|
Posted on 06/19/2005 10:35:04 PM PDT by SAMWolf
|
|
 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
|
| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
|
|
The F-4 Phantom The F-4 Phantom brought a new level of air warfare to the Middle East in 1969.  To Israel, it was a technical marvel. To the Shah of Iran, it was the means to dominate the Persian Gulf. When the McDonnell F-4 Phantom reached Tel Aviv in 1969, it marked a dramatic shift--the first time the Israeli state, not a formal ally, received advanced military hardware from the United States. When the Phantom reached Iran a year later, it was still a class act, like the Persian nation's famous caviar. To the two Middle East nations, not far apart yet utterly different, the F-4 Phantom was the biggest, fastest, most powerful and expensive fighter ever built. It was, very simply, the standard against which every other fighter through the end of the century would be measured. Not that the F-4 Phantom looked like much. It looked, in fact, like someone had stepped on the blueprints. It had bent wings, a sharply downswept horizontal tail slab, and a pointed nose with an abruptly fattened aft fuselage holding two powerful General Electric J79 engines. Those turbojet engines produced 17,000 pounds of thrust (8,120 kilograms) with afterburning.  To be used by men in a line of work usually viewed as a solo performance fighter pilot-the Phantom had two seats for two crew members. Over North Vietnam, Americans had learned that having two men aboard provided an extra set of eyes and ears, a second opinion, a second chance to see the bad guys first-although by 1969 two pilots were replaced by a pilot/radar operator team. And the two engines meant redundancy and greater prospects for survival when hit by gunfire. In close encounters with MiGs over Hanoi, Americans learned the most bitter lesson of all. The Phantom had been designed without a gun because the Pentagon thought the age of the missile had arrived. This was a catastrophic mistake-so a 20mm M61A1 Vulcan "GatIing" gun was belatedly slung under the nose of the F-4E model. The modification looked distinctly like an afterthought, its barrel poking out from nose contours that weren't particularly streamlined anyway. Other lessons: the Phantom carried four Sparrow radar-guided missiles in recessed bays under the fuselage, and could use them in a head-on engagement beyond visual range--a capability North Vietnamese MiGs lacked-but in 'Nam the rules said you had to see before you could shoot. The Sparrow was good up to 15 miles or so even when this advantage was not seized; the radar-guided, AIM-4D Falcon missile (introduced with the Phantom F-4D) was useless, and fighter ace Colonel Robin Olds forebade his men to use them.  At closer range, the Phantom's infrared heat-seeking missiles, the Sidewinders, were unmatched; this was becoming the most important air-to-air missile of the era. Following the Six Day War of 1967, the Israeli Defense Force/Air Force (IDF/AF), or Tsvah Haganah Le Israel/Heyl Ha'Avir, needed a front-line fighter. In January 1968, the United States completed delivery of 48 aging A- 4 Skyhawks promised before the war, and President Johnson offered Premier Eshkol 20 more. But pressure built to supply Jerusalem with a newer fighter. Although Johnson was opposed, he began negotiations on October 9, 1968, after presidential candidate Richard M. Nixon came out in favor of it. On December 27, 1968, after Nixon's election but before he took office, the announcement was made of the sale of 50 Phantoms to Israel to be delivered beginning in 1969 at a cost of $200 million. The Phantoms began to arrive in September 1969 and were committed to battle on January 7, 1970. The first mission was led by squadron leader Samuel l Chetz, already an ace, against Soviet-constructed SAM (surface-to-air missile) and radar installations at Dahashur. Chetz, known for his aggressive spirit, was later killed in a low-level strike on a SAM site, a loss which permitted Jerusalem to reveal his name although the identities of active pilots remained undisclosed.  