The FReeper Foxhole - Military Related News in Review - July 21st, 2003

various

[SCDogPapa]

I think it's time to get our guy's butts outa there. Let them folks sink or swim.

[SAMWolf]

Good morning Feather. It may sound strange but Oregon could use some rain.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Fiddlstix. Just sitting back and enjoying my first cup of coffee as I remember the trip to the Evergreen Museum. The B-17 they have is almost 100% restored and is flyable.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Darksheare. All the pictures are showing for me. Are they finally showing up for you?

[SAMWolf]

1924 Don Knotts Morgantown WV, actor (Amdy Griffth Show, 3's Company)

[SAMWolf]

Morning SCDogPapa. Weekends are always way too short.

[Valin]

I don't know if people saw this sooo....
Pilot describes Baghdad crash [Apr.8 ~ 'Hey, pilot dude. Come out. We're Americans.']
American Forces Press Service thru Air Force.mil 7/17/2003 Jim Garamone


Posted on 07/20/2003 6:44 PM CDT by Ragtime Cowgirl


Pilot describes Baghdad crash


byJim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

7/17/2003 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Maj. Jim Ewald had just finished a close-air support mission over Baghdad when his A-10 Thunderbolt II was hit by an Iraqi surface-to-air missile April 8. It physically moved the plane "like the hand of God," Ewald said during a Pentagon interview July 16.

Ewald is a pilot with the 110th Fighter Wing out of Battle Creek, Mich.

The missile came up from the southwest, and Ewald said he never saw it. But he had no doubt a missile had hit him.

"I could see a reddish glow on my cockpit instruments from the fire behind me," he said. His second thought was that he had not been wounded.

It was then that the airplane “departed from controlled flight,” he said.

"That's just the way we say, ‘I was trying to fly the airplane one way, but the airplane was off doing its own thing,’" the Michigan guardsman said.

Ewald was soon able to regain control.

"I was very fortunate to be flying this mission in an A-10, because had I not, I would have bailed out right there," he said. "My next thought was 'I don't want to bail out right over Baghdad or I'm going to be in it deep.'"

He and his wingman headed out of Baghdad and sought American lines.

"It was physically hard (to fly the plane),” Ewald said. "I was manipulating everything with all the muscles in my body. I had flight-control problems. I had engine problems. I had fuel-flow problems. I had hydraulic problems … not to mention that I had an airplane that was disintegrating. I looked back once, and I could see little parts falling off the engine, and I thought, 'I really don't know what that is, but I think I need it.' "

As he continued south, he lost one of the engines completely, and he ejected.

"The ejection seat was packed by one of my new best friends out of Boise, Idaho, and it worked perfectly," Ewald said.

After he hit the ground, he mistook the A-10’s 30 mm rounds exploding in the burning airplane for incoming Iraqi fire. He ran to hide in a dried canal behind some reeds. He heard engine noise and hoped that the vehicle was American.

"I knew the 3rd Infantry Division had been in the area, but I didn't know if it was still there," Ewald said.

There were Fedayeen Saddam paramilitary forces still running around, he said, and he could not see very well.

"I heard one yell in English, but I thought maybe this guy went to language school," Ewald said. "Then I heard another voice yell in English, 'Hey, pilot dude. Come out. We're Americans.'"

There was no mistaking the accent, he said.

"He sounded like your typical 19-year-old American," Ewald said. "I thought, ‘That's something you don't learn in language school.’"

The soldiers were from the Army's 54th Engineer Battalion, and they had seen Ewald eject. They arrived some 10 to 15 minutes after he hit the ground, he said.

Ewald went back to the 110th FW and was back into the cockpit within 48 hours.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/949565/posts

[SCDogPapa]

The A-10,,,must be one tough nut to crack. Glad he made it out.

[Darksheare]

Yes, the dreaded red 'x's have been banished.

[snippy_about_it]

Oh my, I see them all, I'm sorry they didn't load for you. I probably have too many for some folks connection and so I'll try to break them up more next time.

I did have a wonderful time. :)

[snippy_about_it]

Darksheare, you and Colonel Flagg are getting the red x today, I wonder why? boo-hoo. Let me know if they ever appear for you.

[Darksheare]

"Hey pilot dude" is going to be the new soldier joke.

[snippy_about_it]

Good Morning SAM.

[Darksheare]

They finally appeared, the red x is banished for the time being.
Sometimes happens due to server load or bandwidth bottlenecking between the server and myself.

[snippy_about_it]

Come on Friday!!!

LOL, oh yeah!!!

[snippy_about_it]

There was a story about us chasing down Taliban in Afghanistan and I thought, why aren't we doing the same in Iraq. Doesn't seem to me we are as forceful in Iraq as Afghanistan. Sure we are hunting for them but I wish we were getting rid of more of them.

[Johnny Gage]

Air Power
AV-8b "Harrier"

The AV-8B V/STOL strike aircraft was designed to replace the AV-8A and the A-4M light attack aircraft. The Marine Corps requirement for a V/STOL light attack force has been well documented since the late 1950's. Combining tactical mobility, responsiveness, reduced operating cost and basing flexibility, both afloat and ashore, V/STOL aircraft are particularly well-suited to the special combat and expeditionary requirements of the Marine Corps. The AV-8BII+ features the APG-65 Radar common to the F/A-18, as well as all previous systems and features common to the AV-8BII.

