USN The Slow Death Of The Carrier Air Wing - Or a CSAR Threadjack

[ChuckMK23]

I just think the Air Force has the CSAR mindset nailed. Since the earlilest Jolly/Super Jolly AAR was always a requirement.

Nice video of AF CSAR guys prepping an alert aircraft. meticulous.

 

[Jim123]

I always giggle when I read the part in Red Storm Rising where the P-3 crew had a Harpoon malfunction. So true to life, even 2 decades later.

I think the finally tally on HSL practice shots with the Penguin missile was close to half of them just falling in the ocean or being hang fires.

I remember an old stock of sonobuoys we were using for some workups when the drogue chute didn’t come out of one... it just tumbled, falling for hundreds of feet and made a nice little splash. Hehehehe that was fun to watch! We figured tune it up anyway and much to our surprise it worked.

 

[Brett327]

I think the finally tally on HSL practice shots with the Penguin missile was close to half of them just falling in the ocean or being hang fires.

I remember an old stock of sonobuoys we were using for some workups when the drogue chute didn’t come out of one... it just tumbled, falling for hundreds of feet and made a nice little splash. Hehehehe that was fun to watch! We figured tune it up anyway and much to our surprise it worked.

Those chutes are more to prevent tumbling and ensure proper orientation upon water entry than reducing the shock of impact. Those things are pretty tough - I'm not surprised it worked.

 

[Gatordev]

During my first tour, we had several events where we got to play with a Japanese sub that had just come off the assembly line. Unfortunately during one event, a third party was hanging out off of Waikiki, so it was an active-only party, which made the whole thing worthless. To add to that, we had a batch of wet drogue chutes like Jim mentioned, so every buoy we spit turned into an explosion of CADILLAC parts. There was no tuning those up.

Fun fact: after getting bored and then you do a radar run-in on said third-party, they actually really do light you up, even off of Waikiki. ESM tests SAT.

 

[fc2spyguy]

Fun fact: after getting bored and then you do a radar run-in on said third-party, they actually really do light you up, even off of Waikiki. ESM tests SAT.

Oh the humanity! I sure hope Pravda made sure to report that all over the place! I mean, we get upset when a Bear comes to within 30 miles of our coast. I'm sure glad that we never bug other parties like that.

 

[Gatordev]

I'm convinced those on the ship were just as bored as we were and decided to play along with us.

 

[fc2spyguy]

I'm convinced those on the ship were just as bored as we were and decided to play along with us.

You probably helped them with their DRRS-N requirements and turned a red box green. They were probably just as happy about it as you were. Vlad got a good fitrep bullet out of it too!

-Intimidating Officer. In the face of the oppressive capitalist pigs showed great courage and resolve in engaging the enemy. The enemy fearfully departed the area, never to be seen again. In Soviet Russia, capitalist run from you!

 

[GroundPounder]

You probably helped them with their DRRS-N requirements and turned a red box green. They were probably just as happy about it as you were. Vlad got a good fitrep bullet out of it too!

-Intimidating Officer. In the face of the oppressive capitalist pigs showed great courage and resolve in engaging the enemy. The enemy fearfully departed the area, never to be seen again. In Soviet Russia, capitalist run from you!

Maybe this should do into the stupid question thread, but I've heard many times that in the late 70s or early 80s that a Bear lasered the cockpit of on of our guys that went up to intercept them. Supposedly the pilot was affected enough that he had trouble seeing well enough to land. Sounds like an old wives tale, and obviously the answer might be in the secret squirrel realm.

I'm familiar with some of the stuff they did on the ground side on the West German border, it does not sound altogether impossible.

 

[HAL Pilot]

I don’t know about air to air laser, but their surface vessels used lasers on P-3s and helps many times causing eye damage in some cases.

 

[jmcquate]

Just cordial radio chatter and holding op of Coke bottles/cans and Playboy centerfolds from the tail gunner............never heard stories of lasers.

 

[Griz882]

Just cordial radio chatter and holding op of Coke bottles/cans and Playboy centerfolds from the tail gunner............never heard stories of lasers.

Like this?

 

[jmcquate]

Not quite, a T-38/F-5 really can maneuver a little better than a TU-95 (or a MiG-28),

 

[ChuckMK23]

Forgive the thread resurrection but I think you guys will enjoy this - recollections of a Vietnam Era H-3 CSAR pilot.

I look forward to reading your impressions.

 

[JIMC5499]

Grenada was the last time the Navy did a CSAR though it was technically 'on the beach' instead of over it, it was an ad hoc rescue much like the entire operation. That mission and the entire history of CSAR are profiled in Leave No Man Behind: The Saga of Combat Search and Rescue, an excellent though lengthy book chronicling the history of US military CSAR from the very beginning to today.

HS-15 Harvey Fielding and Gerry Carroll. I joined the squadron just after that happened.

 

[croakerfish]

Forgive the thread resurrection but I think you guys will enjoy this - recollections of a Vietnam Era H-3 CSAR pilot.

I look forward to reading your impressions.

That was great! Interesting to hear about how some stuff never changes, and some of the stuff that sounds absolutely insane today was SOP. I love the description of the above-max-gross weight shipboard takeoffs. Also tossing the rescue hook from the cabin like a lifeguard then doing a tac-hoist from the same approach because there's too much heat coming your way. How the hell do you strap in with balls that big? I'm going to show this to our studs.