Finally! I get to do something with that Pave Knife pod I spent half a year trying to draw!
A quick recap is in order—Dean Failor, an F-4 "Guy In Back" had been hounding me to look into the laser-guided bomb program of the Vietnam War. I took the bait and ended up absolutely fascinated by the technology, passion, danger and importance of it all and promised him that I'd draw the "the knife."
However, the process was like trying to catch flies with chopsticks—for such an influential piece of technology, there just wasn't much out there, especially in terms of photographic references. But, fortune prevailed; over the next few weeks, I'll be drawing the F-4 of 433rd TFS Squadron Commander, Richard Hilton.
Be warned, this won't be a terribly glamorous F-4. In fact, according to Hilton's "Form-5" she's a run-of-the-mill D-model clad in nothing more remarkable than a few years of wear, tear and faded paint. But, from what I know of her pilot, I don't think glamor matters too much.
Over the next post or two, we'll be heading "North" to see if Hilton & Co. can finally put a hole in that bridge.
What bridge? Well, on May 10 and 11, 1972, there was only one bridge that really mattered...
(more to come)
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| ©Richard Hilton. |
