Smaller Air Fields, Good 2 "Sand & Steel": A-4 SkyHawk Expeditionary Airfield

Let's talk about the "Steel".

But first, two points-of-order:

1. This is an A-4 SkyHawk ATTACK plane—not a fighter-bomber. While close-range Sidewinder AAMs can be attached to them and they have a pair of 20mm autocannon which could have shot-down Castro Cuban straight-wing T-33 jets and Sea Furies at the 1961 Bay of Pigs USMC-lead amphibious fiasco failure:

http://www.combatreform.org/airbornebayofpigs.htm

...they are not good fighters unless we add medium-range AAMs like AIM-120 AMRAAMs to them--which we should do:

http://www.combatreform.org/USARMYAVIATIONDIGEST/oa4z.htm

2. "The Viet Cong front door" is the land of the South Vietnamese we want to protect, the stupid Jarhead narrator is reading uncritically from the imbecile HQMC script given him!

The rest of this otherwise, informative documentary shows how we exploited the SkyHawk's tail-hook and catapult-stressed features for a CATBAR-like, short runway, forward operating base (FOB) ashore; even using JATO rocket bottles for fast take-offs instead of cats.

http://www.combatreform.org/fighterinabox.htm

Jets burn up huge amounts of fuel so keeping them on-station in the air is difficult, so having them nearby on strip alert via short runways after an Airborne FAC in a small observation/attack (OA) plane which can be economically flown overhead 24/365 finds the elusive sub-national conflict (SNC) rebel.

http://www.combatreform.org/grasshoppersmustreturn.htm
However, the hypocritical USMC no longer operates either O/A planes (OV-10s retired), AFACs or efficient simple attack planes like the A-4, so all their TALK about doing "Close Air Support" is just that, TALK. What a shame. We once knew how to do it right.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• a-4
• skyhawk
• jato
• sarts
• runway
• vietnam
• catbar
• cas
• mas

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