The war of attrition was coalescing as a struggle in which air power could help Israel compensate for its inferiority in artillery along the Suez Canal. To redress the "artillery gap," Skyhawks and Phantoms silenced Egyptian missile, antiaircraft and artillery batteries. To a nation under siege, fiercely proud of its plucky and undaunted air arm, the arrival of the $4 million F-4E Phantom was timely. In the hands of aggressive and spirited Israeli crews, the Phantom shook Egyptian leaders who watched their air defense network being systematically picked apart in low-level strikes. Other F-4Es ranged against targets deep inside Egypt. On July 30, 1970, Soviet pilots helping the Egyptians tangled with Israeli Phantoms in a raging dogfight over the Gulf of Suez. It was the first test of the E model Phantom's cannon in combat. The Israelis shot down five MiG-21s. Soon thereafter, on a marathon 2,000-mile strike mission to Ras Banas, Phantoms bombed and sank a Komar-class missile boat and a 2,500-ton Z-class destroyer.  A more controversial incident occurred in February 1973. Israeli Phantoms intercepted a Libyan Boeing 727 airliner when it penetrated the Israeli-occupied Sinai Desert on a heading which suggested an intelligence-gathering mission. "We tried desperately to force it down, not shoot it down," said Maj. Gen. Mordechai Hod, IDF/AF chief. Two Phantom pilots exchanged hand signals with the Libyan pilot but were unable to persuade him to follow them to Bir Gifgafa Air Base. A Phantom fired a warning burst of 20mm. The airliner lowered its wheels but raised them again and banked in an apparent attempt to escape. The Phantoms shot it down. One hundred five of the 112 people aboard died. Even after Anwar Sadat booted out his Russian advisers on July 18, 1972, tension persisted. Many in Israel feared that a new conflict was near. At least, it seemed, the situation was stable in the Persian Gulf where Iran, prospering from skyrocketing oil prices, was arming itself to the teeth. The Shah said openly that he wanted to be the decisive force in his region
|
Morning Brad's Gramma
HI Radu. :-)
Me too, I thought she was a beauty and that there was no better jet in the world. Yesterday afternoon, Snippy and I, had the opportunity to watch a B-17G take off twice and land once while standing on grass next to the the runway, it actually brought tears to my eyes. What a beautiful plane and sound!!
Morning Aeronaut
I know you have some Phantom pics stashed away. ;-)
Morning GailA
She was a looker all right. :-)
Morning E.G.C.
The thunderstorm, heavy rain and high winds they were predicting for Thursday showed up last evening. What a show! We don't get those here often and it seemed everyone was at the window or on their deccks watching
Morning Mayor.
At least it's "immortalized" on their State quarter.
There are still events going on, IMHO, the arrival of the Rose Fleet and the Air Show are two of the best.
Morning Feather
Morning PE.
Snippy got some Flag-O-Gram pics for you yesterday.
Keep a weather eye pealed!
Alligator Escapes From Oregon Home
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20050619/D8AQITQG0.html
Jun 19, 4:38 AM (ET)
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - It is not often that police get a call about an alligator on the loose in Medford. But the call came Thursday after owner Paul Sabin was distracted caring for another sick pet, a 12-foot Burmese python.
Sabin says the small alligator, named Usal, generally will run if confronted by a human. But he warns not to get close to the 3 1/2-foot-long reptile if he is spotted.
"Reach for him, and he'll probably try to bite," Sabin said.
(snip)
1924 Audie Murphy Kingston Tx, WWII hero/actor (Destry, Joe Butterfly, To Hell and Back)
Shameless Plug
Born On this Day Audie Leon Murphy
JROTC. Org ^ | June 20, 1925
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1426534/posts
/Shameless Plug
We also had a trojan horse on our computer last week. The computer blue screened on Friday and we got rid of the trojan horse after a virus scan afterwards.
How's it going, Snippy?
