Jeb Hoge wrote:

Ralph Savelsberg wrote in message
...

Bill Silvey wrote:
North American Rockwell proposed a derivative of the Vigilante,
with a third engine inserted between (and slightly above) the
two already installed, fed by two dorsal intakes. I have an artist's
impression of the thing (in Planes of Fame 19) in USAF markings
and armed with 6 Phoenix-like missiles (no less) under the fuselage.
If built it would have been quite a beast.


I've found an artist's impression on the following page:
http://www.vectorsite.net/ava5.html
(close to the bottom)
It seems like it's a rather extensive redesign.
Apparently two versions were proposed: one in the late `sixties
involving a rocket engine in place of the Vigilante's weapons' /camera
bay and the one I referred to and which is pictured in the above
mentioned page,
fitted with three J-79 engines.


I find this really interesting since a fella I knew in college who
grew up down on the Gulf Coast was telling me once about a military
aircraft that crashed somewhere in the North Florida brush swamps
once. Said that the people who saw it going down talked about it
having three afterburning engines in the configuration shown in that
photo. It's been a long time since I've seen the guy, let alone heard
the story, so I don't know what the timeframe was, but could be that
the three-J79'd airframe at least made it to flying test stage.

That's the first time I read anything about that. As far as I know, it
really never progressed beyond a proposal, some design work and perhaps
wind-tunnel tests.





with a third engine inserted between (and slightly above)
the two already installed, fed by two dorsal intakes. I have
an artist's impression of the thing (in Planes of Fame 19) in
USAF markings and armed with 6 Phoenix-like missiles (no
less) under the fuselage. If built it would have been quite a
beast.


I've found an artist's impression on the following page:
http://www.vectorsite.net/ava5.html


(close to the bottom) It seems like it's a rather extensive
redesign. Apparently two versions were proposed: one in the late
`sixties involving a rocket engine in place of the Vigilante's
weapons' /camera bay and the one I referred to and which is
pictured in the above mentioned page, fitted with three J-79
engines.


I find this really interesting since a fella I knew in college who grew
up down on the Gulf Coast was telling me once about a military aircraft
that crashed somewhere in the North Florida brush swamps once.
Said that the people who saw it going down talked about it having
three afterburning engines in the configuration shown in that photo.
It's been a long time since I've seen the guy, let alone heard the
story, so I don't know what the timeframe was, but could be that the
three-J79'd airframe at least made it to flying test stage.

That's the first time I read anything about that. As far as I know, it
never progressed beyond a proposal, some design work and perhaps
wind-tunnel tests. I've never heard about any flying hardware having
been built.

Regards,
Ralph Savelsberg