Discussion:
AIM-9 Colors and markings
(too old to reply)
Gray Ghost
2007-05-13 07:08:35 UTC
Permalink
Can someone help with AIM-9 colors and markings. Most kits seem to say
"white" but I'm seeing pictures that definitely appear gray, blue, etc.

What about color bands? I was hoping someone had a page on this but google
was not my friend.

Mostly interested in USAF and USN live ordnance.

TIA,
Frank
Enzo Matrix
2007-05-13 07:16:00 UTC
Permalink
Post by Gray Ghost
Can someone help with AIM-9 colors and markings. Most kits seem to say
"white" but I'm seeing pictures that definitely appear gray, blue, etc.
What about color bands? I was hoping someone had a page on this but
google was not my friend.
Mostly interested in USAF and USN live ordnance.
Google on the contents of this very group. I made a detailed post on this
very matter a couple of years ago. I shall see if I still have it tucked
away somewhere.
--
Enzo

I wear the cheese. It does not wear me.
Enzo Matrix
2007-05-13 07:26:45 UTC
Permalink
Post by Enzo Matrix
Post by Gray Ghost
Can someone help with AIM-9 colors and markings. Most kits seem to
say "white" but I'm seeing pictures that definitely appear gray,
blue, etc.
What about color bands? I was hoping someone had a page on this but
google was not my friend.
Mostly interested in USAF and USN live ordnance.
Google on the contents of this very group. I made a detailed post on
this very matter a couple of years ago. I shall see if I still have
it tucked away somewhere.
Found it. Here's what I posted on 26 June 2005.

============
Having answered Rob's comment about grey Jaguars, I have been a little
concerned about the instructions in some decal sheets that I have seen. Each
one of them seems to represent the Sidewinder missiles in use on RAF
aircraft as coloured being white. This is not true and the decal
manufacturers really should have known better.

If you will indulge me, I'll provide a little information on UK Sidewinder
colours.


The original missiles used by the RAF and Royal Navy were AIM-9Bs and
AIM-9Gs, which *were* white. The introduction of the AIM-9L and the
procurement of components from BGT rather than Raytheon, led to all
operational 9Ls being painted BS381c/627 Light Aircraft Grey. However the
situation is a little more complex as there are various build standards of
missile which have different colours.


_Operational Missile_


The Sidewinder is not a round - it is an assembly. It can be broken down
into its components, some of which have different colours. Have a look at
Loading Image... which shows the
missile quite well. I'm not sure why it is sat beside an A-10, IIRC the 9Ls
were used by the US Navy.


The front section is called the GCS or Guidance Control System. As you can
see it is a dark grey. The GCS is not painted and this is the colour of the
metal, which can have a metallic sheen to it. There is a BS381c/412 Dark
Brown band (signifying a low explosive hazard) at the rear of the GCS.


The next section is the AOTD or Airborne Optical Target Detector (some
authorities use "Active" rather than "Airborne"). In the photograph, this is
the component which is hidden under the dayglo wrap. There is a very good
reason for this. The side of the component has eight round windows
Loading Image... which may emit
laser light. The AOTD is also unpainted, although the grey of the metal is
somewhat lighter than that of the GCS and there is no metallic sheen. There
are no explosives in this component and so there are no hazard bands.


The next section is the Warhead. This is painted Light Aircraft Grey, with a
BS381c/3576 Golden Yellow band to signify high explosive.


The remainder of the missile body is made up of the Rocket Motor. Again
Light Aircraft Grey but this time with a BS381c/412 Dark Brown hazard band.


The fins are attached to the GCS and are bare metal, with a similar colour
to the AOTD.


The wings are at the rear of the missile. They are Light Aircraft Grey.
However, unlike the US missile in the photo, the leading edges of the wings
are a very shiny dark metallic grey. Originally the wings were designed to
be used for one flight only and then discarded. The RAF cannot afford this
policy and so, as the surface of the wing is made from an ablative material,
the leading edges are coated with a material known as "Belzona", to prevent
damage from the airflow. As shown in the first picture, the rollerons on the
trailing edge of the wings are bare metal and can be quite shiny.


_Acquisition Missile_


The acquisition missile or "Ackwee" is used for training. It is simply an
inert body tube with an operational GCS fitted on the front. There are no
wings or fins fitted, as there are no mountings for them. The body tube is
painted BS381c/113 Deep Saxe Blue.