The AV-8B Harrier is a single-seat, light attack aircraft that provides offensive air support to the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF). By virtue of its Vertical/Short Take-Off or Landing (V/STOL) capability, the AV-8B can operate from a variety of amphibious ships, rapidly constructed expeditionary airfields, forward sites (e.g., roads), and damaged conventional airfields. This makes the aircraft particularly well-suited for providing dedicated close air support.

The mission of the VMA STOVL squadron is to attack and destroy surface and air targets, to escort helicopters, and to conduct other such air operations as may be directed.

Specific tasks of the AV-8B HARRIER II include:
- Conduct close air support using conventional and specific weapons.
- Conduct deep air support, to include armed reconnaissance and air interdiction, using conventional and specific weapons.
- Conduct offensive and defensive antiair warfare. This includes combat air patrol, armed escort missions, and offensive missions against enemy ground-to-air defenses, all within the capabilities of the aircraft.
- Be able to operate and deliver ordnance at night and to operate under instrument flight conditions.
- Be able to deploy for extended operations employing aerial refueling.
- Be able to deploy to and operate from carriers and other suitable seagoing platforms, advanced bases, expeditionary airfields, and remote tactical landing sites.

The primary mission of the Harrier as employed by the Royal Air Force is that of a ground-attack fighter-bomber. In this role, a variety of external ordnance with maximum weight up to 5000 pounds may be carried, as well as two 30-mm cannons. The Royal Navy employs the aircraft in a fleet air-defense role; in this capacity, Sidewinder missiles are carried in addition to the cannon and various external stores. In naval use, the Harrier employs a short takeoff technique from a small carrier equipped with a ski-jump launching ramp; after its mission and at a much reduced weight, the aircraft makes a vertical landing on the carrier. This mode of operation is referred to as STOVL, short takeoff and vertical landing. Although generally available information is far from complete, the Harrier was apparently employed with great effectiveness in the Falkland Islands dispute between Great Britain and Argentina in 1982.

The improved version of the Harrier, known as the AV-8B, was manufactured in the United States by McDonnell Douglas under an agreement with the British Aerospace Corporation. In the various trials, demonstrations, and special exercises conducted, the AV-8B's high availability and its successful completion of operational objectives in highly restrictive environments confirmed that it could be effectively maintained and supported. The supportability of any weapon system can be illustrated by its performance over an extended period of time in terms of Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) and Maintenance Man-hours per Flight Hour (MMH/FH). The AV-8B proved to be a supportable weapon system with performance data showed a steady improvement in the supportability factors throughout the life cycle of the aircraft.

Since the aircraft entered the inventory as a mature, off-shore weapons system, there were initial programmatic difficulties in provisioning which plagued the airplane with a high Not Mission Capable Supply (NMCS) rate. Indeed, through the years, the operationally ready rate improved and continued to improve to a rate that was favorable when compared to other first line aircraft. Logistics support continued to challenge the Marines throughout the Day, Night Attack and Radar aircraft programs. Now with an ongoing remanufacture program for selected Harriers in the inventory will provide new engines and radar, a Forward Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR), moving map and night vision goggles. These improvements will give the Harrier a day and night attack capability, and will extend the service life into the next century as well as greatly improving warfighting capability and logistics support ability.

The British Aerospace Harrier is used by the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, the US Marine Corps, and the navies of Spain and India. In addition to the USMC, the Spanish and Italian Navies fly the AV-8B. The Spanish Navy has nine Day Attack and eight Radar aircraft. The Italian Navy has two Trainer and sixteen Radar aircraft. Both Spanish and Italian Pilots and maintenance personnel train with USMC personnel to ensure commonality between forces. There have been no Foreign Military Sales (FMS) of the Night Attack Aircraft and the AV-8B has not been sold the any other military force at this time.

Specifications:
Primary Function: STOVL close-support
Contractor: McDonnell Douglas
Crew: One
Powerplant: one Rolls-Royce F402-RR-408 Pegasus (23,800 lb)

Dimensions:
Length: 46.3 feet
Wingspan: 30.3 feet
Height: 11 feet, 7 inches
Weights: Empty: 14,867 lb / Maximum Takeoff: 31,000 lb

Performance :
Speed: 1.0 Mach
Ceiling: N/A
Combat Radius: 103 mi (90 nm / 167 km)

Armaments:
One fuselage-mounted 25 mm gun system
Standard Air-to-Ground (A/G) load: Six Mk 82, 500 pound bombs
Standard Air-to-Air (A/A) load: Four AIM-9L/M Sidewinder missiles
Provisions for carrying up to 9,000 pounds of ordnance on seven stations

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All photos Copyright of Global Security.Org

[snippy_about_it]

"'Hey, pilot dude. Come out. We're Americans.'"

Great story Valin, thanks for the link.

[manna]

Present!

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the link Valin.