Join In! Guess the Aircraft

[Quickmarch 488]

JA has to be right - first impression is an exhaust stack on a turbine.

Helicopter?

[dodgy-alan 1,587]

Not a helo john. You just have to look carefully.

[Quickmarch 488]

Ok, Alan,

I've looked carefully - even turned the pic upside down ( interesting that it makes just as much or more sense that way ). The boxy little hole I suppose could be associated with an APU intake, but those are usually NACA slots. Too small to be a gunport. Immediately above the white panel on the (underside?) there is something that for all the world looks like a bit of plywood, the light brown vertical piece. The jagged edges I am putting down to pixelation. What else? The colour is reminiscent of Navy which would make some sense if the picture is right side up as the white underbelly might be correct.

This whole thing reminds me of those black and white reverse-image drawings where your eye must be trained to look at the white for the image, treating the black as background. Now I'm cross-eyed and I'm going to give it a rest.

[J G 927]

.... The boxy little hole I suppose could be associated with an APU intake,.....

I had the boxy little hole as a fin, possibly an ariel of some kind

[dodgy-alan 1,587]

Ok, Alan,

I've looked carefully - even turned the pic upside down ( interesting that it makes just as much or more sense that way ). The boxy little hole I suppose could be associated with an APU intake, but those are usually NACA slots. Too small to be a gunport. Immediately above the white panel on the (underside?) there is something that for all the world looks like a bit of plywood, the light brown vertical piece. The jagged edges I am putting down to pixelation. What else? The colour is reminiscent of Navy which would make some sense if the picture is right side up as the white underbelly might be correct.

This whole thing reminds me of those black and white reverse-image drawings where your eye must be trained to look at the white for the image, treating the black as background. Now I'm cross-eyed and I'm going to give it a rest.

Whats another word for looking carefully?

[allardjd 1,853]

Reconnaissance??? ...and I think I can see the hint of gear doors along the bottom edge, making it a kind of flat-bottomed thing if that's right?

[dodgy-alan 1,587]

Reconnaissance??? ...and I think I can see the hint of gear doors along the bottom edge, making it a kind of flat-bottomed thing I that's right?

You're on the right lines John.

[brett 2,316]

I was going to say P-38 and only 'cause my eyes hurt from searching.

[allardjd 1,853]

Isn't it amazing how FEW aircraft photos are taken from behind? For most candidate AC I'm having a heck of a time finding a view that shows the exhaust.

 

John

[brett 2,316]

So true John, that is why my last one was from the shown from the rear, I was excited to find one hoping to stump you guys. (Didn't work  )

[allardjd 1,853]

Here are my guesses and impressions so far in hopes that they will trigger some insight from someone else... This is about 10% inspiration and 90% speculation. I'm kind of letting it all hang out here in hopes of helping someone else hit on it.

 

Probably military, judging from the paint colors. Alan seems to confirm this with a clue about reconnaissance role... He also says it's "...well known..." and "Not Russian", which eliminates a lot of strange types.

 

He says it's not normally seen in this color - I take this to mean a multi-role airframe or one with a lot of foreign customers, but doesn't really look like anything with much civilian application, so multi-role or multi-nation military?

 

Not a Shorts. Not a helo, per Alan.

 

Multi-engine, probably two.

 

We're looking at what appears to be an off-centerline exhaust nozzle suggesting turbo-prop or jet. I'm saying exhaust mainly because of the apparent color, but also because there seems to be some kind of trailing edge flap outboard of the nozzle. If that's an intake the wing leading edge sure seems to be some kind of weird.

 

It appears that the duct is tucked up pretty close to the side of the fuselage - no apparent nacelle structure except the white part below the duct, but this could be misleading. I can't rule out that the engine is some distance closer to the camera than the side of the fuselage, but judging from the shadow don't really think so.

 

I first felt strongly it was a turbo-prop but now not so sure.

 

Fuselage has a pretty flat bottom and does not really appear to be thick enough vertically to be a transport-type airframe, so more likely a go-fast military bird, or at least semi-go-fast type.

 

There appears to be a flat slab-like portion of fuselage around the wing root that then blends into the curved fuselage top. That flattened out portion around the wing root, at least what I take to be the aft part of the wing root, should be distinctive if we ID a candidate aircraft. It's tantalizingly familiar but I can't place it.

 

The port at the top left is driving me nuts. It appears to be an open hole - not glazed. QM suggests an APU port and it could be that. I get the impression it's not very big and it gives me the impression of being either permanently open or with a remote operated door that opens inward. It does not look to me like either a window or a manually removable access (maintenance) panel. The APU guess by QM makes more sense to me than anything else I can think of.

 

Might be a mid-wing or shoulder-wing aircraft - possibly a high wing, but doesn't seem like a low-wing is possible.

 

I have the impression of a pretty big aircraft but not transport-big. More like F-14 Tomcat big.

 

[Quickmarch 488]

I' money the move today. Altea to Madrid, so time is limited.

What about RPV's, UAV's, etc. These are often weird configs.

Gotta go

[J G 927]

It seems too box like to be a Buccaneer, but I thought it may possibly an aircraft with a similar engine configuration. The only thing that puts me off this kind of configuration is the fuselage aft of the nozzle, with the Buccaneer and other aircraft with similar engine configurations there is a recess in the fuselage to accommodate the jet blast.  

 

This would point to a jet-prop or that the engine is further away from the fuselage than it seems.

[J G 927]

The nearest Jet I can find is the EA-6B Prowler, but this too has a small recess by the jet exhaust so I don't think it is that.

 

I am going to stick my neck out here and say it is a clever angle on an OV 10 Bronco.

[dodgy-alan 1,587]

It's not a Bronco, Nor a Buccaneer, It's not a Turboprop, It's a jet, and that is an air intake!

[J G 927]

Ok if what we see is an intake, then we are looking at an aircraft like the Vigilante.

 

The air intake is wrong but it was a reconnaissance aircraft late in life.

[dodgy-alan 1,587]

Well done John, It is indeed an RA-5C Vigilante, this one in fact! Remember what I said about keeping a good look out!.......or remaining Vigilant!

[J G 927]

Thanks Alan. You set the bar high with that one.

[dodgy-alan 1,587]

Thanks, I had a feeling it would be a skull crusher as most of those aircraft were shades of grey and white. This was an experimental scheme applied to only a few of them.

[allardjd 1,853]

I guess we should be thankful you gave us a glimpse of both colors in the couple square feet of aircraft we got to see.

 

John

[dodgy-alan 1,587]

Thats why I did it that way, any other detail would have given it away. But I thought that intake would be an easy detail to pick up.

[J G 927]

OK guys no colours here but it ain't that hard......

 

 

[dodgy-alan 1,587]

I'll let others attack this one!

[hurricanemk1c 195]

It is a Supermarine Attacker. Trying to find out more information about the actual aircraft, but can only read the '250' part

[dodgy-alan 1,587]

This is the actual photo Kieran. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Attacker#mediaviewer/File:Supermarine_Attcker_FB.2_WP290_ST812_1831_Sqn_STN_25.02.56_edited-2.jpg

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Attacker