_Dummy Missile_


The Dummy missile is totally inert and is used for displays. Next time you
see an RAF aircraft at an airshow which is carrying Sidewinders, they will
be dummy missiles. The missile is painted overall Light Aircraft Grey. The
GCS may be a real one which has been expended (in which case it will be its
normal colour) or it may simply be a shape (in which case it will be LAG).
All the bands on this missile will be BS381c/105 Oxford Blue, to signify
inert.


The Dummy missile may or may not be certified for flight. If it is not, it
will have "NOT FOR FLIGHT" liberally plastered all over it, especially on
the wings. The wings of a dummy missile which *is* cleared for flight will
have been taken from operational stock.


_Safety Devices_


The Sidewinder has a number of safety devices which are fitted when on the
ground. The first is the "noddy cap", which fits over the GCS. This is
yellow plastic, but they get very dirty indeed, so a yellow/grey mix would
suffice. It *should* have a Remove Before Flight flag attached to the front
but the noddy caps get pretty battered (linies tend to play football with
them while the jet is away) and the flag is usually the first thing to go.


The second safety device is a wrap-around cover over the AOTD. As shown in
the first photo, they are dayglo orange and are usually kept quite clean.
These also have an RBF flag attached.


The final safety device is the arming key. This is a red T-shaped key on the
underside of the warhead, also fitted with a RBF flag.


The LAU launcher also has an arming key with an RBF flag. Look at the second
picture and you will see a device on the side of the LAU. The arming key
fits here.


These safety devices are fitted at *all* times while the missile is loaded
to an aircraft on the ground.


Acqui missiles have the noddy cap and LAU key while dummy missiles may only
have the LAU key.


I hope this short article has been of some use. The link below is to a
colour chart showing BS381c colours.
http://www.unitedcomposites.net/jointpages/bs381cColours.htm


============

I don't know if the links are still valid. The role band colours *should* be
valid for US missiles, as the colour bands are NATO standard. However I
believe that US manufactured missiles use FS36375 rather than Light Aircraft
Grey.

