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Navy

When the U.S. Navy F/A-18 was shot down by a U.S. Army PAC-3 Patriot missile battery

by Till Daisd September 10, 2021

“The Patriot is by far the most lethal SAM system in the world, and there is no aeroplane in existence that is going to get away from it. The missile itself is also designed to bias its impact on the nose of the aircraft so as to kill the pilot. If a Patriot is fired at your aircraft, you might as well eject, as there is nothing you can do to get away from it,” Lt. Cdr. Ron Candiloro, VFA-151’s F/A-18 Hornet pilot

Around 250 F/A-18 Hornets participated in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) from land bases and the six U.S. Navy supercarriers stationed in the Northern Arabian Gulf (NAG) and the eastern Mediterranean. The F/A-18 Hornet served as the “universal soldier” of the war effort.

Between March 19 and April 18, 2003, the F/A-18s and other Naval TACAIR types performed an incredible 5568 combat missions, dodging hostile AAA and SAMs, bad weather, and crowded skies to guarantee a Coalition victory in the shortest amount of time. No Navy aircraft was lost as a consequence of enemy action due to the forceful pre-war training, vast air supremacy, and effective tactics. One navy aviator, regrettably on his own side, was killed in action during OIF.

In accordance with Tony Holmes and Chris Davey’s explanation in their book U.S. Navy Hornet Units of Operation Iraqi Freedom (Part One), Lt. Nathan White of CVW-5’s VFA-195 had taken off from USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) on the night of April 2, 2003, on what was intended to be a routine kill box interdiction/close air support (KI/CAS) mission in support of troops approaching Baghdad.

Since March 19, White and his squadron mates have been actively engaged in the ground campaign, working particularly alongside components of V Corps. When White and his wingman entered Iraq, their E-2 controller gave them directions to Karbala, which is located 50 miles south of Baghdad. In order to clear the way for mechanized units moving north, air support was requested since elements of the 3rd Infantry Division were experiencing fierce resistance in the area.

When Lt. White’s Hornet was assaulted by a U.S. Army-manned mobile PAC-3 Patriot missile battery in south-central Iraq, it is unknown if he had already bombed his targets and was returning home or was still on route there. The shattered F/A-18C crashed into a lake in an Iraqi Air Force bombing range near Karbala, and its location subsequently hampered efforts made by the U.S. Army’s Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel or TRAP team to recover Lt. White’s body. His jet was destroyed by the weapon, and neither the aircraft nor the pilot’s remains were discovered for another ten days. The pilot’s remains were eventually found in the lake on April 12; 12 days later, he was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

Ironically, in the final email he sent to his family before his unfortunate death, Nathan White made a passing reference to the threat posed by the Patriot batteries. “When going in on a strike, there is always a lot going on. Here is a brief snapshot – brief for an hour or more to map out the flight, get catapulted from standstill to 140 miles an hour in less than two seconds, navigate through a maze of airborne highways that try to deconflict aircraft, and of course, steer you clear of the Army’s Patriot batteries, jump from radio frequency to radio frequency at least 12 different times, shifting from controller to controller, avoid a sky full of AAA, surface-to-air missiles and ballistic rockets, set up your weapons system, acquire your target, drop on target, fly to an airborne tanker, join up, get gas and then fly back and land on a boat bobbing around in the middle of a sandstorm. Make it nighttime and throw in thunderstorms, and then it really gets exciting.”

Prior to the start of OIF, Navy pilots had expressed concerns about the deadly Patriot missile, but their worries increased after No. 9 Sqn RAF lost a Tornado GR 4 on the morning of March 23 while it was returning to Ali Al-Salem airport in Kuwait following a strike operation.

VFA-151’s Lt. Cdr. Ron Candiloro explained: “Although I remained wary of the Iraqi SAM threat, I was actually more afraid of our own Patriot batteries. We would commonly get lit up by the missile’s fire control radar, and that was really scary. These lock-ups increased in frequency as our forces moved further north into Iraq, and this prompted my CO. Cdr Hubbard, to investigate a daily briefing that told us all where the Patriot batteries were all over the country. A copy of this information was also painted onto a card that we carried with us in the cockpit. I felt that this was the most important briefing card issued to me before every mission, and it was always at the top of my knee war pack – I was terrified by the Patriot.

