L.A.B.S. (Low altitude bombing system)

Here we go, let's see what happens.

This article is in the 1957 Edition of the Boys' Book of Flight, a fantastic technical snapshot of the aircraft and techniques of the time, and has this nice bit relevant to this thread. The Whole book is full of Fairey Deltas, and other delights of when we used to make aircraft.

I can't see boys today being interested in this amount of detail...

-Steve

Attached files Boys' Book of Flight 1957_OPT4.pdf (1.7 MB) 

PNK;84400 wrote:

Superb. I remember getting hand-me-down books from that era and into the early 60s and the numbers of test aircraft used to illustrate them was quite significant. As a result of these books, most of which were too technical for me at the time, that era has become my favourite for aircraft.
Sadly LABS is outside the scope of my current project but has proved an interesting distraction.

Exactly the reason I love this era too. The test aircraft hangar at Cosford is just like walking into the pages of this book.

Canberra said:

Peter at Tain aircraft using target one for LABS when I there tended mainly to be Buccaneers from Lossiemouth and F111s. Bussc used 28lb smoke and flash, the F111s tended to use 6lb bombs. Incidentally one Bucc actually had a DH on the target!

Ah...yes, by then the 28 pound PB had come into service and was representative of the current nuclear bomb ballistics. The old grey matter forgot that one, thanks.

Photo here inside Canberra WE188 which was a LABS trainer,I worked on her many times on 231 OCU early-mid 70's.
If you look carefully you can see the 'Pig Sticker' under the rudder pedals (used to lock the control column fwd when swinging the stbd seat fwd for Nav access to rear cockpit)

www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=...zmV3UNiUoPbDWnBUQaDw

Peter:

I well remember RAF Germany Canberras flying a typical LABS profile on Wainfleet, as well as USAF F100 Super Sabres. Quite how the LABS profile differed from a toss or a loft profile, I'm not sure. Presumably the exact profile was developed depending on the ballistics of the weapon to be used. I seem to remember Buccaneers flying 'over-the-shoulder toss', but again without some digging I can't remember the detail of the profile.

All the Canberra and F100 action in those far off days was all pretty spectacular and I well remember spending days in the school summer holidays sitting in the sun on the sea bank watching it all happen. Isn't it amazing that in those times every day was full of sunshine?

From the 'Boy's Book of Flight 1957'

www.dropbox.com/s/hjrbwdwwjn8is7u/labs%2...201957_opt4.pdf?dl=0