Hope this helps.
--
Enzo

I wear the cheese. It does not wear me.
Daryl
2007-05-13 13:32:41 UTC
Permalink
Hi Enzo just wanted to give you some info the USAF did indeed use AIM-9L at
least during the time frame I servered as a Crew Chief 1976-1995, I believe
all US Military Air Branches used the AIM-9L, I seem to remember a USMC
Harrier outfit that shared our revetments at Kadena Okinawa also used them
Post by Enzo Matrix
Post by Enzo Matrix
Post by Gray Ghost
Can someone help with AIM-9 colors and markings. Most kits seem to
say "white" but I'm seeing pictures that definitely appear gray,
blue, etc.
What about color bands? I was hoping someone had a page on this but
google was not my friend.
Mostly interested in USAF and USN live ordnance.
Google on the contents of this very group. I made a detailed post on
this very matter a couple of years ago. I shall see if I still have
it tucked away somewhere.
Found it. Here's what I posted on 26 June 2005.
============
Having answered Rob's comment about grey Jaguars, I have been a little
concerned about the instructions in some decal sheets that I have seen.
Each one of them seems to represent the Sidewinder missiles in use on RAF
aircraft as coloured being white. This is not true and the decal
manufacturers really should have known better.
If you will indulge me, I'll provide a little information on UK Sidewinder
colours.
The original missiles used by the RAF and Royal Navy were AIM-9Bs and
AIM-9Gs, which *were* white. The introduction of the AIM-9L and the
procurement of components from BGT rather than Raytheon, led to all
operational 9Ls being painted BS381c/627 Light Aircraft Grey. However the
situation is a little more complex as there are various build standards of
missile which have different colours.
_Operational Missile_
The Sidewinder is not a round - it is an assembly. It can be broken down
into its components, some of which have different colours. Have a look at
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/missile/aim-9-990707d.jpg which shows
the missile quite well. I'm not sure why it is sat beside an A-10, IIRC
the 9Ls were used by the US Navy.
The front section is called the GCS or Guidance Control System. As you can
see it is a dark grey. The GCS is not painted and this is the colour of
the metal, which can have a metallic sheen to it. There is a BS381c/412
Dark Brown band (signifying a low explosive hazard) at the rear of the
GCS.
The next section is the AOTD or Airborne Optical Target Detector (some
authorities use "Active" rather than "Airborne"). In the photograph, this
is the component which is hidden under the dayglo wrap. There is a very
good reason for this. The side of the component has eight round windows
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/missile/aim-9-7216m7df.jpg which may
emit laser light. The AOTD is also unpainted, although the grey of the
metal is somewhat lighter than that of the GCS and there is no metallic
sheen. There are no explosives in this component and so there are no
hazard bands.
The next section is the Warhead. This is painted Light Aircraft Grey, with
a BS381c/3576 Golden Yellow band to signify high explosive.
The remainder of the missile body is made up of the Rocket Motor. Again
Light Aircraft Grey but this time with a BS381c/412 Dark Brown hazard band.
The fins are attached to the GCS and are bare metal, with a similar colour
to the AOTD.
The wings are at the rear of the missile. They are Light Aircraft Grey.
However, unlike the US missile in the photo, the leading edges of the
wings are a very shiny dark metallic grey. Originally the wings were
designed to be used for one flight only and then discarded. The RAF cannot
afford this policy and so, as the surface of the wing is made from an
ablative material, the leading edges are coated with a material known as
"Belzona", to prevent damage from the airflow. As shown in the first
picture, the rollerons on the trailing edge of the wings are bare metal
and can be quite shiny.
_Acquisition Missile_
The acquisition missile or "Ackwee" is used for training. It is simply an
inert body tube with an operational GCS fitted on the front. There are no
wings or fins fitted, as there are no mountings for them. The body tube is
painted BS381c/113 Deep Saxe Blue.
_Dummy Missile_
The Dummy missile is totally inert and is used for displays. Next time you
see an RAF aircraft at an airshow which is carrying Sidewinders, they will
be dummy missiles. The missile is painted overall Light Aircraft Grey. The
GCS may be a real one which has been expended (in which case it will be
its normal colour) or it may simply be a shape (in which case it will be
LAG). All the bands on this missile will be BS381c/105 Oxford Blue, to
signify inert.
The Dummy missile may or may not be certified for flight. If it is not, it
will have "NOT FOR FLIGHT" liberally plastered all over it, especially on
the wings. The wings of a dummy missile which *is* cleared for flight will
have been taken from operational stock.
_Safety Devices_
The Sidewinder has a number of safety devices which are fitted when on the
ground. The first is the "noddy cap", which fits over the GCS. This is
yellow plastic, but they get very dirty indeed, so a yellow/grey mix would
suffice. It *should* have a Remove Before Flight flag attached to the
front but the noddy caps get pretty battered (linies tend to play football
with them while the jet is away) and the flag is usually the first thing
to go.
The second safety device is a wrap-around cover over the AOTD. As shown in
the first photo, they are dayglo orange and are usually kept quite clean.
These also have an RBF flag attached.
The final safety device is the arming key. This is a red T-shaped key on
the underside of the warhead, also fitted with a RBF flag.
The LAU launcher also has an arming key with an RBF flag. Look at the
second picture and you will see a device on the side of the LAU. The
arming key fits here.
These safety devices are fitted at *all* times while the missile is loaded
to an aircraft on the ground.
Acqui missiles have the noddy cap and LAU key while dummy missiles may
only have the LAU key.
I hope this short article has been of some use. The link below is to a
colour chart showing BS381c colours.
http://www.unitedcomposites.net/jointpages/bs381cColours.htm
============
I don't know if the links are still valid. The role band colours *should*
be valid for US missiles, as the colour bands are NATO standard. However I
believe that US manufactured missiles use FS36375 rather than Light
Aircraft Grey.
Hope this helps.
--
Enzo
I wear the cheese. It does not wear me.
Enzo Matrix
2007-05-13 15:46:44 UTC
Permalink
Post by Daryl
Hi Enzo just wanted to give you some info the USAF did indeed use
AIM-9L at least during the time frame I servered as a Crew Chief
1976-1995, I believe all US Military Air Branches used the AIM-9L, I
seem to remember a USMC Harrier outfit that shared our revetments at
Kadena Okinawa also used them
Thanks for the information, Daryl.

As far as I am aware the US Navy versions of the AIM-9 (the 9L was one) use
a nitrogen bottle (known as a "receiver") in the LAU to provide coolant in
captive flight. I was under the impression that the USAF versions use an
argon bottle on board the missile. This was always given as the reason that
USAF AIM-9s were incompatible with RAF aircraft.
--
Enzo

I wear the cheese. It does not wear me.
Steve Jahn
2007-05-13 16:56:58 UTC
Permalink
Yes,that is true about the Argon bottle in USAF missiles.It was basically a
round steel ball with a steel laniard for carring and removing or replacing
the bottle in the missile.I think that little thing read 5000psi on the
gauge.
Steve Jahn
USAF Weapons Crew Chief,F-15A,B,C,D
Luke AFB 1980-1985
Post by Enzo Matrix
Post by Daryl
Hi Enzo just wanted to give you some info the USAF did indeed use
AIM-9L at least during the time frame I servered as a Crew Chief
1976-1995, I believe all US Military Air Branches used the AIM-9L, I
seem to remember a USMC Harrier outfit that shared our revetments at
Kadena Okinawa also used them
Thanks for the information, Daryl.
As far as I am aware the US Navy versions of the AIM-9 (the 9L was one)
use a nitrogen bottle (known as a "receiver") in the LAU to provide
coolant in captive flight. I was under the impression that the USAF
versions use an argon bottle on board the missile. This was always given
as the reason that USAF AIM-9s were incompatible with RAF aircraft.
--
Enzo
I wear the cheese. It does not wear me.
Gray Ghost
2007-05-13 16:09:55 UTC
Permalink
Post by Enzo Matrix
Post by Enzo Matrix
Post by Gray Ghost
Can someone help with AIM-9 colors and markings. Most kits seem to
say "white" but I'm seeing pictures that definitely appear gray,
blue, etc.
What about color bands? I was hoping someone had a page on this but
google was not my friend.
Mostly interested in USAF and USN live ordnance.
Google on the contents of this very group. I made a detailed post on
this very matter a couple of years ago. I shall see if I still have it
tucked away somewhere.
Found it. Here's what I posted on 26 June 2005.
============
Having answered Rob's comment about grey Jaguars, I have been a little
concerned about the instructions in some decal sheets that I have seen.
Each one of them seems to represent the Sidewinder missiles in use on
RAF aircraft as coloured being white. This is not true and the decal
manufacturers really should have known better.
If you will indulge me, I'll provide a little information on UK
Sidewinder colours.
The original missiles used by the RAF and Royal Navy were AIM-9Bs and
AIM-9Gs, which *were* white. The introduction of the AIM-9L and the
procurement of components from BGT rather than Raytheon, led to all
operational 9Ls being painted BS381c/627 Light Aircraft Grey. However
the situation is a little more complex as there are various build
standards of missile which have different colours.
_Operational Missile_
The Sidewinder is not a round - it is an assembly. It can be broken
down into its components, some of which have different colours. Have a
look at http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/missile/aim-9-990707d.jpg
which shows the missile quite well. I'm not sure why it is sat beside
an A-10, IIRC the 9Ls were used by the US Navy.
The front section is called the GCS or Guidance Control System. As you
can see it is a dark grey. The GCS is not painted and this is the
colour of the metal, which can have a metallic sheen to it. There is a
BS381c/412 Dark Brown band (signifying a low explosive hazard) at the
rear of the GCS.
The next section is the AOTD or Airborne Optical Target Detector (some
authorities use "Active" rather than "Airborne"). In the photograph,
this is the component which is hidden under the dayglo wrap. There is a
very good reason for this. The side of the component has eight round
windows http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/missile/aim-9-7216m7df.jpg
which may emit laser light. The AOTD is also unpainted, although the
grey of the metal is somewhat lighter than that of the GCS and there is
no metallic sheen. There are no explosives in this component and so
there are no hazard bands.
The next section is the Warhead. This is painted Light Aircraft Grey,
with a BS381c/3576 Golden Yellow band to signify high explosive.
The remainder of the missile body is made up of the Rocket Motor. Again
Light Aircraft Grey but this time with a BS381c/412 Dark Brown hazard band.
The fins are attached to the GCS and are bare metal, with a similar
colour to the AOTD.
The wings are at the rear of the missile. They are Light Aircraft Grey.
However, unlike the US missile in the photo, the leading edges of the
wings are a very shiny dark metallic grey. Originally the wings were
designed to be used for one flight only and then discarded. The RAF
cannot afford this policy and so, as the surface of the wing is made
from an ablative material, the leading edges are coated with a material
known as "Belzona", to prevent damage from the airflow. As shown in the
first picture, the rollerons on the trailing edge of the wings are bare
metal and can be quite shiny.
_Acquisition Missile_
The acquisition missile or "Ackwee" is used for training. It is simply
an inert body tube with an operational GCS fitted on the front. There
are no wings or fins fitted, as there are no mountings for them. The
body tube is painted BS381c/113 Deep Saxe Blue.
_Dummy Missile_
The Dummy missile is totally inert and is used for displays. Next time
you see an RAF aircraft at an airshow which is carrying Sidewinders,
they will be dummy missiles. The missile is painted overall Light
Aircraft Grey. The GCS may be a real one which has been expended (in
which case it will be its normal colour) or it may simply be a shape
(in which case it will be LAG). All the bands on this missile will be
BS381c/105 Oxford Blue, to signify inert.
The Dummy missile may or may not be certified for flight. If it is not,
it will have "NOT FOR FLIGHT" liberally plastered all over it,
especially on the wings. The wings of a dummy missile which *is*
cleared for flight will have been taken from operational stock.
_Safety Devices_
The Sidewinder has a number of safety devices which are fitted when on
the ground. The first is the "noddy cap", which fits over the GCS. This
is yellow plastic, but they get very dirty indeed, so a yellow/grey mix
would suffice. It *should* have a Remove Before Flight flag attached to
the front but the noddy caps get pretty battered (linies tend to play
football with them while the jet is away) and the flag is usually the
first thing to go.
The second safety device is a wrap-around cover over the AOTD. As shown
in the first photo, they are dayglo orange and are usually kept quite
clean. These also have an RBF flag attached.
The final safety device is the arming key. This is a red T-shaped key
on the underside of the warhead, also fitted with a RBF flag.
The LAU launcher also has an arming key with an RBF flag. Look at the
second picture and you will see a device on the side of the LAU. The
arming key fits here.
These safety devices are fitted at *all* times while the missile is
loaded to an aircraft on the ground.
Acqui missiles have the noddy cap and LAU key while dummy missiles may
only have the LAU key.
I hope this short article has been of some use. The link below is to a
colour chart showing BS381c colours.
http://www.unitedcomposites.net/jointpages/bs381cColours.htm
============
I don't know if the links are still valid. The role band colours
*should* be valid for US missiles, as the colour bands are NATO
standard. However I believe that US manufactured missiles use FS36375
rather than Light Aircraft Grey.
Hope this helps.
Thanks Enzo! Saved for future reference!