“It is by far the most lethal SAM system in the world, and there is no aeroplane in existence that is going to get away from it. The missile itself is also designed to bias its impact on the nose of the aircraft so as to kill the pilot. If a Patriot is fired at your aircraft, you might as well eject, as there is nothing you can do to get away from it.

Blue-On-Blue! The story of the U.S. Navy F/A-18 that was shot down by a U.S. Army PAC-3 Patriot missile battery during OIF — Four Patriot missiles can be fired from the highly mobile transporter erector launcher (TEL)

“We could clearly tell if a Patriot battery was looking at us, as our ALR-67 radar homing and warning system would clearly indicate that we had been locked up by the missile’s search radar. When this happened, the jet’s Mode 4 IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) was supposed to ‘squawk’ (reply) to the Patriot’s radar with an encrypted signal which indicated to the missile that its ‘target’ was in fact friendly. […] The Patriot batteries were initially operated in automated mode, which meant there was no human interaction in the way it interrogated targets. For 99.9 percent of the time, the system worked fine, but twice it did not, although there is some question as to whether the Tornado GR 4’s IFF functioning correctly when it was shot down.”

Candiloro explains: “We had started to get concerned about the Patriot in automated mode after the Tornado was lost, and when the Hornet was downed we really started to question what exactly the Army was doing with the weapon. Our concerns traveled ‘up the chain’, and that was when the Army changed the Patriot’s engagement parameters from auto to manual, which meant that a human operator had to input the direction to fire. That gave us more peace of mind, but unfortunately, it had cost three lives to get this change made.”

“Psychologically, the loss of tow jets to Patriot missiles had a big impact on the air wing,” concludes Candiloro. “Heading into Iraq, I was confident that I could handle literally anything that the enemy threw at me. Indeed, I was more scared of what our guys were going to do to me, and in particular the Patriot batteries. It was a big relief when you finally got out of Iraq and left the last of the Army’s missile batteries behind you near the end of every sortie.”

Photo by Photographers Mate 3rd Class Jonathan Chandler / U.S. Navy

September 10, 2021 0 comment

History

A cap flown by two Royal Navy Sea Harrier Fighters during the Falklands war

by Till Daisd August 28, 2021

written by Till Daisd

The Sea Harrier’s Extra Dark Sea Grey color scheme, which made it very difficult to see over land or sea, earned it the nickname “La Muerta Negra” (The Black Death) among Argentine pilots

The account of a stressful combat air patrol flight by two Sea Harrier planes of the Royal Navy during Operation Sutton.

When they destroyed 23 Argentine aircraft for no casualties in that area of action during the 1982 Falklands War, Royal Navy Sea Harriers demonstrated their value in air-to-air combat.

Operation Sutton (the British landings on the Falklands) started on May 21, 1982, and the Fuerza Aérea Argentina (FAA, Argentine Air Force) launched multiple attack missions against the Royal Navy fleet. On board HMS Invincible (R05), the Sea Harriers from 801 Naval Air Squadron engaged Argentinean aircraft in the afternoon, first shooting down a Pucara and then fending off three Daggers that were attempting to attack the British fleet.

The story of how Argentine Air Force Dagger fighters severely damaged HMS Ardent during the Falklands War

Two Daggers attacked HMS Brilliant, which was anchored close to the San Carlos village, later in the day. The cannon shells damaged the operations room, resulted in injuries, and hurt a Fighter Direction Officer (FDO). Falklands The Air War by R. Burden, M. Draper, D. Rough, C. Smith, and D. Wilton claims that the same FDO observed three further Daggers on his radar screen and directed two Sea Harriers that were conducting a Combat Air Patrol (CAP) in the area toward them.

Lt. Steve Thomas and Lt. Cdr. Nigel Ward flew the two British planes. Thomas recognized the Daggers as belonging to Grupo 6 De Caza (6th Air Brigade) as they had passed over the enemy aircraft due to their yellow fin identification bands and wings. The enemy fighters’ pilots were Flt. Lt. Jorge Senn, Maj. Gustavo Justo Piuma, and Capt. Guillermo Donadille.

