General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Nefarious on March 17, 2017, 06:01:51 PM
Title: A-rabs at War
Post by: Nefarious on March 17, 2017, 06:01:51 PM
Saw this floating around my Facebook feed today. It's footage from VA-115's cruises aboard USS Midway 1972-73. The video is mostly original film from the cruises but is also spliced with some stock A-6 Intruder footage from other sources. Very nice, had never seen it before thought I would share.
The video is 2 years old, but got shared by an aviation website yesterday apparently. From the site it was shared at:
Quote
The video was uploaded as a tribute to the late Lieutenant Raymond P Donnelly. Donnelly was a VA-115 A-6A bombardier / navigator who was seriously wounded by ground fire while on a mission over North Vietnam on July 19th 1972. Despite the best efforts of his pilot, Lieutenant Michael T McCormick, to revive him, Donnelly died before the Intruder made it back to the Midway. The flight deck footage is as remarkable as the message of the video is poignant.
Featuring footage shot during actual A-6A strikes, and plenty of cat shots and traps (including a barrier trap), the film stars the A-6A Intruders of VA-115 Arabs (call sign Arab), but also the rest of Carrier Air Wing 5 (CVW5). The A-7s of VA-56 Champions (call sign Champion) and VA-93 Blue Blazers (call sign Raven), F-4s of VF-151 Vigilantes (call sign Switchbox) and VF-161 Chargers (call sign Rock River), EKA-3Bs of VAQ-130 Zappers (call sign Robinson), E-2Bs of VAW-115 Liberty Bells, SH-3Gs of HC-1 Detachment 8 Angels (call sign Clementine), HH-3As of HC-7 Detachment 110 Sea Devils (call sign Big Mother), even the RF-8Gs of VFP-63 Detachment 3 (call sign Cork Tip) all play supporting roles.
The footage is as mixed bag in that much of it was obviously shot during CVW-5 WestPacs but some other footage has been spliced in. Nonetheless the video is definitely worth watching- especially if you served aboard Midway during the timeframe of the film. Titling is a bit confusing because Midway’s WestPac deployments ran from April to November of 1971, and from April 1972 to March of 1973.
Enjoy the video, and remember Lieutenant Raymond P Donnelly and his devotion to, and ultimate sacrifice for, his country.
Title: Re: A-rabs at War
Post by: jskibo on March 17, 2017, 06:07:26 PM
Nice!
I was an A-6 Mech. Miss my plane
Title: Re: A-rabs at War
Post by: Nefarious on March 17, 2017, 06:12:15 PM
Cool pics! As a navy brat, these and a few other Navy planes were constantly over head until I was 11 years old. A-6s, F-14s, F-18s.
Title: Re: A-rabs at War
Post by: Ramesis on March 18, 2017, 03:41:55 PM
I was airdale... '69 -'73 Last 2yrs ('71-73) was at gtmo with vc-10 Worked with F8-Ks and S2 stoofs
Title: Re: A-rabs at War
Post by: icepac on March 18, 2017, 05:09:22 PM
I remember having to climb over the door openings on the midway as a little kid in 1966.
Title: Re: A-rabs at War
Post by: Gman on March 19, 2017, 10:58:29 PM
Great vid Nefarious, interesting. I grew up a few years on an air base that had a huge yearly show, the 2nd largest in Canada yearly, and my mom was a teacher at the air base, and always volunteered us to have pilots/crew that would fly in board with us for a few nights. In 1992 we had a couple A6 guys, Lt. Dan "Buster" Brown from VA155 Silver Foxes stayed with us, and got a good chuckle at all my early flight sim stuff and the thousands of questions I pelted him and his nav guy with over dinner. Showed me all around their bird at the show, really interesting to sit in it too, the seats are really staggered in there. They had just served on one of the CVs during the first Gulf War, and were selling squadron tshirts that had images of them hitting targets with bombs - he said they dropped a lot of unguided heavy (2000lb/etc) bombs, with great accuracy, and the buildings blowing up on their tshirts proved this.
Such a great bird, a shame the USN never replaced it with something else, as good as the SuperHornet is, nothing has had the range or load that the Intruder had, as well as its ability to fly and fight in very bad weather and at low altitudes, IMO.