Frank
Ian Maw
2007-05-13 19:09:26 UTC
Permalink
Sorry for the top post, I know how some of you hate it.

Adding to the excellent response, and to more or less americanize the
discussion..
The colour of the warhead and rocket motor is indeed FS 36375. The overall
colour of bombs and missiles is for camouflage purposes and have nothing to
do with anything that is going on inside them.
Having said that, The US, and Canada use the AIM-9M. The 9L is actually the
export version which started out as duplicates, but I believe BGT may have
incorporated thier own improvements. I may be wrong about the latter.
The Guidance and Control section is identical for all US services. The way
in which it is cooled is however different. The USAF prefers the small
TMU-72 bottle in the nose of the missile, where the Navy went with the much
larger bottle in the launcher. This is why there was much discussion about
the different launchers when the explosion of Phantom kits came around
twenty years ago. Those of the airforce were much slimmer than the USN. Also
something to watch for on your A-7 Kits. The GCS, Target detector and fins
are unpaintede metal, But are all treated to survive exposure to speed and
weather. The GCS is annodized to a dark colour, which on the US missiles
looks to be a dark gun metal with a hint of olive. The fins are parkerized,
the same treatment as most machine guns get, and therefor are a dull grey
when new, but get darker when wiped down with various preservatives during
maintenance. Kind of like wiping your gun down with oil. The wings are
coated with a heat barrier, much like that found on USN bombs, and given a
top coat that the can calls Haze Gray, though it's only a shade or two away
from the body colour.