The story of a tense CAP flown by two Royal Navy Sea Harrier fighters during the Falklands War

The moment the Argentines spotted the Sea Harriers, they jettisoned their underwing stores and started to climb in an attempt to intercept them. However, Thomas dove in behind Piuma’s Dagger and fired an AIM-9L, disabling the fighter as it attempted to elude the Sidewinder by making a quick turn to the right. Piuma miraculously managed to safely exit his airplane.

Thomas next launched a second missile, this time aiming it at Donadille’s aircraft, which blew up when the Sidewinder impacted the port wing of his Dagger. Donadille had also successfully ejected before his aircraft crashed, and the fighter did not disintegrate but instead went into an uncontrollable spin. When the Dagger was attempting to escape the furball, Ward fired an AIM-9L at the ship, destroying the final Dagger Senn had flown. Senn safely exited his fighter before it entirely disintegrated around him.

Following the fight, Brilliant vectored Ward and Thomas against three A-4Qs, but they quickly realized they were too far away from the Argentine Skyhawks to attack them. As a result, they kept the A-4s in view until two Sea Harriers from the 800 Naval Air Squadron were able to successfully intercept the enemy attackers. While traveling along the East coast of West Falkland at Port Howard, Ward and Thomas resumed their CAP when Ward realized he had lost radio contact and sight of his wingman. He phoned the Invincible to report his suspicion that Thomas had been downed by Argentine anti-aircraft artillery (AAA).

Ward returned to the carrier because his aircraft was running extremely low on gas, and when he landed on the Invincible in the early evening, he ran into Thomas, who had arrived just before him. In reality, his aircraft had only suffered minor damage from the AAA over Port Howard, and the Sea Harrier had been repaired in less than 24 hours.

The 801 Naval Air Squadron personnel evaluated the day’s events when the Argentine air attacks came to an end at dusk, and Ward and Thomas, along with the other pilots, were pleased that the Sea Harrier had earned the nickname “La Muerte Negra” from the Argentines (the aircraft was dubbed by the enemy pilots The Black Death because of its Extra Dark Sea Grey color scheme which made it very difficult to spot over land or sea).

However, Santiago Rivas, a renowned expert on modern military aviation, noted that Argentine pilots never referred to the Sea Harriers as “La Muerte Negra.” Rivas claims that it’s actually unclear why the Sea Harrier was given such a moniker. The nickname may have been created by Sea Harrier pilots or by British pilots who were misled by Argentine radar operators who called the Sea Harriers “moscardones” (botflies), which on the radio could sound like “muerte negra,” according to Rivas, who has worked with more than 100 Argentine pilots.

Photo by Jorge Alberto Leonardi via Wikipedia, U.S. Navy, Royal Navy

August 28, 2021 0 comment

History

A US NAVY RA-5C Vigilante captured an image of an SA-2 missile passing 104 feet from its belly

by Till Daisd August 28, 2021

written by Till Daisd

Although the most plausible explanation is that the missile had not reached its arming time when it shot past the crazily jinking RA-5C, no one is certain why it did not detonate

North Americans created the carrier-based supersonic bomber known as the A-5 Vigilante for the U.S. Navy. It only had a relatively brief stint doing nuclear strikes (replacing the Douglas A-3 Skywarrior). However, it was extensively used in the Vietnam War in the tactical strike reconnaissance capacity as the RA-5C.

Medium-level, risky reconnaissance missions (like the one described in this article) began in August 1964.

Lt Cdr Barry Gastrock and Lt Emy Conrad, flying the RA-5C Vigilante BuNo.156624 of Reconnaissance Attack (Heavy) Squadron Six (RVAH-6), with the call sign “Field Gold 602,” from USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63), accidentally captured an amazing photo on March 1, 1971, while performing one of these missions over North Vietnam.

That time an RA-5C Vigilante took a picture of a SA-2 surface to air missile passing just 104 feet from its belly — SA-2 Surface-to-Air Missile on display in the Southeast Asia War Gallery at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

According to Robert R. Powell in his book RA-5C Vigilante Units in Combat, their intended course crossed over itself to permit the crew to capture the Song Ca River in its entirety on camera.

