BAe Skyflash

[Gondor]

One of my modelling projects is for an RAF Air Defence F-4 carrying the Skyflash missile. I am wanting to portray the missile as reasonably close to real life as possible as its the aircraft and not its armament that is the whiff, does anyone know what the differences between the Skyflash were externally and if there are differences is there a specific after market set for the missiles in 1/72?

Gondor

[Hobbes]

going by the Wikipedia articles, the body seems to have been identical to the Sparrow, the Sky Flash wings were slightly larger:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM-7_Sparrow
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyflash

"The Skyflash traces its ancestry to the AIM-7E2 and early models employed the airframe, powerplant and warhead of the E2, " (http://ausairpower.net/skyflash-slammer.html)

[Martin H]

One of my modelling projects is for an RAF Air Defence F-4 carrying the Skyflash missile. I am wanting to portray the missile as reasonably close to real life as possible as its the aircraft and not its armament that is the whiff, does anyone know what the differences between the Skyflash were externally and if there are differences is there a specific after market set for the missiles in 1/72?

Gondor

As Harro has said, externaly Skyflash and Sparrow are identical. Internaly they were compleatly different
So the weapons techs did not get confused, all RAF skyflash missles were marked with a large blue dot on the forward fins to tell them apart from the Sparrow.

[Weaver]

Yes, the Skyflash is identical to the AIM-7E2. What happened was that digital electronics made it possible to halve the size of the avionics package, so the question was, how to use that volume? Raytheon, to a USAF requirement, chose more range for the AIM-7F: they moved the warhead from behind the wings to ahead of them and fitted a longer motor. BAe Dynamics (and Selenia with the Aspide) chose to keep the original motor and warhead position and use the extra volume for a MUCH better inverse-monopulse guidance system that was more resistant to jamming. Neither of these decisions was right or wrong BTW: the USAF was looking at an air-battle over Germany against a numerically superior foe. The more kills they could score at range, against predominantly tactical aircraft with limited jamming capability, the better they'd do when it came to the merge. The RAF, by contrast, was looking at intercepting Bear-Ds and Backfires over the North Sea. These wern't difficult targets kinetically, but they were stuffed full of powerful and sophisticated jammers with dedicated operators, so Skyflash's choices were the more appropriate ones.

As I understand it, Sparrow didn't achieve Skyflash levels of accuracy and jamming-resistance until the AIM-9M.

[Gondor]

As I understand it, Sparrow didn't achieve Skyflash levels of accuracy and jamming-resistance until the AIM-9M.

I take it that's a typo?

Gondor

[Thorvic]

Basically you need to study photos of the missiles on the Tornado F-3 and 80s Phantoms in the ADV role to assess the markings, to see what the difference is between Skyflash and Sparrows used elsewhere. I have a feeling Skyflash had rectangular markings between the fins and the warhead, but don't quote me on that 

[Weaver]

As I understand it, Sparrow didn't achieve Skyflash levels of accuracy and jamming-resistance until the AIM-9M.

I take it that's a typo?

Gondor

Sorry, yes - AIM-7M

[Weaver]

Basically you need to study photos of the missiles on the Tornado F-3 and 80s Phantoms in the ADV role to assess the markings, to see what the difference is between Skyflash and Sparrows used elsewhere. I have a feeling Skyflash had rectangular markings between the fins and the warhead, but don't quote me on that 

Yes - wern't the black panels dielectric covers for the proximity fuse?

[Weaver]

One of my modelling projects is for an RAF Air Defence F-4 carrying the Skyflash missile. I am wanting to portray the missile as reasonably close to real life as possible as its the aircraft and not its armament that is the whiff, does anyone know what the differences between the Skyflash were externally and if there are differences is there a specific after market set for the missiles in 1/72?

Gondor

As Harro has said, externaly Skyflash and Sparrow are identical. Internaly they were compleatly different
So the weapons techs did not get confused, all RAF skyflash missles were marked with a large blue dot on the forward fins to tell them apart from the Sparrow.

I have a feeling that the blue dots were dropped once the interceptor force went all-Tornado and there were no more Sparrows to get mixed up with. Having said that, there would inevitably have been a cross-over period....

[Gondor]

I will look at copious amounts of pictures to see if I can come up with something now that I have a rough idea what to look for and knowing the fact that no physical alterations need occur.

Gondor