An F-15E Strike Eagle in F-111 camouflage, and the nostalgia for the pre-gray era

April 15 marked the 40th anniversary of Operation El Dorado Canyon, a military operation against the dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya.

Israel releases photos of its nuclear-capable F-15I Ra’am fighter jets after Iranian attack
Japan imitates the Super Hornet from 'Top Gun Maverick' with one of its F-15 Eagle fighters

The Libyan dictatorship was supporting far-left terrorist groups in several European countries. On April 5, 1986, Libyan agents carried out a terrorist attack against the La Belle nightclub in West Berlin. Three people were killed in the attack, including two U.S. service members. In addition, 229 people were injured, 79 of whom were members of the U.S. Armed Forces.

In response to that attack, then-President Ronald Reagan ordered a counter-operation, codenamed Operation El Dorado Canyon. The United States Armed Forces attacked several military targets in Tripoli, Benghazi, Benina, and Mitiga. The United States Air Force launched 48 missiles (mostly AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles) and 300 bombs, mostly conventional Mk-82 bombs, against Libya.

One of the units that participated in that attack was the 494th Fighter Squadron (494th FS) "Panthers" of the U.S. Air Force (USAF), based at RAF Lakenheath, England, and equipped at that time with the famous General Dynamics F-111F Aardvark fighter-bombers (above, we can see two photos of them, the first from 1980 and the second from October 1986), with variable-sweep wings. This model remained in service with that unit until the arrival in 1992 of the new McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle fighter-bombers, a variant of the F-15 Eagle.

Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of that operation, the 494th FS has decorated one of its F-15E Strike Eagles with a camouflage scheme, reminiscent of the livery of its former F-111Fs.

The F-111Fs of the 494th FS wore the camouflage pattern known as Southeast Asia (SEA) Tactical Camouflage, also often called SEA Vietnam Camouflage, as it was the scheme used by the USAF during the Vietnam War. This camouflage scheme consisted of three colors: dark forest green (FS 34079), medium green (FS 34102), and dark tan (FS 30219).

The SEA Vietnam Camouflage was a very attractive camouflage scheme, and this F-15E looks great in it. For years, the standard livery for combat aircraft, both interceptors and attack aircraft, has been gray, either in different shades or a uniform color. The purpose of the current gray livery is to make aircraft less visible in the air, both to ground-based air defenses and to enemy aircraft.

Honestly, seeing these images makes one nostalgic for the days of camouflaged aircraft, a feeling that often comes when seeing, for example the F-15 fighter jets of the Israeli Air Force, which still today fly with a camouflage scheme known as the Desert Camouflage Scheme, made up of three colors: dark tan or dark brown (FS 30219), green (FS 34424) and sand (FS 33531).

If we're talking about naval fighters, the nostalgia intensifies. In the 1960s and 70s, the US Navy's carrier-based aircraft resembled a flying circus, with flamboyant liveries that emphasized each squadron's colors more than the actual US insignia. They were a sight to behold. The new low-visibility liveries are so bland...

I encourage you to share your opinion in the comments on this topic: Do you prefer aircraft painted in gray or with the old camouflage or high-visibility naval paint schemes? If you'd like to compare, yesterday Elwyn R posted a video recorded at the Welsh Mach Loop in which we can see that F-15E with the SEA Vietnam Camouflage and another F-15E from the 494th FS with its usual gray scheme:

---

Photos: U.S. Air Force.