We are back in California now . . . a most memorable trip. I have two final installments starting with the 1st and 2nd Manassas. I apologize if it’s a little fragmented, there was a lot to see and I had promised my girls some time antique-ing. [There will be no pictures of antiques]
The first major land battle of the armies in Virginia. On July 16, 1861, the untried army under Gen. Irvin McDowell marched from Washington against the Confederate army, which was drawn up behind Bull Run River five miles Centreville. On the 21st McDowell crossed Sudley Ford with 15,000 soldiers hoping for a surprise attack on the Confederate left flank. Col. Nathan Evans rushed the remainder of his command (4th Alabama) to Matthew’s Hill in time to check McDowell’s advance.
View of Col. Evans looking up Matthew’s Hill.
From the Rhode Island battery under Col. John Slocum atop Matthew’s Hill, 71st New York regiment.
With rebels 20yards away the Rhode Islanders were able to hold thier position sending the Alabamians into retreat toward Henry Hill. Note just above the right side of the tree is the Henry House just atop Henry Hill.
. . . and another view.
About Noon after a lull, both groups reorganized and reformed their lines. McDowell’s forces then occupied the area around Henry House and from here Rickett’s guns were hit by reinforcements from Jackson’s Corps . . . this is where the momentum shifted.
Close up of what Rickett’s canoneers saw come screaming out of the woods . . . Jackson's Corps.
The Henry house and close up of the upper right room where 85yr. old Judith Henry was killed when artillerist turned their guns toward Matthews hill.
Jackson’s line . . . 13 pieces of artillery came along a wagon path from the Lewis House to this point about Noon.
Now wavering and tired with units falling out of line the confederates retired to here . . .
”Look! There stands Jackson like a stone wall! Rally behind the Virginians.”
The confederates receive newly arrived reinforcements from Gen. Joe Johnston and Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard and rally here at the Robinson House (remaining stone foundation) that escaped damage during the 1st Bull Run. The farm line is in the background.
The Stone House where during the 2nd Manassas Pope made his headquarters directly behind this house. It also served as a field hospital during the first and second Manassas.
The Stone Bridge. Under cover of darkness, the defeated Union army withdrew across Bull Run in this vicinity toward Centerville, August 1862. Lee’s bold and brilliant Second Manassas opened the way for the South’s first invasion of the North.
Tomorrow will be the final installment . . . “Antietam”.
Aw shucks. I wanted to see a writing desk or two riddled with bullet holes.
An e-mail received from an architect I work with.
______________________________________________________________-
Only a “Few Good Men” will get this.
CAST:
MEP Engineer: Jack Nicholson
Architect: Tom Cruise
MEP Engineer: You want answers?
Architect: I think I'm entitled to them.
MEP Engineer: You want answers?!
Architect: I want the truth!
MEP Engineer: You can't HANDLE the truth!!
Son, we live in a world that has CHILLERS, BOILERS AND SWITCHGEAR. And those PIECES OF EQUIPMENT have to be LOCATED IN ROOMS. Who's gonna DESIGN THEM? You? You, MR. ARCHITECT? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom.
You weep for LOST PARKING SPACES and you curse the SIZE OF MY GENERATOR. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that THOSE MEP SYSTEMS, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives...You don't want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don't talk about at parties, you WANT me on that DESIGN TEAM. You NEED me on that DESIGN TEAM. We use words like DESIGN, CODE, ANALYSIS...we use these words as the backbone to a life spent PROVIDING OWNER COMFORT AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY. You use 'em as a punchline.
I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain my DESIGN to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very ENVIRONMENT I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it! I'd rather you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a DUCTULATOR and DESIGN a BUILDING SYSTEM. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to!
Architect : Did you OVERSIZE THE MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL ROOMS?
MEP Engineer : (quietly) I did the job you HIRED me to do.
Architect : Did you OVERSIZE THE MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL ROOMS?!!
MEP Engineer : You're goddamn right I did!!
IIRC, this bloke, Ken Warby, had the help of some RAAF F-4 wrench turners to rebuild the J34 engine used in this little raft. He had about 5,000 lbs of thrust available.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
