Back in late 1970, when I was on the USS Fresno (LST1182), we were enroute to Vietnam for my second deployment. We stopped in Okinawa, and practiced landing Harriers on our postage stamp flight deck, so that when we were in ‘Nam, any Harrier that couldn’t make it back to its primary landing field would have an alternative landing site. Although we didn’t land any Harriers during that or my subsequent deployment in ‘71, we did land some pretty shot up Apaches and Cobras.
Apaches came into service 15 years later.
In 1970 I was at the Naval Air Systems Command in DC when the first Harriers came to town.
I rode over to an airfield with a bus load of admirals and saw the first one. As a graduate Aerospace Engineer I was totally blown away by these airplanes and so were the brass.
It was a different country then
Wow - an internet NavHero....with film even (sadly lost in a boating accident).
US Harriers and Cobras were not even in production yet in 1970, yet you remember them 'as though it were yesterday'. I suppose you sailed with Halsey too.
Thanks for your service.
The Fresno was agreed to be sold to the Peruvian navy, but was never delivered for some reason.
Have any insight into that?