Gotta Love the F-14 Tomcat

[DavidC]

There is no doubt the A10 was a formidable nuisance of anything that got in it's way and would not survive. The plane was amazing and the pilots were the same if not more.

 

[BoeingDiesel]

AF drivers have a tradition of gathering after Ops' and having a little too much Weed....that would be Jeremiah Weed, the most awful bourbon on earth and the "After Burner" challenge. Check out the link for a good read about a couple PhantomPhlyers ( intentionally misspelled ). Seems to me that there was, or is, a PhantomPherret on the TDR but I could be mistaken.

http://www.flyingsquadron.com/forums/topic/689-jeremiah-weed/

For those of you that like the A-10 and AC/DC "Shoot to Thrill" this is a really good depiction of the AC and its capabilities.

 

[DavidC]

Then there is the Angel of Death

 

[BIGNASTY]

Then there is the Angel of Death

Seen one of the AC 130 Gunships in action, It just happen to be flying by when we were about to be hit, so it expended all its remaining ordnance just outside our POS, Awesome would be putting it mildly.

 

[DavidC]

No smart weapon needed, just total annihilation . Almost hard to believe the wing tips rise 16' from at rest to flight.

 

[DavidC]

So who's bringing the party poppers

 

[BIGNASTY]

https://www.historynet.com/the-11-day-war.htm

Linebacker 1 asked the NVA to come to the table to have a talk they basically said "F U" after 11 straight days of around the clock bombing with Linebacker 2 going downtown Hanoi, they were BEGGING to have a chat. The squadron I was attached to in Thailand flew F111's that ran interference and had bomb NAV gear the BUFF's didn't have.

THEY SHOULD HAVE DONE THAT 13 YEARS EARLIER

 

[DavidC]

I could watch these people getting blown away all day

 

[DHayden]

I love all aviation but I have to get my favorite in, we can't forget the rotor heads. Looks like a flying bus and it is, but it handles like porshe and outruns an Apache.

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[SnoKing]

AF drivers have a tradition of gathering after Ops' and having a little too much Weed....that would be Jeremiah Weed, the most awful bourbon on earth and the "After Burner" challenge. Check out the link for a good read about a couple PhantomPhlyers ( intentionally misspelled ). Seems to me that there was, or is, a PhantomPherret on the TDR but I could be mistaken.

http://www.flyingsquadron.com/forums/topic/689-jeremiah-weed/

For those of you that like the A-10 and AC/DC "Shoot to Thrill" this is a really good depiction of the AC and its capabilities.

We having been in Tucsan, AZ for three days and A-10 have been flying around all day each day.

https://tucsonchamber.org/one-to-on...ion-to-keep-a-10-flying-at-davis-monthan-afb/

 

[BoeingDiesel]

No smart weapon needed, just total annihilation . Almost hard to believe the wing tips rise 16' from at rest to flight.

The BUFF...what a beast!

 

[BoeingDiesel]

I love all aviation but I have to get my favorite in, we can't forget the rotor heads. Looks like a flying bus and it is, but it handles like porshe and outruns an Apache.

There's something about rotating airfoils that isn't natural Quite a piece of machinery!

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[DHayden]

As the saying goes "Helicopters dont fly, they beat the air into submission"

 

[BoeingDiesel]

^^^ X2

 

[SnoKing]

The BUFF...what a beast!

I spend a year in Thailand as U-Tapao was built. We were 4 miles off the end of the runway and 3 miles to the side. Watched for 9 months or so as the B52s left each morning loaded with bombs and came back in the afternoon without them. "Good Morning Vietnam" boom................... boom................. on and on.

 

[PBJ2500CTD]

JUST WANTED TO CLEAR UP WHAT BRANCHES AIRCRAFT CLEARED THE PATH FIRST!!!

The initial strikes were carried out by Tomahawk cruise missiles[5] launched from warships situated in the Persian Gulf, by F-117A Nighthawkstealth bombers[5] with an armament of laser-guided smart bombs,[5] and by F-4G Wild Weasel aircraft armed with HARM anti-radar missiles.[6]These first attacks allowed F-14, F-15, F-16, and F/A-18 fighter bombers to gain air superiority over Iraq and then continue to drop TGM-guidedand laser-guided bombs.

Just "F ING" around we all had the American Flag on our shoulder even as far back as my service in SEA

Gotta throw in the BUFF's 2 cents plug here. We were there for Desert Shield and right up front for the Storm. Great teamwork by all services!

