Looking for recent images of F-15E 01-2003

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bushande
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed 14 Jan 2015, 2:46 pm

Looking for recent images of F-15E 01-2003

Post by bushande »

Hello gentlemen,

I hope this is the correct place to post my request and that it is not too much of a bother.
I'm looking for RECENT images of F-15E Strike Eagle 01-2003, particularly the left side of the bird.

From July 12-14th I had the chance to visit the famed mach loop the first time and was lucky enough to catch the Strike Eagles on July 13th and 14th.
01-2003 came through on July 13th and that was actually my first Strike Eagle I would have seen "in action". So I'm trying to gather now some intel on the jet and most of all some current reference images with some details. (little modelling endeavour. :biggrin: :oops: )
I was at CAD west, i.e. have only some more or less presentable images of her top and right side.

As far as I was able to gather, she seems to be allocated to the 494th FS which would also fit the red/white banderole on the tailfin. However, I have found quite some confusing images on the web, depicting 01-2003 with a 494th squadron logo in the past years; but I also came across some apparently fairly recent images of the bird carrying a 492nd FS insignia in April 2016 but still with a red/white tailband (which would actually indicate an allocation to the 494th if I'm not mistaken about the correlation between tailband color and FS?).

Can anyone of you help me out and shed some light into this issue for me? Maybe someone around here has been at CAD East on July 13th and might be able to provide some reference of 01-2003s left side?
That would help me a great deal.

In any case, a huge THANK YOU in advance for any help or good advice.

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Kokpit
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Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 9:28 pm
Location: The Fens

Re: Looking for recent images of F-15E 01-2003

Post by Kokpit »

Not sure if this is any help, but I've got these from January?

ImageIMG_4881 by Kev Gregory, on Flickr

ImageIMG_4969 by Kev Gregory, on Flickr

ImageTouchdown by Kev Gregory, on Flickr

ImageIMG_5254 by Kev Gregory, on Flickr

ImageIMG_5259 by Kev Gregory, on Flickr

Irish251
Posts: 58
Joined: Sat 24 Oct 2009, 4:42 pm

Re: Looking for recent images of F-15E 01-2003

Post by Irish251 »

This was at Lakenheath two days ago.

Image01-2003 F-15E Strike Eagle by Irish251, on Flickr

bushande
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed 14 Jan 2015, 2:46 pm

Re: Looking for recent images of F-15E 01-2003

Post by bushande »

Thank you two very much for the nice help and the quick responses. I appreciate your effort a lot.

This already helps a bit. It seems to confirm my assumption that there has been a swap between the squadrons. I wonder if this happens a lot?! I always thought that the red/white banderoles belonged to the 494th and henceforth the blue/white stripes would imply allocation to the 492nd but that doesn't seem to be the case?!

@Irish251: Thanks for posting the nice image. You don't probably have caught her left side as well, do you? That would make it pretty much certain for me.

Sorry for being a nagg here.

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David Vincent
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Joined: Fri 08 Jan 2016, 5:53 am

Re: Looking for recent images of F-15E 01-2003

Post by David Vincent »

Here's a couple of images of 01-2003 at RAF Fairford in 2012, not recent but it's still in the same scheme. Apologies for the quality of the second image, it's not as sharp as it could be!

Image

Image
...a man too long without sleep, looking for a shortcut that he never found.

bushande
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed 14 Jan 2015, 2:46 pm

Re: Looking for recent images of F-15E 01-2003

Post by bushande »

Thank you very much for the kind effort. Much appreciated.
This portraits exactly what I'm all about with this bird.
On your 2012 shots she seems to be with the 494th as the logo on the fast pack apparently indicates.
Now it SEEMS she's suddenly with the 492nd?! .... ord not?
Maybe I'm just not seeing well, I don't know, I could be mistaked?! That's what's puzzling me.

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David Vincent
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Re: Looking for recent images of F-15E 01-2003

Post by David Vincent »

It certainly appears to have switched squadrons since 2012 but the fin bands remain red, whereas I, perhaps mistakenly, thought the 492nd had blue fin bands. Here's the unit badges for more detail:

492nd Fighter Squadron:

Image

494th Fighter Squadron:

Image

48th Fighter Wing:

Image
...a man too long without sleep, looking for a shortcut that he never found.

bushande
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed 14 Jan 2015, 2:46 pm

Re: Looking for recent images of F-15E 01-2003

Post by bushande »

Thanks a lot again for the nice help!
Those were exactly my thoughts too. I always had been rather certain, that the ribbons and their colors indicate the squadron along the insignia on the fast pack. But apparently that does not seem to be the case with this ship anymore?!

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Beefy
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Re: Looking for recent images of F-15E 01-2003

Post by Beefy »

bushande wrote:Thank you very much for the kind effort. Much appreciated.
This portraits exactly what I'm all about with this bird.
On your 2012 shots she seems to be with the 494th as the logo on the fast pack apparently indicates.
Now it SEEMS she's suddenly with the 492nd?! .... ord not?
Maybe I'm just not seeing well, I don't know, I could be mistaked?! That's what's puzzling me.


Or it is simply that at some point between 2012 and the present day, the jet has had it's conformal fuel tanks removed during maintenance. I'm unsure however if that would have been at depot level in the states or on-base. When the conformal tanks have been re-fitted, those from a 492ndFS jet have been installed on this aircraft. If it is flying with other jets from the 494th and using call-signs from the 494th, then it's a safe bet that it is still with the 494th.

bushande
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed 14 Jan 2015, 2:46 pm

Re: Looking for recent images of F-15E 01-2003

Post by bushande »

Now that's an interesting thought really! That might even make more sense. Might as well be the case. If I zoom in on some of my shots I think I can make out a Panthers patch on the right shoulder of the WSO?! Might as well be just the way you suggest.

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