This location was deep inside the SAM envelopes around the city of Vinh.

Less than four minutes after passing through the same village in a westerly direction, the Vigilante, heading south, reappeared over the river juncture at Hung Nghia. On the jet’s initial pass over the area, AAA had been patchy, and there had been no missile warnings when Lt. Conrad saw a flash in his viewfinder, heard a “whumpf,” and was thrown against his seat-straps. The crew quickly “had their feet wet” and then made a simple landing back on the Kitty Hawk because the coast was not far away.

According to Robert R. Powell’s book RA-5C Vigilante Units in Combat, this is the incredible picture of the SA-2 SAM missile that passed just 104ft below Gastrock and Conrad RA-5C

A photo interpreter stopped in surprise as she moved the six-inch-wide film from one enormous spool to another across the light table a little while later in the ship’s intelligence center. The vertical camera of the Vigilante captured an SA-2 surface-to-air missile (SAM) that was still gaining altitude perfectly.

The crew was called to see the near-miss. They assumed the SAM passed next to the RA-5C as Lt Cdr Gastrock made a sharp turn to return home because there was no terrain visible in the picture. With knowledge of the SA-2’s size and the camera’s focal length, the photogrammeters calculated that the missile had passed within 104 feet of the Vigilante’s belly.

Although the most plausible explanation is that the missile had not yet reached its arming time when it shot past the crazily jinking RA-5C, no one is certain why it did not detonate.

Despite the Vigilante’s speed and agility, 18 of these aircraft were destroyed in battle during the Vietnam War: 14 by anti-aircraft fire, three by surface-to-air missiles, and one by a MiG-21. As attrition replacements, 36 further RA-5C aircraft were manufactured from 1968 to 1970 in part as a result of these combat losses. These planes were very different from earlier RA-5Cs. These were worthy of being dubbed RA-5Ds thanks to improved engines, Leading Edge Extensions over the intakes, changed intake geometry, and other upgrades, but the existing moniker was kept. Since the BuNo. for this most recent batch of Vigilantes begins with the number 156, they are known as the 156 Series aircraft (some earlier RA-5Cs were rebuilt to the same standard so there are exceptions).

Photo by Emy Conrad / U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force

August 28, 2021 0 comment

Carriers

The Doolittle Raiders and the first U.S. airstrike on the Japanese Home Islands

by Till Daisd July 19, 2021

written by Till Daisd

The Doolittle Raid forced the Japanese to recall combat forces for home defense even though it only caused small damage, and it made Japanese citizens nervous

U.S. morale dropped in the spring of 1942 as a result of the frequent Japanese victories. A triumph was absolutely necessary for the nation.

According to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force article, America Hits Back: The Doolittle Tokyo Raiders, Capt. Francis S. Low, a U.S. Navy submarine, came up with the plan to use medium bombers from the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) flying from a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier to launch an attack against the center of Japan.

Gen. Henry “Hap” Arnold gave Lt. Col. James Doolittle, an accomplished pilot, and charismatic leader, the challenging assignment of preparing for and leading the attack (known as Special Aviation Project No. 1).

Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle accepts a medal from the skipper of the USS Hornet, Capt. Marc A. Mitscher. The medal, once given to a U.S. Navy officer by the Japanese, was wired to a 500-pound bomb for return to Japan “with interest.”

Doolittle joined the Army in 1917, became a flying cadet, and got his commission in 1918, according to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force article Doolittle Raid. He was the recipient of the coveted Schneider, Bendix, and Thompson aviation awards in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In 1929, Doolittle created aviation history when he completed the first blind flight, relying on the aircraft’s instruments for takeoff, flying, and landing.

In 1940, as war seemed inevitable, he returned to active duty after leaving the Army Air Corps in 1930.

Map showing Doolittle Raid targets and landing fields.

The USAAF selected the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber for the task because it was the only available aircraft with the necessary range, bomb capacity, and short takeoff capability. The 17th Bombardment Group, Pendleton Field, Oregon, provided the B-25B aircraft and 24 crews of qualified volunteers.

The B-25s had to depart Japan at a distance of roughly 450 miles, bomb chosen targets in cities like Yokohama and Tokyo, and then fly 1,600 miles to friendly airfields in mainland China. The mission was dangerous since medium bombers had never flown from a carrier and the American Navy task force was in danger by entering enemy territory so far.

