Ed Rasimus wrote:

(Eric Moore) wrote:

Ed Rasimus wrote in message . ..

As for combat effectiveness with the hung gun, an AF type, Dee
Simmonds killed two MiGs during the great SEA unpleasantness with one.
I see Dee every year at the River Rats Reunion.

What about weapon-bay-mounted guns? I know the F-106 and the F-111
could accomodate a vulcan cannon in their weapon bays. How effective were
they?
Were setups like this ever used in anger?

The F-106 holds the distinction of being one of only two USAF
inventory systems that did not see combat in SEA. (The other was the
B-58.) The weapon-bay installation occurred after SEA combat was over.

The F-111 never carried the gun in USAF combat.

Not correct. According to aircrew who flew the 'Pig' in SEA (see Thornborough: "F-111: Success in Action"),
they were required to carry the gun pod on every mission. No that they thought it was useful, given that
the mission involved going in at night/under the weather when the MiGs really couldn't play, and they
certanly had no intention of strafing, especially single-ship. But they were ordered to carry it anyway,
much as 7th AF ordered F-105F weasels to carry jammer pods which they virtually never used, and which
displaced a Shrike.


With it's largeplanform, high wing loading, poor agility, ground map optimized radar

and rotten visibility, the Vark was remarkably unsuited for air-to-air
combat. Not even the most ardent Vark supporter would have wanted to
engage MiGs in one. The defense was high speed escape.

Yup. If some MiG had been unfortunate enough to find itself in front of a Vark, then maybe the gun might
have been useful (as it was on the F-105 in similar circumstances), but the F-111 normally operated in very
different weather/visibility/tactical conditions than the F-105.

Guy