When he stepped back into his cockpit, Nathan was in a calm mood. For him, this seemed like an unusual action.
On the second day of the 311 air crash, the U.S. Navy decided to dispatch. Although only one fighter was dispatched, it was the most critical operation.
Ultra-low-altitude reconnaissance.
For this reason, the Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier formation entered the northeastern waters of the island nation. From here, the fighter planes could fly more than 200 nautical miles to reach Sakhalin Island. This is already a very dangerous distance. Once the Soviets dispatch their Shore-based forces can easily launch anti-ship missiles, posing a threat to aircraft carrier formations.
And this mission was performed by Nathan.
Nathan took a deep breath, watched his cockpit slowly close, and said to the radar officer Lieutenant Gus behind him: "Gus, are you nervous?"
"Don't be nervous, this time, I'm just going to travel with you." Gus said.
Yes, this ultra-low-altitude reconnaissance flight actually has nothing to do with the radar officer in the back seat. The radar of this era does not have a synthetic aperture mode, which means that terrain mapping cannot be carried out, and there is no advancement. The function of forest warning.
However, Lieutenant Guth still insisted on coming with Nathan, even if Nathan said he was the only one.
I am your radar officer, so I must be with you.
Lieutenant Gus is very persistent, so the two of them now continue to drive this newest Tomcat fighter together. In addition to the rear engine has been changed, a reconnaissance equipment pod has also been added under its belly.
This pod weighs 748 kg and is placed between the two engine compartments on the fuselage abdomen, 0.38 meters from the fuselage. Basically it occupies the space of the original phoenix. At the same time, compared to the phoenix, it weighs half a ton. This kind of pod is equivalent to one and a half phoenixes, and has little effect on the mobility of the tomcat. .
There are four main equipments in the cabin: a CAIKS-87B framing camera mounted on the head to shoot forwards or downwards; Fairchild’s KA-99 low and hollow three-lens panoramic camera; Honeywell’s AN/AAM-5 reconnaissance device; ground inspection maintenance and control data display device.
As long as the equipment is turned on, the two of them will just take care of the flight. After returning all the time, the ground crew unloads the pod and sorts the data.
In addition to this reconnaissance pod, Nathan also mounted two Sparrow missiles and four Sidewinder missiles. This time it was a reconnaissance flight. It was enough to carry the necessary self-defense weapons.
The current Sparrow missiles are still not very reliable. In contrast, Nathan would rather bring two more Sidewinders.
Now the takeoff is about to begin.
The USS Kitty Hawk was advancing at full speed, the bow of the ship split into waves, and the deck wind was blowing flags and hunting.
On the bridge, Captain Blanche looked at the fighter plane that had hooked the catapult, feeling deeply in his heart.
In this era, the dedication of soldiers is really precious, and this time, Major Nathan is even more current, rushing to the forefront to perform the most dangerous missions. I am proud of having such a pilot. .
catapult!
The deck was filled with steam, and the two TF41 engines ejected majestic thrust backwards. The entire fighter unfolded its wings and flexibly left the deck. Every take-off and landing was of this standard.
In the past, the fighter plane would climb up when leaving the deck, but now, after leaving the deck, Nathan has maintained the plane's level flight, almost less than ten meters away from sea level.
On Sakhalin Island, the Soviets had long-range radars. If they climbed up, they might be spotted by the other side. Therefore, Nathan's flight this time was almost at an ultra-low altitude.
"Lone Ranger, the heading is correct, I wish you good luck." The voice of the bridge came from the headset.
"The Lone Ranger received it." Nathan replied on the radio, with excitement in his heart.
The blue sea is all around, and the tomcat with its wings spread out as if flying on the sea. The joystick in his hand is shaking slightly, and it is difficult to see farther in the ultra-low altitude.
"Guth, what do you say we will find this time?" The long flight is boring, and Nathan likes to spend it through chat.
"The secrets of the Soviets." Gus said afterwards: "I can vaguely foresee that the Soviets must have secrets on Sakhalin."
What's the secret
"I guess we will find the assembly of Soviet troops." Nathan said: "Tanks, landing ships, etc., we must be able to gain a lot."
Guston in the back frowned, big troops, this is not good news!
At this time, the front glass frame is awkward to look at. In the improvement suggestions that I have put forward, it is not complicated to change to an integrated windshield, but it has not been adopted.
Similar to many second-generation aircraft of this era, the front of the cockpit of the Tomcat fighter has three windshields, so there will be a vertical frame, which seriously interferes with the vision.
Of course, this three-piece windshield has its own use. The three-piece windshield is flat in the middle, so it can also be used as a HUD projection screen. With this, there is no need to make a separate head-up display. The glass is out.
The current front windshield is green, which doubles as the front windshield of the HUD.
However, this was not appropriate, so in the later stage, it was changed to an integral windshield.
Of course, this three-piece type has another advantage, that is, it does not produce distortion. In order to pursue a smooth aerodynamic shape, the entire cockpit cover will be designed in a circular arc shape, so that when viewed from the inside of the cockpit, it is equivalent to passing through a convex lens. , There will be a certain amount of distortion, and the same is true for the front windshield.
Aiming at the cannon will have a great impact, and now the cannon has adopted the hot-line aiming method, and visual distortion is completely acceptable.
Go back and advise Grumman again, change this thing!
Nathan continued to look forward, faintly seeing the island appearing on the horizon in the distance.
"Attention, continue to descend." Nathan said: "Prepare to fly over the four northern islands."
In the eastern part of Hokkaido, there are four small islands. These islands have been claimed by the island country, but they are occupied by the Soviets.
Now, under the leadership of the United States, the island nations have not yet been able to regain these islands. For them, the Soviets should be thankful if they don’t come over.
Although occupied by the Soviets, there were very few troops stationed on the islands. It was in the early hours of the morning, just before dawn, and the Tomcat fighter jets skilfully passed between the two islands as if flying close to the sea.
"I can't see anyone on the island, maybe they are still sleeping." Gus said, although it was a flash, he had already looked at it with his sharpest eyes, the big trees had just vomited their green teeth. The islands are very peaceful.
"Before, we are going to focus on observation." Nathan said: "Attention, we are going to open our detection equipment, we will be working soon."
The key target of the investigation is Korsakov Port, located in the northern part of Aniva Bay. (End of this chapter)