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The plane was an RF-4C #66-413 Phantom.
Pilot: #186 TRG-Capt. Rich McCann.
Rizzo: #153 TRS-Capt. Bruce Larson.
Mississippi Air National Guard.

When I figure out how to put-up the video of this on a web site, I'll link it here (if someone will tell me how). The sight and sound, and the resultant damage are awesome............FRegards

gonzo ,
I sent the photos on this thread to a California research scientist , "friend". He sent me back this reply.
Please understand I do not doubt you, but , Mickey has been involved with the aircraft industry since the 40's!
He perfected the airfoil of the USAF Stealth for Northrop!

Shock waves begin to form on the best designed airplane at M = .80. That's what limits the cruise speed of jet transports. The drag goes up when shock waves form and the fuel costs become prohibitive. When the sun is right you can often see shadows of these shocks on the wing of a 707 or DC-8 flying at M = .80.

Those pictures of planes supposedly going supersonic need some explanation. It looks to me that at the instant of the picture the planes are going about M =.90? If it were going supersonic the condensation would not begin ahead of the shock since the air won't even know it's coming. (Notice if you can, that the condensation terminates at the local shock).

On my first day of work in 1947, at the NACA, Langley High Speed wind tunnel, I was assigned the job of reading the angle of the model at each test point by looking through a window with an inclinometer. Wow, I could see shock waves with my naked eye! I have been looking at them and calculating their properties ever since. There are a lot of misconceptions about shock waves even among top scientists.

If you want to understand shock waves or anything else, you better understand God's well proven laws of math and physics.

Shema Yisroel
Adenoi Elehanu
Adenoi Echod

Mickey,