VMCJ-1 RF-4B tensioned in the port bow catapult aboard USS Midway. This is a good view of how the bridle is attached to the a/c. It is one continuous cable with a loop on each end that attaches to an aft facing hook inside each wing. At the end of the catapult shot, as the RF-4B leaves the deck, the bridle slips out of the hooks. The bridle is reusable as it is captured before going overboard. All current USN carrier aircraft have a launch bar attached to the nose gear that has replaced the old bridle hookup.

VMCJ-1 EA-6A tensioned in the starboard catapult aboard USS Midway during operations off Okinawa. In the lower right corner is a member of the catapult crew with the weight board. The weight board is shown to each pilot before launch to verify that the take off weight setting being entered in the catapult control is correct.

Photographer: Hideki Nagakubo.

VMCJ-1 was based at Atsugi in Japan but operated with several aircraft from USS Midway in 1974. This aircraft was lost at sea while on approach to the carrier on 3 November 1974.

Photographer: Toshiyuki Toda

Photographer: Frank MacSorley.

Photographer: Toshiyuki Toda

VMCJ-1 operated the RF-4B from Iwakuni, Japan, until this unit was decommissioned in September 1975. During 1975, the unit was deployed to the USS Midway (hence the USN style code 607), which provided air cover for the evacuation of Saigon in the Spring of 1975. This photo might very well be taken after arrival of the VMCJ-1 aircraft back in the USA.