The aircrew chosen for the operation underwent training at Eglin Field, Florida, under the direction of Lt. Henry L. Miller, a Navy pilot from Pensacola Naval Station, who assisted them in learning how to take off within 300 feet, the maximum distance allowed on the carrier USS Hornet. In addition, the aircrew worked on cross-country and night flying, radio-free navigation, low-level bombing, and aerial gunnery.

Noteworthy because the Norden bombsight was ineffective at low altitudes, the pilot and armament officer for Doolittle’s group Capt. C. Ross Greening developed a replacement device, which is connected to the cockpit through the pilot direction indicator, allowed the bombardier to give the pilot aircraft turn directions without relying on voice communication.

Actually, these bombsights were produced by Eglin Field’s metalworking shops with $20 worth of supplies!

USAAF personnel load .50-cal. ammunition into ammo trays prior to takeoff from the Hornet as Navy personnel watch.

The crews finished their training by the middle of March and took a flight to San Francisco to board their 16 B-25 bombers on the recently constructed aircraft carrier USS Hornet.

Marc A. Mitscher, the commander of the Hornet, sailed for the covert mission on April 2, 1942, in broad daylight rather than at night because of an inexperienced crew.

The task force, under the leadership of Admiral William “Bull” Halsey, was about 650 miles from Japan when it came upon an enemy patrol boat at dawn on April 18, 1942.

Nobody was aware of whether it had radioed Japan a warning before being sunk.

Col. Doolittle and Admiral Halsey were faced with a difficult decision: postpone the raid or launch as scheduled and run the danger of running out of fuel. All 16 of Doolittle’s aircraft took off after he decided to launch an attack. When the Raiders arrived in Japan, they dropped their bombs on industrial centers, military bases, and storage areas for oil before departing over the East China Sea.

The Raiders were unable to reach their planned airfields as their fuel gauges began to decline. They all eventually crashed into China, bailed out, or dumped themselves in the water (one crew diverted to the Soviet Union). The Chinese people’s assistance allowed the majority of the Doolittle Raiders to successfully reach friendly forces (Japanese forces later executed as many as a quarter-million Chinese citizens in retaliation for this assistance).

After Japan’s numerous early wins, American morale plummeted, but when news of the attack emerged, it quickly recovered. Furthermore, even if the Doolittle Raid only did minimal damage, it made the Japanese call up their combat troops for home defense and instilled dread in the hearts and minds of the populace.

Admiral Yamamoto also gave the order for the disastrous attack on Midway Island, which was the tipping point in the Pacific War, in order to stop any further American airstrikes on the homeland.

North American B-25B Mitchell and Doolittle Raiders diorama in the World War II Gallery at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

How this illustrious operation was carried out is explained in the video that follows.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

Source: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

July 19, 2021 0 comment

Carriers

A video of the legendary F-14 Tomcat in action on the flight deck

by Till Daisd July 19, 2021

written by Till Daisd

The F-14 Tomcat was equipped with a powerful weapons system known as the AWG-9, which could support the AIM-54 Phoenix long-range air-to-air missile, to carry out the fleet’s air defense task

The awesome video in this post, titled “F-14: Defenders Of The Fleet,” will make any fan of the Tomcat cry.

The footage was shot during the era when the storied F-14A Tomcat controlled the flight decks of American Navy aircraft carriers as the main fighter for maritime air superiority and fleet defense interceptor.

The American teen-series fighters, which were created to combine air combat expertise against MiG fighters during the Vietnam War, were introduced with the Grumman F-14A Tomcat, as we have already explained.

Nevertheless, even though the F-14 was a capable dogfighter, the Tomcat stood out for its use in fleet air defense. The AWG-9, a potent weapons system that could support the AIM-54 Phoenix, which had an unheard-of 100-mile range and a small onboard radar to direct the missile to the target during the last phase of flight, was installed on the aircraft to carry out this operation.

So take some time and watch this clip with the most fierce fighter ever built, into action.

Anytime Baby…!

Photo by U.S. Navy

July 19, 2021 0 comment

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