Title: Re: A-rabs at War
Post by: MiloMorai on March 20, 2017, 09:26:51 AM
Great vid Nefarious, interesting. I grew up a few years on an air base that had a huge yearly show, the 2nd largest in Canada yearly, and my mom was a teacher at the air base, and always volunteered us to have pilots/crew that would fly in board with us for a few nights. In 1992 we had a couple A6 guys, Lt. Dan "Buster" Brown from VA155 Silver Foxes stayed with us, and got a good chuckle at all my early flight sim stuff and the thousands of questions I pelted him and his nav guy with over dinner. Showed me all around their bird at the show, really interesting to sit in it too, the seats are really staggered in there. They had just served on one of the CVs during the first Gulf War, and were selling squadron tshirts that had images of them hitting targets with bombs - he said they dropped a lot of unguided heavy (2000lb/etc) bombs, with great accuracy, and the buildings blowing up on their tshirts proved this.
Such a great bird, a shame the USN never replaced it with something else, as good as the SuperHornet is, nothing has had the range or load that the Intruder had, as well as its ability to fly and fight in very bad weather and at low altitudes, IMO.
VA155 never flew A6s.
Title: Re: A-rabs at War
Post by: Hungry on March 20, 2017, 09:39:27 AM
Thanks for posting that. Interesting evaluation how they end up to a easy setup. Can not imagine they will change it anymore but you never know.
Just to mention that naval versions of the F-4 had a nose gear extension position for cat shots (I think by filling the strut with nitrogen, but don't remember), that you can see happen in the vid. That gave the plane more angle of attack during the cat shot. To try to make that extended nose strut also sturdy enough for the load of a cat shot was evidently too much, so they used the bridal. Two freaking big hooks in the underside shoulders where the wings met the fuselage.
Title: Re: A-rabs at War
Post by: Nefarious on March 23, 2017, 06:32:51 AM
Just to mention that naval versions of the F-4 had a nose gear extension position for cat shots (I think by filling the strut with nitrogen, but don't remember), that you can see happen in the vid. That gave the plane more angle of attack during the cat shot. To try to make that extended nose strut also sturdy enough for the load of a cat shot was evidently too much, so they used the bridal. Two freaking big hooks in the underside shoulders where the wings met the fuselage.
I was just discussing that recently with my dad, when I found a picture of FAA F-4K Phantoms operating on board the USS Independence in 1973-75. The FAA Phantoms nose gear actually extended higher than that of the USN F-4J. The reason being they needed an even higher AOA on board the Ark Royal for Launch.
Sometime around the same time, VMFA-531 operated from the Ark Royal as well, I've seen picture so somehow they were able to launch from the Ark Royal without the even higher extension that the FAA F-4Ks had.
Title: Re: A-rabs at War
Post by: FLOOB on March 23, 2017, 08:05:47 AM
What has this got to do with the Arabs?
Title: Re: A-rabs at War
Post by: Nefarious on March 23, 2017, 08:27:36 AM
Sometime around the same time, VMFA-531 operated from the Ark Royal as well, I've seen picture so somehow they were able to launch from the Ark Royal without the even higher extension that the FAA F-4Ks had.
Just a wild guess, but perhaps they launched pretty clean, without ordnance, maybe only AIM 7's and 9's. Photos have ye?
Title: Re: A-rabs at War
Post by: Nefarious on March 24, 2017, 10:38:31 AM
Just a wild guess, but perhaps they launched pretty clean, without ordnance, maybe only AIM 7's and 9's. Photos have ye?
Looks completely clean with the exception of a 600 gal centerline.
http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com
Title: Re: A-rabs at War
Post by: mikeWe9a on March 26, 2017, 03:22:59 PM
On the F-4 there also look to be "hold back" straps which drop/break away when the catapult launches the fighter. These would be to keep the aircraft from rolling forward and allowing slack to develop in the bridle. If there is significant slack, then the fighter won't be smoothly pulled, but rather 'yanked' when the slack is taken up by the accelerating catapult.
Mike
Title: Re: A-rabs at War
Post by: Ramesis on March 26, 2017, 03:30:17 PM
A little known fact about Crusaders ... raising the wings was not for talking off but for landing... allowed the pilot to see the deck/runway because of its high landing speed At least from what I undertstand :cheers: