video.
Perhaps in another video. 👍
We used to call a fuel dump fire wall "Pig Farts"
Interestingly, an EF-111A prototype was shown . . . .
@@johndemeritt3460 ...and a T-38 Talon trainer in lieu of :)
The f 14 would melt its canopy too on occasion
Kelly Johnson had a personal rule to “starve before doing work for the navy”.
This is a great explanation why
Johnson designed some great aircraft but none of them were good enough for the Navy
@@markgranger9150 By that reckoning you could say that ther F-8. F-14. F-18, A-6 etc were mnot good enough for the USAF
I love this aircraft. the most wronged and underrated in the history of American fighter programs. congratulations for your direct, objective and informative work.
The F-111C was an absolutely amazing aircraft which will be sorely missed here in Australia and is desperately still needed for the uncertain future of the region. Unfortunately we scrapped and replaced all our F-111Cs for a certain hopeless, multi-role lemon. That same lemon will soon be replacing every F/A-18E/F which will also be retried eventually; making that lemon our sole dedicated combat aircraft, the literal definition of all your eggs in one basket.
Not to mention we berried most of them in a landfill not far from Raaf Amberley.
@@MJTAUTOMOTIVE A real tragedy, because they are all stripped, we cant just easily bring them back from mothballing if we need them. Instead our Government's been duped into using only the lemon and its Loyal Wingman drones. A gen 4 plane that's so shit it needs a pair of supporting unmanned drones to bolster its uselessness, literally a bike stuck with training wheels.
@@assualtcrab . Totally agree Mate. Also they said that the asbestos was a health hazard. It is impregnated in the flexible fuel tank liners. So there would be zero chance of that causing a issue. You would think they could atleast put one on display on the turn off to the Raaf base Amberley. Even if it was fully gutted and put up on plinth to show the public. I remember when everyone found out they berried them alot of people were not happy.
@@MJTAUTOMOTIVE Its a real shame, I remembered there was talks to convert them into standoff mobile cruise missile platforms, or as long range AA missile carriers which seemed sensible enough for this day and age.
IMO with the 2020 fires, there was real proof we lacked enough water bombers and still do.
We should unretire a few F111s and convert them to carrying water/chemicals. Hear me out, they have a carrying weight of 14 tons, a battle proven ability to reliably hug low and follow the terrain all while being extremely fast, I think with some modifications they would make for some amazing fast response water/chemical bombers.
@@MJTAUTOMOTIVE There is A8-138 sitting as gate guard at Amberley! There are 12 others preserved at various locations.
And no there was no asbestos in the "flexible fuel tank liners", because it did not have any! Asbestos was in the glue of the bonded panels.
I got to see the last Dump and Burn at an airshow at Williamtown in 2010 .
The RAAF had a huge controversy with their F111s with workers developing cancer after cleaning out the fuel tanks as part of their duty. To be fair it wasn't a fault of the plane but a procedural problem. Still, it served to support the wishes of some to retire the F111. It's true it was getting old, but when they did retire it, there was no replacement that had the same range or capability. We got some super Hornets which are a great aircraft, but just not always designed for the missions the RAAF were required to perform.
Yup, it mighy have been better if F15E's were chosen.
In 1968 I worked on the flightline at General Dynamics on F111s. This was a very sophisticated aircraft.
I served at Canon AFB in late 70’s, working as an avionics (com, nav, ecm) airman Even getting a ride on one flight. The aircraft had some issues but finally went operational in 1979. Wonderful aircraft.
I guarded these back in the 80's when I was an Air Force Security Policeman.
ADG or RAAFPOL?
SALUTE AUSTRALIA! Have enjoyed working/drinking with every Aussie I have met. BUT, I have to hand it to you guys. Sinking the Pong Su for smuggling heroin is worthy of yet another cheap beer next time I run into Aussies in a bar. Get my good pension in 2024 and want to visit. Not sure if I can get in with a 15 year old DUI, but as my friends say "He is Threatening to visit again." PS: Retired US Army Infantry
Pretty sure DUI records are mandatory for gaining entry into Oz. :)
@@philbox4566 Understand. I will be applying for a visa at one of your embassies rather than at your airport. A long trip to be turned away! It would have been close to 20 years ago by that time, so I am optimistic.
I worked on those aircraft from '80 to' 88 in the AF. From the F-111A and EF-111 to the FB-111a in NY, RAF Upper Heyford, England and NH. The hangers you show in the opening scene were the same hardened shelters we used in England. So many memories this video brings back. 👍 They used technology from the F-111 in the B1. We got to watch the Lybian attack footage
At the time F111s were receiving bad press in Aussie, the son of a family friend specifically joined the Army to fly them. He did his homework on them. Beautiful to watch in flight virtually clipping the tops of the gumtrees.
I remember one of these aircraft in the RAAF did a fly by at the 2000 Sydney Olympics
Wow! I'm impressed... I thought for sure they were gonna show a Flogger or Tomcat.
Yeah, apart from that lone T-38 (most likely a chase plane during F111 testing) this is a very rare Dark Skies video that has no visual discrepancies. :-)
I’ll never forget the Friday afternoon at high school, one of these circled our town a few times at… couldn’t tell at what height exactly but the he sonic booms was enough to say it was going supersonic!!
I am 68. In sophomore year I saw an article in Popular Science about this. They said it could travel over 1,000 MPH at FIFYT feet! This scared the hell out of the Soviets for many years. I am convinced it could have dropped nukes on them, unseen for years, and so were they! This was the moment I fell in LOVE with war technology, but I never want to see it used. Thank you for a great article about a great aircraft. :-)
G-d help you if you have a birdstrike at that speed and altitude....
@@williamwingo4740 Good point!
McNamara wanting one aircraft to serve USAF and USN requirements wasn't a BS idea at all !
At that time, the F-4 was meeting the USAF, USN, and Marine requirements.
The Navy "super-sized" the F-111B design by requiring an encapsulated escape pod, internal bomb/weapons bay, and side-by-side crew seating. These requirements "disappeared" when designing their pet F-14.
There’s something about the grainy color film from the 60’s and 70’s I really like.
The Golden Record that plays on Voyager as a general introduction to humanity actually uses a sound-byte of the F-111 amongst many snippets of humanity's achievements. In a roundabout way this aircraft may have the longest legacy of any atmospheric aircraft ever made by mankind.
I like this!
Very useless but cool trivia
Thanks for including pictures of the EF-111.
RIP Spark 'Vark
In the early 1980's I was walking along a bush road situated in the Sunshine Coast hinterland in Queensland Australia. At one moment I noticed the sound of a growling roar approaching fast from behind me and I instantly knew it could only be one thing, a terrain hugging F111.
There was almost no gap in the jungle canopy above me so there was almost no chance to see it pass. As luck would have it I saw it flash past the only real gap near me. My guess was correct, it was an RAAF F111, flying subsonic at probably no higher than 500 feet above me.
The moment passed, the jet roar receded into the distance and my peaceful walk continued.
A pair of them went thirty or forty feet above I car I was sleeping in. Me and my dad were driving back from the Norfolk coast where we had a seaside break and I had fell asleep. He pulled over in the layby at the end of the runway at RAF Lakenheath to stretch his legs for a minute. The sound as they came in to land over our mini nearly made bratwurst come shooting out my arsehole and my head come smashing through the car roof as I awoke screaming lol. Loudest noise I think I have ever heard lol.
LOL!! Thanks for sharing! I'm familiar with the experience, though not with F111s.
I bet you were awake then for the rest of the trip.
My mother and I both worked on the F-111 although in different eras. She worked on the original (Aardvark) during the 60's, at that time the the auto-terrain guidance bugs were going through growing problems, unfortunately in the middle of the Vietnam war. Oddly enough a few decades later, me her son worked on the same aircraft but different Model, I worked on the (Raven) since at that time I was working in the Electronic Warfare Dept. The look on her face when I told her was priceless, I mean what are the odds. Good memory, may she RIP.
My grandfather was one of the chief civilian engineers of the TFR on both the B58 and the F111 while at Convair and GD. He retired as a GS15 IIRC which is pretty high ranking, equivalent to a Brig General back in those days I believe. Anyhoo....he always said that it was a very trying time because we were going from tubes to transistors and the technology was being invented as it was being deployed which always leads to growing pains. He spent a LOT of time at Wright Patt and Edwards as well as Carswell testing all of it and was like the 3rd person who was called when one went down in Vietnam. When he retired after 30 years (in 1973) all the test pilots, engineers and staff signed a 12x14 pic of two F111's in flight which I still proudly display. He considered it "his" plane and was very proud how it eventually evolved.
my good friend flew an F-111 during Operation Linebacker. Swears that of all the types he flew, the Aardvark is his favorite combat plane.
The Vietcong out smarted the F111 by shooting aluminum chaff in the air. The aircraft, thinking it was a mountain, rose up and they were able to shoot it down.
If true it is more likely that Chinese or Soviet "advisors" came up with the solution and needed devices people forget that North Vietnam had nearly unlimited backing from both superpowers, both actively tested and developed their technology / tactics there and collected all of American. At the time NV had access to weapon systems / intelligence even Warsaw pact countries or NK were not allowed to get their hands on
That was true early on, but after a tweak of the radar return persistence settings, that advantage went away.
I dont really believe that story. It assumes they knew the f111 was coming, knew its flight path, could see it in the middle of the night and understood how its TFR worked, even though it was a brand new system and had set up some sort of chaff firing system in the path.
Sounds like bunk to me.
@@slickstrings that’s what I was told in the early 70’s. MSgt, USAF, 1972-1993.
@@slickstrings think about this.. where’s I one, there more...
I fondly remember being on base at RAAF Amberley while they were doing testing of the new G models. My old man worked at the base so I used my family pass to get on base and park on the side of the road next to the runway (back before terrorism and all that, nowadays your not allowed to stop anywhere). One of the pilots obviously knew I was sitting there watching and buzzed me. The plane was so low it felt like I could reach out and touch it.
I used to go out to the base on a regular basis when they were doing touch and goes even after my dad retired and I had to sit outside the base. The F-111s were a special plane that carried so much more presence than the FA-18s that replaced them. Now that the F-111 is retired I don’t go out there much as it’s just not the same anymore.
First time I ever heard a sonic boom.
Sure, broke all the windows all over town, but I'll never forget it.
It has always been a favourite ever since.
Coffs Harbour NSW Australia.
I love the fact you mentioned the pong su incident, that mission makes me proud to be Australian 😎🇦🇺
Although to be fair it did make it sound like it was attacked while actually engaged in drug smuggling and not the way it really happened, towed out to sea and used as target practice.
@@misspuddles63 anything on the interwebz needs to be researched. This is no exception.
@@misspuddles63 Ok, but how did it come to be in possession of the Australian AF. That story could be rather interesting.
@@michaelbee2165 not so much the air force, but the Australian Government.
It was indeed intercepted trying to smuggle drugs. It was confiscated and the sinking was indeed a show of power.
It just didn't happen while the activity of drug smuggling was occurring, which is how I took the wording on the video.
@@michaelbee2165 yeah it was costing us a mint to keep it moored, so as a huge F you to the communists, we sank the bloody thing 🤣
A truly great aircraft to work on. I was on 482 then 6 sqn RAAF were I had my first postings. Really loved the jet. Big and powerful. Pretty reliable and so so easy to load and maintain the escape system. This was so innovative even capable of underwater ejection. You may be interested in the supposed failure off the module at high low density high humidity situations where an F111 apparently decided it was underwater and automatically cut the crew modules controls and airframe deploying air bags to float to the surface. It was flying in a highly humid valley. I understand it crashed killing the crew. Maybe a vid you would like to make if the story can be confirmed. Your vids are excellent. :) Thanks :)
The F-111computer system was generations ahead of its time.
I was in high school at RAF Lakenheath when we bombed Libya. I’ll never forget the sound of all those planes taking off for that mission. Me and my friends knew something was up. Loved seeing and hearing the 111s, sound of freedom.
The original Joint Strike Fighter lol.
Pilot told us they were FB111, fighter bomber....bomber actually he said, fighter bit was added to make them feel like fighter pilots.
There have been many so called fighters in history that were primarily Bombers. Take the F-105 for instance. It was designed as a nuclear strike bomber. Lot's of Navy aircraft with an F designation were used as Bombers. They do what they need to do.
Saw one at NAS Fallon in 1982. It was camouflage and was doing touch "n" goes really cool.
The star attraction at every airshow or major event in Australia. Dump and burn + swept high speed pass were the highlights for me.
Best aircraft at the time of purchase and served her country with distinction.
Great doco on the mighty pig, thanks, we here inAustralia miss the thunderous roar of them going over not to mention the awesome dump and burn!🥵
I used to build the FB-111model kit as a kid. Didn’t know it this successful. I thought it looked good after I build it.
That landing gear on the model (which was operational) was about the most complex in a model. I had to put a fishing weight in the nose so it wouldn't tilt back.
And the Vietnam camo was the best.
That's how I fell in love with it.
@@alphakky I remember that! Always tilted back on its tail. Good solution. I cheated and hung mine ;)
@@flybobbie1449 Yes. That 'Nam camo was my first "advanced" camo attempt. It turned out better than some of my other efforts.
I see one of these at the Sliver Springs NV. Airport. It is barked off of US 50 and you can see that there is no engine's in it. Thanks for the good video!
During my childhood being a USAF Brat I grew to love that beast. We were never assigned to a base with F-111's assigned but I made sure to loiter as long as I could at every airshow we attended (usually 2-3 annually). Back in the good old days, if the lines weren't too long they would actually let us kids sit in the cockpits of all the aircraft. I fell in love with the Aardvark, the Phantom and the Warthog (all just amazing aircraft).
Great review...
