RIP James Holloway

[Griz882]

ADM James Holloway, three war veteran, combat pilot, CNO, and “daddy” of the F-18 passed away the other day.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...e8990c-1171-11ea-9cd7-a1becbc82f5e_story.html

He was a great sailor with a ton of remarkable experiences behind him.

 

[HuggyU2]

To someone who played a key role in Naval Aviation's history.
Nickel on the grass... ?

 

[Waveoff]

lord almighty that ribbon rack

 

[Griz882]

View attachment 23833
lord almighty that ribbon rack

Well...when you;

1. Direct a night-time torpedo attack against a battleship from the gun-director of a Fletcher Class destroyer and,

2. After that service earn your wings and fly numerous strikes in a F9F Panther (taking command of a squadron after your CO is downed) and;

3. Command America's first nuclear powered aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise, for two combat tours and;

4. Become the father of NATOPS and;

5. Serve as CNO and;

6. Successfully argue the to SecDef into signing off on the F-18 type rather than the preferred F-16 because the Hornet was designed for all-weather missions while the F-16 carried only a missile system that operated best under clear-air conditions...

you get a pretty fantastic ribbon rack!

 

[Jim123]

the F-16 carried only a Navy-designed missile system that operated best under clear-air conditions...

I added something

 

[Griz882]

I bow down to your superior knowledges....
But, in the image below, you will see the YF-17 flying closer to the clouds than the YF-16!

 

[Brett327]

Interesting pic. Definitely hornet lines in the YF-17, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen.

 

[Griz882]

Interesting pic. Definitely hornet lines in the YF-17, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen.

Although it has been quite a number of years, the last time I was at Hawthorne Municipal (KHHR) that very YF-17 was parked by the old Northrup facility. If you saw it in person you would be surprised how skinny it was compared to the final F-18A product. Not remotely sure if the Growler is even wider.

 

[HuggyU2]

I was at the USS Alabama Museum in 2011 and there was a YF-17 on display there. It used to be in PCola, IIRC. I'd guess it is still in Mobile, AL. Good piece of aviation history.

 

[nittany03]

Although it has been quite a number of years, the last time I was at Hawthorne Municipal (KHHR) that very YF-17 was parked by the old Northrup facility. If you saw it in person you would be surprised how skinny it was compared to the final F-18A product. Not remotely sure if the Growler is even wider.

Yeah, the other prototype is in Mobile, and it's interesting to see how "AF Spec" the YF-17 is compared to an old Chuck. Landing gear, especially, but the LEX is also notably different.

 

[wink]

Pretty sure I saw a YF-17 in the Boeing Museum in the mid to late 90s.