Excerpt from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-52_Stratofortress​

B-52 strikes were an important part of Operation Desert Storm. Starting on 16 January 1991, a flight of B-52Gs flew from Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, refueled in the air en route, struck targets in Iraq, and returned home – a journey of 35 hours and 14,000 miles (23,000 km) round trip. It set a record for longest-distance combat mission, breaking the record previously held by an RAF Vulcan bomber in 1982; however, this was achieved using forward refueling.[189][190] Those seven B-52s flew the first combat sorties of Operation Desert Storm, firing 35 AGM-86C CALCMs standoff missiles and successfully destroying 85–95 percent of their targets.[191] B-52Gs operating from the King Abdullah Air Base at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom, Morón Air Base, Spain, and the island of Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory flew bombing missions over Iraq, initially at low altitude. After the first three nights, the B-52s moved to high-altitude missions instead, which reduced their effectiveness and psychological impact compared to the low altitude role initially played.[192]

The conventional strikes were carried out by three bombers, which dropped up to 153 750-pound bombs over an area of 1.5 by 1 mi (2.4 by 1.6 km). The bombings demoralized the defending Iraqi troops, many of whom surrendered in the wake of the strikes.[193] In 1999, the science and technology magazine Popular Mechanics described the B-52's role in the conflict: "The Buff's value was made clear during the Gulf War and Desert Fox. The B-52 turned out the lights in Baghdad."[194] During Operation Desert Storm, B-52s flew about 1,620 sorties, and delivered 40% of the weapons dropped by coalition forces.[195]​

 

[PBJ2500CTD]

I spend a year in Thailand as U-Tapao was built. We were 4 miles off the end of the runway and 3 miles to the side. Watched for 9 months or so as the B52s left each morning loaded with bombs and came back in the afternoon without them. "Good Morning Vietnam" boom................... boom................. on and on.

I spent some time on Andersen AFB, Guam, early 70's, Bullet Shot. We'd spend our off time checking out the bikini-clad "scenery" on Tarague Beach. Beat roasting in Tent or Tin City! However, some of the most awesome scenes were the B-52's launching heavy on a hot day. The runway path launched the aircraft over Pati Point, East from the beach. As the heavily loaded aircraft became airborne you would see them clear land and drop slowly over the cliff to where they were just barely skimming above the ocean surface, struggling to gain altitude. AWESOME!!!

 

[BIGNASTY]

Funny if you think about it when the 52's are loaded full, they short them on fuel to get airborne in a timely distance then they fill them upstairs at the local flying gas-station before heading out to a rally point and off to their mission objective.

 

[jhenderson]

It’s a rare aircraft that can take off with full seats ( or bomb bays) and full fuel.

 

[BIGNASTY]

It’s a rare aircraft that can take off with full seats ( or bomb bays) and full fuel.

My Primary was the F111 A it could carry 48, 500 pounders on BRU's under the wings but couldn't sweep the wings until the ordnance and BRU's were ejected, to your point that it was rare to fill max both fuel & weapons these did it on a regular basis. I kind of like how in the Paste below it was finally admitted that we played a role in Cambodia (My Region of HELL ON EARTH ) for 19 months

The first of six initial production F-111s was delivered on 17 July 1967 to fighter squadrons at Nellis Air Force Base.[52][53] These aircraft were used for crew training. 428th Tactical Fighter Squadron achieved initial operational capability on 28 April 1968.[53]

After early testing, a detachment of six aircraft were sent in March 1968 to Southeast Asia for Combat Lancer testing in real combat conditions in Vietnam. In little over a month, three aircraft were lost and the combat tests were halted. It turned out that all three had been lost through a malfunction in the horizontal stabilizer, not by enemy action.[54] This caused a storm of criticism in the U.S. It was not until 1971 that 474 TFW was fully operational.[55]

September 1972 saw the F-111 back in Southeast Asia, stationed at Takhli Air Base, Thailand. F-111As from Nellis AFB participated in the final month of Operation Linebacker and later the Operation Linebacker II aerial offensive against the North Vietnamese.[56] They also supported regional aerial operations against other communist forces such as Operation Phou Phiang III during the Laotian Civil War in Laos.[citation needed] F-111 missions did not require tankers or ECM support, and they could operate in weather that grounded most other aircraft. One F-111 could carry the bomb load of four McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs. The worth of the new aircraft was beginning to show; F-111s flew more than 4,000 combat missions in Vietnam with only six combat losses.[56]

From 30 July 1973 F-111As of the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing (347th TFW) were stationed at Takhli Air Base. The 347th TFW conducted bombing missions in Cambodia in support of Khmer Republic forces until 15 August 1973 when US combat support ceased in accordance with the Case–Church Amendment.[57] The 347th TFW was stationed at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Basefrom 12 July 1974 until 30 June 1975. In May 1975 347th TFW F-111s provided air support during the Mayaguez incident.[58][59][60]