I am thoroughly uneducated about planes but look at a lot of them, and the f111 is the coolest looking plane I've ever seen!
Seeing the gate at Cannon triggered my PTSD...what a shithole of a base.
I was there from 1977 thru 1979... It did leave something to be desired. I think Cannon must have been one of those hold overs from the hundreds (thousands?) of pilot training bases they built coast to coast across the south during WWII. Lots of those bases were located in remote areas.
I left there 3 years ago...not a whole lot has changed.
I agree. I was an avionics tech (326x2a) on the F111D from 1972 to 1976. The only saving grace was taking classes down in Portales. Ended up with a degree in Math from ENMU. GO Greyhounds! 😄
Now we just need the Collings Foundation or the commemorative Air Force to get on and fly it at airshows
Considering how picky all of the swing-wing mechanisms are about maintenance, this is one better left in the hanger.
@@absalomdraconis if they can't maintain a b-29 good luck with an F-111
Collings is on thin ice with the Feds right now.....
As nice it would be to see an F-111 flying, all of them were either scrapped, buried, or are in museums.
@@nattybumpo7156 why’s that?
F-111 is my favorite plane. Anybody else? Saw one in person at Ellsworth in SD, love it
As a kid the F-111's from RAAF Amberley Air Base would fly down to Evans Heads and hit their bombing range near airforce beach. Our farm was close to the ranges they flew through and I remember the times they would come over the range at low altitude. Nothing, not a sound until an amazing explosion which turned into the roar of the engines. Livestock would almost jump and turn somersaults. Awesome.
Another Bad Ass Video ~ Much Obliged Sir🤙
Let's not forget the f111 killed more armour than the A10 in the gulf war
and did most of the work the stealth bomber took credit for.
That’s insane!!
How was that possible?
@@cmscms123456 they could carry alot more bombs.
@@bush_wookie_9606 The A-10 carried up to 16 Maverick tank killing missiles... F111 cant do that.. and it doesnt have a TANK KILLING cannon in its nose.
Thank you for mentioning Operation El Dorado Canyon role, but forgot to mention the two (2) Officers loss during that mission.
Air Force Captains Fernando L Ribas-Dominicci and Paul F Lorence.
Both died because a NATO ally didn't want US planes to fly over their airspace during their long...now LONGER run, going around Europe in doing so...adding much time and now adding fatigue to all of those men.
I'm Sure there were Many Fine Airmen who loss their lives during Vietnam as well, IF I knew them.....I would've mentioned them .... With Honor!! Thanks Airmen....from a Navy Vet of 20+ years.
...My Uncle was actually on the design team for the F-111 (I still have fond memories of when he took my Aunt & I on a tour of the General Dynamics plant in Fort Worth). He would later work on the F-16.
Mine was on the B-1B team;)
takes me back to my youth , used to sit outside the wire in upper heyford and watch em take off
Takes me back to my youth, use to sit inside the wire at Upper Heyford, and load them.
@@kraigson changed a lot up these days , was only around 5-6 at the time but was landside a lot due to having friends family's based their
My dad told me of one that crashed at UH and my aunt lived at Ardley right next to the base, they had to have triple glazing to cut out the noise.
Correct me if I'm wrong. But wasn't the F-111 the aircraft that took out the most tanks during Desert Storm? I know that they took more out than the venerable A-10.
They did!
@@nullterm They should rename the warthog to the glory hog.
The number of tanks destroyed by A-10s during Desert Storm is usually 900 (however, most government papers about the operation don't mention numbers due to insufficient or conflicting data), the F-111 is credited with over 1500 tank kills in the war, and this is confirmed due to video video proof from the Pave Tack pods that were used for the precision weapons.
@@doabarrellroll69 Are those 900 tanks specially, or armored vehicles in general? How many tanks were destroyed by the GAU-8?
@@pepperedash4424 Wikipedia says tanks, but it's the only source that claims that, so take that as you will. During Desert Storm, the A-10s most used weapon was actually the AGM-65 Maverick missile, however, A-10s did use their guns, which is part of the reason why the kill claims are disputed; whenever the gun was fired at a target, it left a lot of smoke and dust that obscured them, which led pilots to believe that they had scored a kill, the problem was that other A-10 pilots would attack the same targets, after the smoke cleared out, meaning that pilots would report more kills than what could possibly be achieved. I recall a GAO report mentioning that for every 3 tank kills that pilots reported, only one would be credited because of their conflicting reports.
Only the Aussies called it the pig. I flew the F-111 for almost 1,000 hours and never heard anyone in the USAF call it anything except the Aardvark, or more often, the "Vark" for short. Fantastic aircraft. Loved it.
Best use of the f111 is as an introduction to fireworks.