A-5 Vigilante question

duncank

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Hi there, I am a long time lurker and I thought i'd make a post about a question I have regarding the A-5 Vigilante.

This aircraft was capapult launch by using a bridle arrangement and not he more recent tow-bar arrangement.

From photographic sources it appears as if the bridle cable attaches to a single position beneath the airframe and not the usual twin pickups used of that era.

Can anyone confirm this for me?
 
Racer said:
Those two hooks are used to hold the launch bridle; carrier aircraft in the 50's and up the late 60's used them to connect to the catapult shuttle until the catapult towbar was integrated into the nose gear starting in the 70's. That's also why you see the "horns" extending from the forward part of the carrier on those carriers built in the 50's and 60's; those were used to catch the bridles.
 
HeavyG said:
Racer said:
Those two hooks are used to hold the launch bridle; carrier aircraft in the 50's and up the late 60's used them to connect to the catapult shuttle until the catapult towbar was integrated into the nose gear starting in the 70's. That's also why you see the "horns" extending from the forward part of the carrier on those carriers built in the 50's and 60's; those were used to catch the bridles.

If I remember right, CVN-68 was the last carrier built with three horns, later reduced to one and then all were removed as bridle equipped a/c were phased out. CVNs 69 & 70 started out with one which was later removed, and starting with CVN-71 they were built without them.
 
Cutaway:
 

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Here's the forum topic on Vigilante-based interceptors:
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,1127.msg9060.html#msg9060
 
Picture from Alamy shows launch bridle on the RA-5. Because of the reconnaissance 'canoe' a twin hookup arrangement was probably used. Possibly a single bridle hookup on other models.
 

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