The bands for low explosives, ie rocket motors, are FS 30118
The Bands for high explosives, ie warheads, are FS 33538
The bands for inert components, ie training, are FS 35109
All of these colours are fairly easy to find.
The brown band on the rear of the british GCS is not normally found on US
missiles., I would say never, but I'm sure someone will find a picture of
the exception. ( never in Canada for sure)
Of course the colours are the same by NATO agreement, but each nation has
thier own standard colour system. As was pointed out previously, the british
use the BS, The Americans the FS, the Germans the RAL, etc.
Nomenclature is different among the various users as well.
I never heard of an Ackwee until just now. We in Canada call them CATMs,
(pronounced catum), Captive Air Training Missiles.
Post by Gray Ghost
Post by Enzo Matrix
The Sidewinder is not a round - it is an assembly. It can be broken
down into its components, some of which have different colours. Have a
look at http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/missile/aim-9-990707d.jpg
which shows the missile quite well. I'm not sure why it is sat beside
an A-10, IIRC the 9Ls were used by the US Navy.
The front section is called the GCS or Guidance Control System. As you
can see it is a dark grey. The GCS is not painted and this is the
colour of the metal, which can have a metallic sheen to it. There is a
BS381c/412 Dark Brown band (signifying a low explosive hazard) at the
rear of the GCS.
The next section is the AOTD or Airborne Optical Target Detector (some
authorities use "Active" rather than "Airborne"). In the photograph,
this is the component which is hidden under the dayglo wrap. There is a
very good reason for this. The side of the component has eight round
windows http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/missile/aim-9-7216m7df.jpg
which may emit laser light. The AOTD is also unpainted, although the
grey of the metal is somewhat lighter than that of the GCS and there is
no metallic sheen. There are no explosives in this component and so
there are no hazard bands.
The next section is the Warhead. This is painted Light Aircraft Grey,
with a BS381c/3576 Golden Yellow band to signify high explosive.
The remainder of the missile body is made up of the Rocket Motor. Again
Light Aircraft Grey but this time with a BS381c/412 Dark Brown hazard band.
The fins are attached to the GCS and are bare metal, with a similar
colour to the AOTD.
The wings are at the rear of the missile. They are Light Aircraft Grey.
However, unlike the US missile in the photo, the leading edges of the
wings are a very shiny dark metallic grey. Originally the wings were
designed to be used for one flight only and then discarded. The RAF
cannot afford this policy and so, as the surface of the wing is made
from an ablative material, the leading edges are coated with a material
known as "Belzona", to prevent damage from the airflow. As shown in the
first picture, the rollerons on the trailing edge of the wings are bare
metal and can be quite shiny.
_Acquisition Missile_
The acquisition missile or "Ackwee" is used for training. It is simply
an inert body tube with an operational GCS fitted on the front. There
are no wings or fins fitted, as there are no mountings for them. The
body tube is painted BS381c/113 Deep Saxe Blue.
_Dummy Missile_
The Dummy missile is totally inert and is used for displays. Next time
you see an RAF aircraft at an airshow which is carrying Sidewinders,
they will be dummy missiles. The missile is painted overall Light
Aircraft Grey. The GCS may be a real one which has been expended (in
which case it will be its normal colour) or it may simply be a shape
(in which case it will be LAG). All the bands on this missile will be
BS381c/105 Oxford Blue, to signify inert.
The Dummy missile may or may not be certified for flight. If it is not,
it will have "NOT FOR FLIGHT" liberally plastered all over it,
especially on the wings. The wings of a dummy missile which *is*
cleared for flight will have been taken from operational stock.
_Safety Devices_
The Sidewinder has a number of safety devices which are fitted when on
the ground. The first is the "noddy cap", which fits over the GCS. This
is yellow plastic, but they get very dirty indeed, so a yellow/grey mix
would suffice. It *should* have a Remove Before Flight flag attached to
the front but the noddy caps get pretty battered (linies tend to play
football with them while the jet is away) and the flag is usually the
first thing to go.
The second safety device is a wrap-around cover over the AOTD. As shown
in the first photo, they are dayglo orange and are usually kept quite
clean. These also have an RBF flag attached.
The final safety device is the arming key. This is a red T-shaped key
on the underside of the warhead, also fitted with a RBF flag.
The LAU launcher also has an arming key with an RBF flag. Look at the
second picture and you will see a device on the side of the LAU. The
arming key fits here.
These safety devices are fitted at *all* times while the missile is
loaded to an aircraft on the ground.
Acqui missiles have the noddy cap and LAU key while dummy missiles may
only have the LAU key.
I hope this short article has been of some use. The link below is to a
colour chart showing BS381c colours.
http://www.unitedcomposites.net/jointpages/bs381cColours.htm
============
I don't know if the links are still valid. The role band colours
*should* be valid for US missiles, as the colour bands are NATO
standard. However I believe that US manufactured missiles use FS36375
rather than Light Aircraft Grey.
Hope this helps.
Thanks Enzo! Saved for future reference!
Frank
Enzo Matrix
2007-05-13 19:36:34 UTC
Permalink
Post by Ian Maw
Nomenclature is different among the various users as well.
I never heard of an Ackwee until just now. We in Canada call them
CATMs, (pronounced catum), Captive Air Training Missiles.
It is actually written as "Acqui" - short for "acquisition missile" - but
pronounced "ackwee".

