The Great, Constantly Changing Picture Gallery

[HeyJoe]

For Phrog lovers

Soon to be endangered type/model/series

080516-N-0120A-072 ANDAMAN SEA (May 16, 2008) Landing Signalman Enlisted Aviation Boatswain's Mate Airman Chand Lindsey, right, and an unidentified Sailor guide a CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM ) 25 in for a landing Friday, May 16, 2008 during a humanitarian aid training exercise aboard USS Essex (LHD 2). Essex and other U.S. Navy ships are participating in Joint Task Force Caring Relief and are standing by off the coast of Burma ready to provide relief supplies to reduce loss of life and mitigate human suffering resulting from Cyclone Nargis. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Mark R. Alvarez (Released)

Note: should be HMM-265

 

[markkyle66]

I thought this was a cool little piece of Naval Aviation.

 

[PropStop]

Ho ho ho chi minh!

 

[Kycntryboy]

...

 

[markkyle66]

I read this one was an exercise somewhere over the Coral Sea. Man those were the days!
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/markkyle/1972-74_Coral_Sea_sky_dump.jpg

 

[eddie]

I read this one was an exercise somewhere over the Coral Sea. Man those were the days!
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/markkyle/1972-74_Coral_Sea_sky_dump.jpg

I HAVE A STUPID QUESTION!!

Why are they dropping like B-29s over Tokio (at altitude in a box instead of wagon wheeling some sucker)? What's going on here?

 

[OUSOONER]

I used to watch "Wings" on the Discovery Channel back in the day, they showed clips of F-4's loaded with bombs and dropping from high altitude..are those USMC or AF Phantoms up front? I like the ugly duckling A-7 in the background...lost puppy found a home or why would one corsair accompany a flight of Phantoms?

 

[A4sForever]

I HAVE A STUPID QUESTION!!

Why are they dropping like B-29s over Tokio (at altitude in a box instead of wagon wheeling some sucker)? What's going on here?

Instrument bombing through the undercast -- you still get max warheads on foreheads even when you can't see Gomer ... more bombs (your B-29 comparison) will hopefully smack him even though the target is clobbered by WX.

Notice they're apparently being led by a couple of AF Phantom "pathfinders" ?? -- different equipment (mebbe LORAN ?? ) on the AF birds to assist in the IFR bombing. The Navy did that same drill on occasion using the A-3 "Whale" as the "pathfinder" ...

Everyone pickle's on the lead's "3-2-1 .. HACK" !!! signal ... (the AF LOVES to say "hack" )

Or .... you COULD send in ONE A-6 Intruder into the clag and accomplish the same results ..

 

[A4sForever]

Note: usually called "buddy bombing" in the Navy & AF ... it was technically referred to as "synchronous radar bombing" ... I think the AF came up w/ that one.

Here's another pix of the AF doing it -- using an RB- or a B-66 (their variant of the Navy "Whale") and some THUDs accomplishing the same thing through the clag ...

 

[Blutonski816]

I like the ugly duckling A-7 in the background...

I always thought of A-7s as the crusader's chubby sister... but in no way an ugly duckling...

 

[HeloBubba]

I always thought of A-7s as the crusader's chubby sister... but in no way an ugly duckling...

Yes, they ARE ugly...A-7's were called SLUFF's for a good reason.

 

[Old R.O.]

I read this one was an exercise somewhere over the Coral Sea. Man those were the days!
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/markkyle/1972-74_Coral_Sea_sky_dump.jpg

"...over the Coral Sea"...

Not really. The Navy aircraft are VF-51 and VF-111 F-4Bs (and one A-7E from VA-22) attached to CVW-15 on USS Coral Sea's (CVA-43) 1971/'72 WestPac cruise.
The flight is being led by two LORAN-equipped USAF F-4Ds and the flight is probably "down South" or over the Ho Chi Minh trail to stay away from SAM's coming up through the undercast.

 

[A4sForever]

I always thought of A-7s as the crusader's chubby sister... but in no way an ugly duckling...

"SLUFF" was more of an AF term ...

We tended to call the A-7 "FLUFF" in the AirWings with which I was familiar.

In addition to "FLUFF" (sic), we also called the A-7 "Fruit Fly" .... watch one comin' aboard on a PLAT camera and you'll know why ...

 

[Lovebug201]

I HAVE A STUPID QUESTION!!

Why are they dropping like B-29s over Tokio (at altitude in a box instead of wagon wheeling some sucker)? What's going on here?

.........
We used to do this in the south occasionally, called it a TPQ (no idea what that stands/stood for). Done on bad weather days or if the assigned target was socked in, then we would go someplace else and a controller (ground/airborne - never knew) would basically drop on a Tacan channel/DME.

Our own mini Arc-light - 24 MK82's

I always thought of it as H & I fire for the grunt on the ground, you know just to let the bad guys know we were there even in bad weather.

 

[A4sForever]

.....We used to do this in the south occasionally, called it a TPQ (no idea what that stands/stood for)....

I believe it referenced the ground radar used to track the inbound aircraft and vector/guide them to the target. Like in "AN/TPQ-10 radar" ... it was used by Marine ASRT teams and was pretty accurate.

Marine A-6 squadrons used to regularly fly "beacon sorties" which were directly fragged by the local MAW. I think I got all that right ...