General Dynamics F-111F

General Dynamics F-111F (HM1L1F)

Location: Bowling Green, KY 42104 Warren County
Buy Kentucky State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 36° 55.18', W 86° 26.106'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 518 views
Inscription

Colonel Arnie Franklin USAF

 Arnold L. "Arnie" Franklin, Jr. was born in Franklin, KY, and his family moved to Bowling Green, KY, when he was 10 years old. He graduated from Bowling Green High School in 1962 and Western Kentucky University in 1966. He joined the USAF immediately thereafter, completing Undergraduate Pilot Training in 1968.

 During his Air Force career, he accumulated 3,500 flying hours, with a total of over 780 combat hours while flying OV-10s and F-111s in Southeast Asia and RAF Lakenheath, England. Annie held numerous command positions, including F-111 wing commander, and vice commander of Air University

 He earned several military awards and decorations, including the Legion of Merit with one oak leaf cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross with one oak leaf cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, and the Air Medal with 15 oak leaf clusters.

OPERATION COLORADO CANYON
 At 0200, 15 April 1986, Lieutenant Colonel Arnie Franklin, call sign Remit 31, led 18 General Dynamics F-111Fs out of the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing, stationed at Royal Air Force Station, Lakenheath, England, on a mission bombing three targets in and around Tripoli, the capital of Libya.
The U.S. Navy simultaneously bombed two target areas near Benghazi, on the eastern shore of of the Gulf of Sidra. The objective of the mission was to demonstrate national resolve to combat state sponsored terrorism. The mission served as a warning against continued Libyan-sponsored terrorist attacks around the world. The grueling mission lasted more than 14 hours with numerous air-to-air refuelings.
  The F-111F aircraft that Lt Col Franklin flew on the mission, tail number 70-2390, is on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. The aircraft on display
here at Aviation Heritage Park also participated in the raid, flying on Franklin's wing, with call sign Remit 33. It went on to participate in Desert Storm, flying 56 sorties in 46 nights. This aircraft was retired from active duty and flown to the bone yard in Tucson, Arizona on 29 July 1996, where it remained until taken out of storage by Aviation Heritage Park in 2012. It is painted as it looked when it launched on El Dorado Canyon.

This aircraft is on loan from the National Museum of the United States Air Force


Crew: 2 (pilot and weapons system officer)
Length: 73 ft 6 in
Wingspan:
Spread: 63 ft
Swept: 32 ft
Height: 17 ft
Weight:
Empty: 49,500 lb
Full fuel: 82,800 lb
Max take-off weight: 100,000 lb
Powerplant: 2 X Pratt & Whitney TF-30-P-100 turbofans
  Military thrust: 17,900 lbf each
  Max afterburner: 25,100 lbf each
Max Speed: Mach 2.5 at altitude
Combat radius: 1,330 miles
Ferry range: 4,200 miles
Service ceiling: 66,000 ft
Armament: 20mm M61 Vulcan 6-barreled gatling cannon
  Armament capacity: A mix of up to 24 conventional or nuclear weapons mounted externally on hard points or internally in weapons bay.
Details
HM NumberHM1L1F
Tags
Year Placed2013
Placed ByThe Bowling Green Aviation Heritage Center
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Wednesday, June 10th, 2015 at 6:01pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)16S E 550315 N 4086109
Decimal Degrees36.91966667, -86.43510000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 36° 55.18', W 86° 26.106'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds36° 55' 10.8" N, 86° 26' 6.36" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)270
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 4883-4999 Smallhouse Rd, Bowling Green KY 42104, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. This marker needs at least one picture.
  9. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  10. Is the marker in the median?