I imagine that an British Acqui is very similar to a Canadian CATM.

The Acqui has a body that is effectively just a metal tube with hangars on
it. There is usually no facility to fit wings to represent the aerodynamic
qualities of a live missile. However, having said that, I have actually seen
a tiny number of special purpose Acquis that *do* have that facility, but
they are invariably only fitted to trials aircraft.
--
Enzo

I wear the cheese. It does not wear me.
a***@yahoo.com
2007-05-15 23:32:52 UTC
Permalink
It would help also if you told us what versions of the AIM-9 you are
interested in. Photos of AIM-9L and later versions are pretty readily found
on the web, but earlier versions may not be. I have some photos I took of
live AIM-9P-3 rounds at Ramstein Air Base, Germany back in the 1980s. At the
time that missile or earlier versions were found on pretty much all USAF
F-4s, since USAF Phantoms weren't modified to carry the AIM-9L or later
series until a few years later. AIM-9Ps could also be found carried on early
F-15s and 16s on occasion.
During my tour at Ramstein from summer 1983 to summer 1986, the AIM-9P-3
missiles went from overall white, to a mix of white and 36375 gray parts
on each missile (no two were alike or so it seemed), to pretty much
overall gray. If you are interested in the AIM-9P-3, let me know and I'll
e-mail my photos to you.
Scott Wilson
Gray Ghost
2007-05-16 03:28:46 UTC
Permalink
Post by a***@yahoo.com
It would help also if you told us what versions of the AIM-9 you are
interested in. Photos of AIM-9L and later versions are pretty readily
found on the web, but earlier versions may not be. I have some photos I
took of live AIM-9P-3 rounds at Ramstein Air Base, Germany back in the
1980s. At the time that missile or earlier versions were found on
pretty much all USAF F-4s, since USAF Phantoms weren't modified to
carry the AIM-9L or later series until a few years later. AIM-9Ps could
also be found carried on early F-15s and 16s on occasion.
During my tour at Ramstein from summer 1983 to summer 1986, the
AIM-9P-3 missiles went from overall white, to a mix of white and
36375 gray parts on each missile (no two were alike or so it seemed),
to pretty much overall gray. If you are interested in the AIM-9P-3,
let me know and I'll e-mail my photos to you.
Scott Wilson
It's for an early F-16A, so whatever they carried.

Frank
Don McIntyre
2007-05-16 14:17:41 UTC
Permalink
Post by Gray Ghost
Can someone help with AIM-9 colors and markings. Most kits seem to say
"white" but I'm seeing pictures that definitely appear gray, blue, etc.
What about color bands? I was hoping someone had a page on this but google
was not my friend.
Mostly interested in USAF and USN live ordnance.
TIA,
Frank
Frank,
This might be useful, it's the "Missile Scale Data" page:

http://yellowjacketsystems.com/alway/missile_scale_data.htm
Gray Ghost
2007-05-16 17:48:08 UTC
Permalink
Post by Don McIntyre
Post by Gray Ghost
Can someone help with AIM-9 colors and markings. Most kits seem to say
"white" but I'm seeing pictures that definitely appear gray, blue, etc.
What about color bands? I was hoping someone had a page on this but
google was not my friend.
Mostly interested in USAF and USN live ordnance.
TIA,
Frank
Frank,
http://yellowjacketsystems.com/alway/missile_scale_data.htm
Nice, thanks!

Frank

Continue reading on narkive:
Loading...