On the right you cant miss the giant gray airplane parked just off the road.
This is an F-111A Aardvark.
It serves to catch the eye and draw you in to Turners Army Surplus store.
Although classified as a fighter, the F-111 Aardvark earned its keep as a tactical bomber, strategic bomber and electronic warfare bird. Image: Master Sgt. Buster Kellum/U.S. Air Force
Turners Army Surplus is a throwback to a better time.
It is chock full of musty old canvas, high-mileage fatigues, and sundry GI-issue ephemera.
The F-111 fighter-bomber was one seriously cool ride.
A left-side air-to-air view of an F-111 aircraft dropping four bombs on a target range. Image: NARA
563 airframes were produced, 76 of which were the FB-111 variant.
The F-111 was birthed as a result of the shootdown of Gary Powers U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft in 1960.
Leading that charge was the Aardvark.
During the 1988 SAC Bomb Competition, an F-111 fighter-bomber from Pease AFB, New Hampshire takes off. Image: NARA
The F-111 pioneered a variety of technologies considered commonplace today.
It was indeed ground-breaking for its era.
The plane was christened Aardvark based upon the way it operated most comfortably at low level.
An underside view of an F-111 aircraft, armed with bombs on its wing pylons, flies over RAF Lakenheath. Technical Sgt. Jose Lopez/U.S. Air Force
Like the African anteater that shared its name, the machine was most at home down in the dirt.
Aardvark is an Afrikaans word that literally translates Earth Pig.
The Aussies called the big plane The Pig as a result.
An F-111 from the 523rd Fighter Squadron, Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, sits on the ramp in 1995. The swing wings were fully extended for maximum life on take-off. Image: NARA
Each service had different requirements.
The powers that be even struggled to determine if the big plane would be a fighter or bomber.
The Navy eventually backed out of the project in favor of theF-14 Tomcat.
A ground crew loads practice bombs on an F-111 during the 1981 Strike Command Bombing Competition held between the U.S.A.F. and R.A.F. Image: Master Sgt. Don Sutherland/U.S. Air Force
The plane had a maximum speed of 1,650 mph or Mach 2.5.
Its range was 3,210 nautical miles.
This assembly was even designed to float in the event of a water landing.
An F-111 aircraft banking to the left over the Nellis Air Force Base range is carrying 24 Mark 82 low-drag 500 lb. bombs. Image: Ken Hackman/U.S. Air Force
The few times this system was used for real it worked OK, but not great.
It was, however, nonetheless quite cool.
On its initial deployment in 1968, three aircraft were lost in a mere 55 missions.
An F-111 Aardvark from the 523rd Fighter Squadron lifts off from the runway at RAF Fairford, UK, beginning a mission in support of Operation Central Enterprise ’95. Image: NARA
This abysmal performance prompted the Air Force to undertake a detailed analysis of the airplane.
Deficiencies were noted and rectified.
The F-111 did not see action in SE Asia again until Operation Linebacker II in 1972.
Four U.S. F-111 fly over the Great Pyramids near Cairo during Bright Star ’83. Image: NARA
By then the terrain following radar had matured enough to make it safe and effective.
A typical attack profile had the F-111 ingress at 480 knots and 200 feet.
By the end of the war the F-111 had flown 4,000 combat missions for the loss of six aircraft.
Commercial aircraft just wouldnt cut it.
The heart made it on time, and Reinhardt survived.
President Ronald Reagan subsequently unleashed the U.S. military in response.
These 18 aircraft joined another 25 Navy carrier-based planes to attack a variety of targets in Libya.
The round-trip mission for the Varks spanned 6,400 miles and took 13 hours along with multiple aerial refueling operations.
The strike package successfully delivered 60 tons of ordnance in 12 minutes.
However, the reason the mission was so long was surprising.
