North American RA-5C Flasher Pod

14 August 2021: Jerry Wells provided me with maintenance manual details that required a slight revision to the drawing

 9 August 2021: I should have checked with Boom Powell before I posted this...

For night photography, the RA-5C could be fitted with a self-powered flasher pod, part of the LS-43AI "Flasher System Photographic, Aircraft".

A propeller was mounted on the aft end of the pod to provide the power required for the electronic flash. Flares had previously been used by the Navy but the technology dated back to World War II: https://invention.si.edu/seeing-dark-aerial-reconnaissance-wwii

From Vigilante!

"The pod had three strobe lamps, powered by the air stream, which generated 3 million candlepower in a 43-degree cone of illumination. The flasher pods could be set to flash either together or alternately, depending on the altitude and speed of the aircraft. The alternate mode gave each pod more time to recharge and therefore a brighter flash. The maximum usable altitude was 3,500 feet above the ground... The NATOPS Manual warned (because of the 2,600-volt capacitors), 'Do not touch for 10 minutes after power off' and 'Flasher can inflict PERMANENT BLINDNESS' ".

I created this drawing from odds and ends of documentation as well as photographs not well suited to the task but I think it will be adequate as a modeling reference (note: Rev A corrects the shape of the small cooling air inlet at the front of the pod; Rev B corrects the aft end of the pylon where it attaches to the wing). Unlike other air-driven ECM/IFR pods, the generator was turned by a propeller with only two blades.

The pod could be mounted under either wing:

This picture should suffice for a cross section:

Boom Powell Collection