OV-1 Mohawk ejection seat

[itshistory]

Working from 10 year old memory can be faulty. I reviewed my work photos and the switch on the seat is not the canopy jettison interlink it is the trip switch for the AN/APX-72 transponder which would mark by beacon where the aircraft crashed.

 

IH

[Cobrahistorian]

Keep it going guys! I'm learning a heck of a lot, even though my feeble aviator brain isn't comprehending everything here.

 

Chris, I'm actually getting motivated to start on that Mohawk kit.... right after I finish up the P-51, P-47, P-40, B-29 and A-26....

 

Jon

[itshistory]

Since you asked about the MkJ5D with the rounded flexible handle here is an illustration of the MkJ5D as built and presented by Martin Baker. Many features of the MkJ5B can be seen integrated into this iteration. The US Army found shortcomings in this model but MB was not keen to make changes to the seat hence the US Army hired subcontractors in the US to make the desired changes. The photograph shows the MkJ5D after the US Army had the mods made. These included a new rigid seat survival kit with seat pad, new thigh supports with pads that included a coiled line for use if caught in a tree, New lumbar support with pad, a new parachute box to delay degradation by sun exposure, a new reshaped rigid overhead pull handle and a Tip Off Compensating Rocket under the seat bucket. The TCR improved stability and trajectory after the seat was ejected.

 

IH

Illustration from Martin Baker web site

[northcoastaero]

Interesting info on the earlier flexible upper ejection handle and the later rigid. I have seen F-8 Crusader and A-6 Intruder MBEU seats with the earlier handle loop(s)

being the rigid handle and the later era seats having the flexible type.

[mohawkALSE]

Chris, what gives the survival kit cases on your J5B seats their form? I'm still trying to find out more info about the old soft pack seat kits used on the original seats. I know you said the kits had no contents but I was wondering if there's a rigid container inside that nylon bag under the seat cushion.

[itshistory]

Under the seat cushion is a nylon bag/case. Laced into that is a hard plastic type of case which is empty. It is olive drab green and has writing on it describing what it is.

 

IH

[mohawkALSE]

Any chance you can get a pic of the hard plastic case and its nomenclature?

[itshistory]

Any chance you can get a pic of the hard plastic case and its nomenclature?

 

No. It's not an easy task releasing everything, pulling it apart, unlacing it, then reversing the process. For one person it is difficult.

 

IH

[mohawkALSE]

Roger that. Id love to put together one of the early style kits. I still want to complete a J5D RSSK but its near impossible due to the scarcity of the soft equipment bag that goes in the rigid container. I found some info that showed the Army only ever ordered like 792 of them total, and Ive only seen 1 ever for sale. I think many years ago I saw a soft case for the earlier J5A/B kits with its original contents.

[itshistory]

More oddball seat stuff. As I'm going through my storage container finding all the Mohawk ejection seat parts I came across these. One is the late face curtain used on the MkJ5D. The other is the early metal lower pull handle for the MkJ5B. While the face curtain is obviously used and dated January 1988, the metal handle has only the Martin Baker manufacture stamp and part numbers and is pristine. I have forgotten just how much stuff I had, parachute harness, oxygen hose, risers, head rests and so on. I should have opened a salvage shop.

 

IH

[Mashsig]

Roger that. Id love to put together one of the early style kits. I still want to complete a J5D RSSK but its near impossible due to the scarcity of the soft equipment bag that goes in the rigid container. I found some info that showed the Army only ever ordered like 792 of them total, and Ive only seen 1 ever for sale. I think many years ago I saw a soft case for the earlier J5A/B kits with its original contents.

MohawkALSE - I have seen the Overwater "Soft" kit bags for sale on eBay. In fact I may have two of them because at the time I thought they were the "Para raft kit" bag. (They sure do look like the one that Breuninger shows on page 128 of USCASE)

 

Also - if you can find a Vietnam era Individual Survival kit - you will just about have all of the components for your "soft" kit! The components are the same! Except for three additions - one for each kit. You already have the OV-1 frying pan!

 

Refer to the 23&P (see my fire starter butane topic reply to your post) table 2-1, page 2-21 reflects: "For inspection of individual components of the RSSK (hot, old and overwarter), refer to items 83 through 152. Additional components of the RSSK which are not listed in itmes 83 through 152 are listed as follows: RSSK Hot Climate Components, RSSK Cold Climate Components, and RSSK Overwater Components." On the next page (2-22) the "Personnel lowering device" and the "Butane lighter fire starter" are the only two non RSSK specific components that are mentioned for all three kits. The Cold climate kit has only one non RSSK specific component entry in the table on page 2-22 "Survival use of the parachute manual" and the Overwater kit has only one non RSSK specific component entry in the table on pages 2-22 and 2-23 "Motion sickness tablets".

 

Of course all of this is contingent on the fact that my research is correct and the "soft" kits had the same components as the larger Army Individual Survival Kits. I believe that am correct because of the new information source that I mentioned. Important note - the source that I mentioned repeatedly tells Army ALSE personnel that units in Vietnam had priority for all survival equipment and that CONUS units would have to make do with "alternative" components.