Top Document: rec.aviation.military Frequently Asked Questions (part 3 of 5) Previous Document: C.17. What air-to-air missiles are in service? Next Document: D.2. Did one of the XB-70 prototypes crash during a photo shot? See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge * Blackburn Buccaneer: NO -- The last squadron of Buccaneers in RAF service was disbanded in early 1994. South Africa, the only other Buccaneer user, had already disposed of its aircraft by then. * Boeing B-29 Superfortress: SORT OF -- China still has 15 Russian-built B-29 copies (Tu-4) on its inventory; these are now used entirely for training and research. One was fitted with a pylon-mounted disk for AEW radar experiments. * Convair F-106 Delta Dart: SORT OF -- The last aircraft in US service were retired in 1988. About 180 were converted to QF-106 target drones; most have been destroyed by now, of course, but some are still flying (July 1994). * Dassault Ouragan: YES -- El Salvador still has eight Ouragans in service. * De Havilland Vampire: NO -- There are no Vampires in military service; several are still flying in private hands. * De Havilland Venom: NO -- There are no Venoms in military service; several are still flying in private hands. * English Electric Canberra: YES -- The Canberra is still in service with Argentina, Chile, India (largest user, with 46), Peru, and the UK. The 20 aircraft on the British inventory are used for training and photographic reconnaissance, not in the bomber role. * Grumman S-2 Tracker: YES -- Eight countries still have S-2s in service. Many retired examples have been converted to civilian firebombers. * Handley Page Victor: NO -- The RAF retired its last Victor K.2 tanker on 30 November 1993. * Hawker Hunter: YES -- The Hunter is still in service with Chile, India, Oman, and Switzerland (largest user, with 87). Lebanon and Somalia still have a handful of Hunters listed, but these are almost certainly unserviceable. The handful of Hunters still flying in the UK are operated by civilian organisations. Switzerland plans to dispose of its Hunters by the end of 1995. * Ilyushin Il-28 ("Beagle"): YES -- The Chinese-built Hong-5 is in service in large numbers (about 650) with China, as well as North Korea and Romania, but only Egypt still operates five Russian-built Il-28s. * Lockheed F-104 Starfighter: YES -- Remains in service with Greece, Italy, Taiwan, and Turkey (largest user, with 220). * Lockheed P-2 Neptune: YES -- Japan still flies 14 of its locally-built P-2J version. * Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird: SORT OF -- These were retired from USAF service in 1990. Three aircraft were transferred to NASA, and are used for atmospheric research. Currently (June '94) there seems to be serious talk of reactivating some USAF SR-71s for reconnaissance, probably in connection with the Korean situation. * Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star: YES -- 14 countries still use T-33s for training; the largest user is Japan, with 113. * Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 ("Fagot/Midget"): YES -- About 20 countries operate the MiG-15UTI trainer; three (Albania, Cuba, and Romania) still operate the single-seat fighter. All Chinese MiG-15s have been retired (see also section H.11). * Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 ("Fresco"): YES -- About 25 countries still use the MiG-17, or the Chinese-built J-5. The Chinese PLA Air Force only operates the JJ-5 trainer version. * Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 ("Farmer"): YES -- The Chinese J-6 is still in service with 14 countries, but only Cuba still flies the genuine article (about 30). Production of the J-6 stopped about 1981. * Myasishchyev M-3/4 ("Bison"): YES -- The last M-3M and M-4 "Bison-A" bombers and M-3MD "Bison-C" maritime patrol aircraft were retired or converted in 1987. A small number of M-3MS-2 "Bison-B" tankers remain in service with the Russian AF, but are being replaced by the Il-78T "Midas", and will probably be gone by the end of 1994. A few aircraft (possibly only one) have been converted to M-3VM-T Atlant heavy transports; these remain in use, mainly for transporting space hardware, pending the manufacture of more An-225 transports. * North American F-86 Sabre: YES -- The Bolivian Air Force still operates four F-86F interceptors. * North American F-100 Super Sabre: NO -- Turkey, the last operator of the F-100, disposed of its aircraft in 1989. * Sukhoi Su-7 ("Fitter/Moujik"): YES -- Only Algeria, Iraq, and North Korea (largest user, with 30) still fly the Su-7. * Sukhoi Su-15 ("Flagon"): NO -- This was withdrawn from Russian service about 1992. * Tupolev Tu-128 ("Fiddler"): NO -- This was withdrawn from Russian service about 1992. * Vought A-7 Corsair II: YES -- In service with Greece (largest user, with 85) and Portugal. The last A-7s in US service were withdrawn at the end of 1993. * Vought F-8 Crusader: YES -- 19 F-8E(FN) Crusaders serve with the French Navy, and are expected to remain in service until the Rafale M is available in 1999. * Yakovlev Yak-28 ("Brewer/Firebar/Maestro"): NO -- The last Yak-28P "Firebar" interceptors were withdrawn in the 1980s, the last Yak-28R "Brewer-D" reconnaissance aircraft about 1990, and the last Yak-28PP "Brewer-E" electronic warfare aircraft (along with the last Yak-28U "Maestro" trainers) about 1992. * Yakovlev Yak-38 ("Forger"): NO -- The Russian Navy retired the last of its Yak-38 fleet around the end of 1993. [Most of the above comes from the "Air Forces of the World" directory in the 24-Nov-93 issue of _Flight International_] User Contributions:Top Document: rec.aviation.military Frequently Asked Questions (part 3 of 5) Previous Document: C.17. What air-to-air missiles are in service? Next Document: D.2. Did one of the XB-70 prototypes crash during a photo shot? Part1 - Part2 - Part3 - Part4 - Part5 - Single Page [ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index ] Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer: avfaq@meanmach.actrix.gen.nz
Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM
|
Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: