Military Aircraft Pictures & Stories

[corn18]

Originally Posted by FastEagle

When I worked the GAG desk in flight deck control the Handler was LCDR Reardon. Our personalities were very much alike and we meshed well. I was very saddened when he crashed and got killed in the St johns river.

A CAG chief can make a lot of enemies working the flight deck desk. One of mine was the MO of the S3 squadron. He would get on the box and demand things and I would have to remind him the box was a chief to chief communications box. He complained to LCDR Roberts, our maintenance officer. LCDR Roberts made him come up to flight deck control and observe a complete cycle. He never bothered his CPOs again.

We had a number of officers that had very distinguished careers. LT Vanlet went on to retire as a Vice Admiral.

CDR Cebrowski who took command of VF-41 when Skipper Formo got killed also went on to retire as a Vice Admiral.

CAG and my CO told me I would be aboard until we returned to Norfolk. We were all shocked when I got pri2 orders to CINCLANTFLT staff with a report no later than date for training. I worked the manpower desk for all Atlantic fleet shore AIMDs. It was a lot of fun traveling for a 4 star. We got the red carpet treatment wherever we went. At Guantanamo they actually rolled out a red carpet and took us on a helicopter tour of the whole base. We were there to determine if the air facility should have a CO in place of a OINC. Our teams traveled in threes, a CDR/LCDR a MCPO/SCPO and a GS11/GS9.

I worked for DJ Venlet when he was NAVAIR. Great American.

[JKC2020]

Originally Posted by FL420

I just ran across this book titled "SIERRA HOTEL: Flying Air Force Fighters in the Decade After the Vietnam War. I finished it in two sittings as it was so well written and informative. Due to the many times I flew as a visiting Aggressor against many different AF units I had an outsider's familiarity and understanding of the different ways the Navy and Air Force dealt with similar issues. This book cleared up a lot of questions I didn't know I had.
This might just be the book I wish I had, er...could, have written about my experiences as a Navy fighter pilot. If you read nothing else, read the "Dear Boss" resignation letter in the appendices.
https://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/2...100929-043.pdf
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Good book Thanks for posting

My time, 10+ yrs flying fighters, was through the 80s... So no Vietnam time, but worked with guys who did... Some crazy stories for sure... I was lucky to see / do some of the things that Sierra Hotel talked about... The book brought back some memories

Quick story:
I was checking out our new wing CC in theater during my A10 time (mid 80s in Europe)... He was a good stick, patch wearer from his F4 days... He always had "a story" to tell me after our debriefs! One of our training hops was doing tactics / range work/ and Maverick... Well, he was on "exchange" with the IAF and was there during the Yom Kippur War in '73... The Israeli pilots got to use the Maverick real time... Hughes was not happy with the results A lot of rocks and bushes were destroyed in the Sinai!?! Being a small country, and assets limited, IAF learned real quick that they didn't have to kill tanks to stop advancements... If something went BOOM close to a tank, the "conscripts" that the Egyptian Army had, would pop the top and beat feet back home, leaving the tank... In the middle of the night the Israeli special forces would go out in the desert, paint the Star of David on the side, and drive the tank to their side! And then use them as needed!!!

The IAF told Hughes the Maverick was a great missile, as it did hit what they were locking on to!!! But Hughes wanted to see "tank kills" - ie the missile having a direct hit on a tank

[readog]

Originally Posted by FastEagle

In 1977 - 1980 I was with VF-41 on the Nimitz. The airwing A7 squadrons were VA-72 & VA-86.

VA 82

[FastEagle]

Originally Posted by readog

VA 82

Sorry, fat fingered it. I do that a lot in my old age.

[FL420]

Great in cockpit video from engine startup to taxi in of a P-38 Lightning and a F-4U Corsair flying an airshow.
https://www.avweb.com/multimedia/bes...rsair-airshow/
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[fbuckwalter]

I went out to check the mail and saw this B 24 flying over. I think there are a few flying, at least one! Lucky to have my phone on me.
I was living close to Honey Brook, PA at the time.

[FL420]

Newly restored A-7 Corsair II hoisted aboard USS Midway museum in San Diego.
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/loc...-GXHM6HyAA&amp
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[FastEagle]

Originally Posted by FL420

Newly restored A-7 Corsair II hoisted aboard USS Midway museum in San Diego.
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/loc...-GXHM6HyAA&amp
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I wonder what the story is for the tail "NK"?

I don't recall GAG-14 being assigned to the Midway.

With it's long history during Vietnam and being forward deployed to Japan in 1973, that A7 should have the markings of a CVW-5 A7 squadron.

(I was with the midway, 1970-1973 - VF-151).

[FL420]

Originally Posted by FastEagle

I wonder what the story is for the tail "NK"?

I don't recall GAG-14 being assigned to the Midway.

With it's long history during Vietnam and being forward deployed to Japan in 1973, that A7 should have the markings of a CVW-5 A7 squadron.

(I was with the midway, 1970-1973 - VF-151).

Attachment 331016

Good question. The aircraft on my phone looks like it has "Constellation" painted above the stabilator and VA-37 on the side. VA-37 never sailed with CVW-14 and never sailed aboard the "Connie" or the Midway.
https://www.seaforces.org/usnair/VA/...quadron-37.htm
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[Dearranged]

Not a picture or story but think the audience for this thread will appreciate this.

It was probably within the last decade that I finally watched Dr. Strangelove. I had heard the title enough times and familiar with it but really didn't want to watch something with that title and didn't know what it was really about.

It must have been on one of the streaming channels and I finally watched it. Boy was I surprised. I got the biggest kick out of it because of working for the Feds for 25 years and the similarities to how it operates, really.

May have to watch it again.

[Dearranged]

Sorry, didn't mean to kill the show and tell.

Looking back I understand after years of an ass kicking my sense of humor has changed.

Don't take my previous remark too serious.

Carry on, as you were, smoke'em if you got'em.

[corn18]

Originally Posted by Dearranged

Sorry, didn't mean to kill the show and tell.

Looking back I understand after years of an ass kicking my sense of humor has changed.

Don't take my previous remark too serious.

Carry on, as you were, smoke'em if you got'em.

I agree to a certain extent. I was the program manager for buying bombs for the Navy. After 9/11, money was flowing in like crazy to buy bombs to replace the ones we dropped. By 2006, we had enough to level Canada, so I asked about giving the money back. Nope. It was appropriated for bombs, so buy more bombs. What I really wanted to do is design better bombs so we didn't have to buy as many bombs. But the money was the wrong "color" so I could only use it for buying more bombs we didn't need.

[FL420]

Originally Posted by corn18

I agree to a certain extent. I was the program manager for buying bombs for the Navy. After 9/11, money was flowing in like crazy to buy bombs to replace the ones we dropped. By 2006, we had enough to level Canada, so I asked about giving the money back. Nope. It was appropriated for bombs, so buy more bombs. What I really wanted to do is design better bombs so we didn't have to buy as many bombs. But the money was the wrong "color" so I could only use it for buying more bombs we didn't need.

That brings back some memories. In the early 70's I was instructing in VF-121, the West Coast F-4 RAG. The training pipeline was full and all of us pilot and RIO instructors were often flying from before dawn until after dusk 5 or 5 1/2 days a week. I usually flew 2 and often 3 hops a day.
Every quarter I think it was each squadron had to report how much of the money previously allocated for flight operations had been spent. We sometimes had money left in the fuel account because we didn't have enough instructors to do all the flying necessary.
Each squadron CO was aware that if any money was left in the fuel account their next allotment would be reduced by the same amount. To avoid that the Ops officer would beg and plead for crews to take an airplane on a weekend and fly a "training" flight to any US destination, the farther away the better to avoid having the fuel allotment cut.
Almost all the instructors previous assignments were to west coast fleet squadrons which meant they spent most of their time at sea flying combat missions at a high tempo. I got 198 combat missions and 2 more with the Air Force on my 2 cruises aboard the Coral Sea and the Midway. I was a bachelor so I was okay with an occasional cross-country weekend trip until I met my future and present DW. The married guys and their wives were not particularly happy about being separated on weekends after being separated for months at a time over the previous 3 years.
Another pilot instructor, whose FIL was in charge of PR for the Indy 500, and I took "training" flights 2 years in a row to Grissom AFB where we hopped out of our F-4 Phantom, caught a ride to the Main Gate then hitch-hiked to the FIL's house in Indianapolis because no rental cars were available anywhere. The payoff was VIP free entry to the track, pit passes to Gasoline Alley, a free ride around the track in a Chevy Suburban, free admission to the Museum, etc.
One time I flew with an empty back seat coast-to-coast and back because I couldn't find anyone who wanted to leave San Diego that weekend. It was a very interesting flight I wrote about on this forum awhile back about going down the runway backwards at 100 knots at Scott AFB.
Unfortunately, after the war was over we couldn't get the money to fly enough hours to stay proficient. After hundreds of day and night cats and traps off the Coral Sea and Midway I only got 44 flying a full cruise off the USS Constellation. It wasn't much fun anymore.[emoji53]
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[Dearranged]

Advise cancelling IFR.