macelena

I miss something in the thread, i don´t know if you agree with me, but the fact is that i don´t think that the USN was thinking solely on the tactical engagements over SEA. There should be, of course, some adaptations to the environment. However the role of fleet defender was still to be considered seriously by the US navy. I heard of several occasions in wich MiG-17 or An-2 flew into battle groups in the gulf of Tonkin, trying the trick of bedcheck charlie but by charlie itself, being intercepted and downed by Phantoms and their frikkin weapons system, quite superior IMHO to that of the Crusader. If a single rocket misfired could cause the devastation in the Forrestal, imagine what a rocket pod salvo could do on a deck filled with aircraft, or a kamikaze like attack (i think they got the guts to). A carrier wing taken out of action with the lives of hundreds of sailors and pilots, 70.000 ship wich with some luck will stay only months in shipyards. So i guess that the fleet defender role was to be considered seriously. Coming back to the tactical scenario, fighting for air superiority, given that most fighters the Crusader met were Frescos, they found themselves, anyway, out-turned. Talking about the thirdwire sims, i fly almost the same way (energy, vertical, speed, attack on targets of opportunity instead of engaging in duels) against frescos in a Crusader as in a Phantom, but i have less missiles on the Crusader, and i´m too lazy for paying lots of gunkills if its not a Sabre. Finally, about the difference about the F-4E and the F-4J, i didn´t see much difference in the ini numbers, it might be my mood, but on the same age (1972) the F-4J seems more accurate to hit their targets in BVR. I could try a research based on statistics, but i think it is rare for the Juliet to miss an Sparrow (E2 version) shot if properly took into parameters

Mmm... Leopard, eh?

I know it is not quite gallant to say that about a suspected lady, but....BURN IT UP

Talking about the F-5E, i think that South Vietnam used them once the US withdrew, proving to be a good fighter. It was quite better than the MiG-21 as VPAF could find out when captured and used some examples, and probably better than any other light fighter in that time such as Mirage III or F-104s, by its polivalence , ease to mantain and air combat capabilities. However, 1972 is a bit late, a plane like that would have served quite well lets say five years before, and if you are talking about an excellent weapons system and range it is not what you are looking after. Anyway, i don´t think that it was the lack of good fighters what screwed the things on SEA for the South and their allies.

Happy birthday man!! Can we expect a wild party all over SoCal?

I am not much of a crack in geographics, but, are Damascus or Teheran in Europe?

Hosssst***as!

JJJJJ-7

They should do like Danes with the cartoons and broadcast it everywhere. Unfair for nice, peace loving muslims offended, however.

These guys are nuts. One of our hornets was doing the same "shave the tower" game and touched with a wing. I can´t believe he managed to eject fine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfxcq77FkdE

Those assholla guys are to be blamed for the major risk of earthquakes, radioactive fallout and male wrist sprains in that country.

Happy birthday! Sorry, i screwed up and thought it was yesterday

Burn in hell motha. Althought i don´t agree a lot with death penalty, it doesn´t mean at all that some people is better death. The pain for terrorist attacks endures forever, and the attack upon innocent civilians it is not justified by yankee imperialism against their own population or foreigners. I just saw the photo of a fireman taking a dying baby out of the ruins of the building, but it could have been the same baby killed by ETA here, by the IRA in the Ulster, or by Al-Qaeda in Iraq or whereever around the world.

Iba a meterme con él, pobre cuando vi los dos post, que si doble cuenta o algo. Retiro cuanto haya dicho yo, de ya saben Uds que y eso, sobre Marruecos y cosas asi. Nada, nada, amigos y paz

Congratulations Yuri, the manliest woman we will ever have the pleasure to meet LOL

Happy Birthday CharlieLima!! Lucky Number 53!!

Reinstalled everything and back to flight...against some technical odds. Flew a recce mission over Vietnam with RA-5Cs, it was fine. Target was an airfield near Hanoi, weather scattered, daylight, 1970. As i entered red airspace, rwr went mad. We flew at angels 5 near some kind of factory or complex, and since then flak would scratch us the whole trave. I climbed angels 8 approximately, beyond the clouds, and AAA intensity decreased. When at 25nm from the target we were painted by some radar at 11 o´clock, ordered my wingman to break and dove down to 3000 ft. He reported fighters behind us, I saw at least two MiG-21 F13, but i was on burners, flying over Mach already. Then a SAM site, NW from the target (we were coming straight north to the airfield) started firing SA-2s at me. For the first time, i could visually track them the whole flight. I pumped out chaff and broke right and down, evading three, maybe four of them, however, with all the chaff and ECM, they still got me tracked. Finally made it to the airfield, flew leveled and straight over it, and flak was far more intense than anytime before, i thought they would get me then. As i flew past intact, turned SE to get feet wet for the egress, so at least i could stop getting flak. SAMs bitching again, i change altitude, light on and off the ECM, et cetera. I know that coming tree-top low would have made the deal easier, but i think Vigilantes didn´t do that exactly. Just before overflying the shoreline, WHOOM a MiG 21 crossed in front of me. I didn´t adquire him, then, neither see him coming. Continued feet wet, being painted and eventually fired against by SAMs, but no trace of fighters. Once far from the coast, made it back to base without further incidence, althought my wingman flew all over NVietnam with a MiG behind him and SAMs upon him, he didn´t make it.

Maybe some kind of filter?

DIOS MIO QUE VIEJOOOO!! felicidades tovarich, a celebrarlo

Thanks for your replies. I told my father about them and he thanks you so much too. A point about the wich i didn´t talk to him much was that he was about to be appointed instead of his dead friend to the LPD, but in the last moment was designated as the supply officer of an AEGIS frigate. Personally i feel better, but i´m afraid of him feeling guilty or something like that. Again, a lot of thanks for your sympathies, that touched deep here

"Se pueden hacer carreteras, con los kilometros...."

I just learned that one of our Navy Hueys crashed while carrying humanitarian supplies in Haiti. Aboard were two Marines (pilots) a Lieutenant (liaison officer) and a LtCdr (supply officer of LPD Castilla). My father knew them all, and was an academy companion and close friend of the supply officer. He sits speechless beside the phone.