| Here's the tail markings for VA-125.
Norm called the Navy to verify the proper numbers for the airplane and
they gave them 412 as the proper side number. Most of the planes
at NAS Lemoore had only the last two digits painted on top of the tail,
but VA-125 actually painted all three. The captains plane always
ended in the numbers 00. So this was one error, painting only two
numbers on the tail. There was a second error, however. This
was that the real side numbers for VA-125 were 500 series, so this plane
would actually have 512 painted on the tail and on the side as you will
see in the photos of the plane taken in 1976 later in this exhibit series.
As far as everything else, it looks perfect. These guys did a great
job.
All the time in the Navy, I never knew
what the letters NJ stood for. I asked both Norm and Chuck and neither
of them knew. So on 10-2001, I called VA-125 themselves and spoke
to the Maintenance Chief and the Executive Officer, neither of them knew.
Finally, after a couple of months one of the pilots that actually flew
this plane, Gordon Doody, called me about the
A-7 Exhibits on this site.
He told me that they stood for the CAG (Carrier Air Group) In this
case the Training Group, (I think). If anyone knows, please send
me an email at the bottom of this page. |
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