“Dart-Tow” Starfighter Photo compliments of Hubert Peitzmeier!

 

 What memories!

The "Dart" has been shot at by jet fighter pilots for decades, and even towed target flags before that.  I wonder just how many tow aircraft took hits themselves besides the Dart?

My first experience shooting the Dart was in the F4 Phantom at MacDill AFB, FL before heading to Vietnam .  I think the ‘chase’ said I got two holes, but since I was “Blue 4” who can tell.    

Later, in the F-104, with that "Dart" under the left wing of the tiny Starfighter and a single fuel tank on the opposite wing for balance, the Takeoff Speed was 227 Knots!   Sometimes that thing made the whole aircraft shake and rattle until it was deployed for shooting.  Once I was leading 3 German students to shoot the dart, and the Dart Tow aircraft always took off first.  The tow pilot complained over the radio that he was having engine problems since he couldn't accelerate past about 250 and had to keep it in Afterburner to stay in the air.  As we came up on his aircraft we saw the problem.   With all of that shaking from the 'tow rig', he had forgotten to raise the landing gear!      "Oh", he said, and then with no effort we five flew off to the Range for some serious business.   

Out on the Gunnery Range , the "Dart" was reeled back about 1500 feet or so behind the "Tow" aircraft and we would shoot at it with 20mm Cannon (4000 rounds per minute).  Of course there was the danger of coming in at a bad angle and the tow would be in the line of sight.  That’s what a “Chase” pilot watched out for in “Fighting Wing” on the “Shooter”.   Then, the chase aircraft would fly up to the dart in "formation" and verify how many holes were in those honeycomb fins.  By the time "Blue 4" was shooting, he could always claim that he got hits but that the chase has 'mis-counted' earlier.   But Hey!  We all got “Hits” for the ‘event record forms’, right?!!!

Great Fun!     -    remembered by Ike Sweesy,  Zipper IP;     and some 'technical' details of the Dart & gun provided by Heinrich Thuringer.

______________________________________

 

 ...  And over the North Sea and also the Mediterranean Sea by another Fighter Pilot!

 

Reminds me of the old times.

Pulled the dart many times over the North Sea .    With Starfighter and Phantom.

The Dart Pilot is the Range controller. He clears the shooter "in" and "Cleared to fire".    Ours did not come down on a chute.   Either the "Shooter" did a good job and shoots it off, or the "Tow" cuts the cable and the dart sinks into the sea.      It could happen on the first hot pass, therefore we always had a spare Dart Tow in the air.

Once at Deci the dart was shot off, but the tow pilot forgot to cut the cable.  

No problem until he dragged the cable over the ground on short final.

But   ...  There was a huge powerline for Sardinia .    That day he made the blackout for most of the island.

            -   Cheers, Hubert