Posted on 03/23/2006 8:08:08 AM PST by Cliff Dweller
SYDNEY, Australia — A North Korean cargo ship seized after being used to smuggle heroin into Australia was sunk Thursday when the Australian air force used the vessel for target practice.
The Australian Federal Police said the freighter Pong Su was towed out of Sydney Harbor earlier this week, then destroyed Thursday by a bomb dropped from a F-111 jet fighter and sank 140 90 miles off the coast of New South Wales state.
The vessel was seized in 2003 after being used to smuggle in more than 275 pounds of heroin.
It had anchored off the southwestern Victoria state town of Lorne, while the drug haul was carried ashore by dinghy.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Me thinks the Aussies are the only ones left flying the F-111 as well. Some guys have all the fun...
Huh?
I would guess in the vicinity of London? Leave it to AP to proof their stories...
I suspect that "140 km or 90 miles" was intended.
Remember when the "Original Tomcat" was asked if more thrust would enable the F-111 to operate off Aircraft Carriers? His reply was to the effect that "... There isn't enough thrust in all of Christendom to allow that platform to fly off a carrier..."
Sends a great message to smugglers.
Pity they took them off the ship first. Ooooopppps. that's not PC...
Enquiring minds want to know. Was the crew on board at the time?
It's for sure the folks working for
EPA and endangered specie groups are
going to be blasting the Aussies for
polluting the environment of our
edible fish supply.
But for those addicted to drugs,
save your money and experiment by
ingesting squid and John Dory...raw!
Good for them.
The Aussies are flying the F-111C and F-111G (former EF-111A) now, and they know how to use them!
That's a hell of a fast aircraft. It's truly a shame we dont use them anymore. They were great at moving in and putting bombs on target.
Actually, even though thats what it was designed to be in the beginning, the F-111 was never used as a fighter. It was a bomber. Rember, they were the planes that delivered bombs to tripoli in 1986.
It was originally designed to be a navy fighter, but was too big for the elevators, as I remember. It was also the only other aircraft besides the F-14 designed to fire the Phoenix air-to-air missle.
If a C-130 can take off and land on a carrier, an F-111 certainly can.
Looks like the F-111 may have inspired the B-1B design. I worked for Rockwell International on the B-1B production program and the F-111 was the chase plane used on the Maiden flight of ship 1 of the B-1B program.
You are correct the A-6E Intruder is no match for the EF-111, then again the Intruder is/was a Medium Attack Bomber not a specialized platform for EW... I believe you meant the EA-6B Prowler which is an Electronic Warfare bird.
It can, ...you missed the reference and context. Admiral Thomas "Tomcat" O'Malley (I believe) testified before Congress on the effectiveness of the F-111 in filling the Navy's role for a carrier based fighter and was asked if more thrust would better enable it to fill this role....
His reply was something to the effect that "there isn't enough thrust in all Christendom to enable it to be a suitable carrier based fighter..."
O'Malley was a proponent for the F-14 and it's moniker is a credit to him.... "Tomcat"
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