Last Deployment of the Big E

The USS Enterprise, the world's first nuclear powered aircraft carrier will begin her final deployment in the next few days.  I have always been a fan of the old girl, and her predecessor.

You can read more here: USS ENTERPRISE.

P-3 Orion Touch and Go

It happens everyday around the United States.  The men in charge of protecting this nation practice their profession.  Pilots need to keep proficient and be ready for the day they are needed.  Today, I just happened to have my camera and be in the right place at the right time.

A Navy P-3C Orion, flying from Whidbey Island NAS, made some touch and goes this morning.  My daughter and I were fortunate that our location and schedule permitted us to watch him make a few passes.

After a quick perusal of the NAS Whidbey Island site, I suspect this one is from VP-40, the Fighting Marlins.  Of course, the military is notoriously tight-lipped about such things, so getting a straight answer is unlikely.  Believe me, I tried calling.  I'm not certain what good that kind of information could do anyone with bad intentions, but I would not want to put any fighting men/women at risk, so I'll leave it at that.

 The P-3 is an anti-submarine maritime patrol aircraft.  When hunting submarines the tail boom is used to search for magnetic anomalies, which a submarine would qualify as, since it is a large chunk of metal in an otherwise, non-metallic area.  To track a submarine they can also launch sono-buoys, which can either actively or passively listen for the movements of a large underwater vessel and transmit what it hears back to the aircraft.  You can see where sono-buoys are launched from, the area of dots inside the rectangle near the tail.

As a patrol aircraft, it's duty is to go for long flights over vast distances.  Why they train over land is beyond me, but I am certain it has something to do with availability of runways.  Who knows?

 Never let it be said that the boys in uniform are just taking it easy.  These guys were working hard today!  I just wish they'd drop me an email so I could be prepared with my camera!

Seventy Years Ago

It has been 70 years ago, today, since the Japanese Empire sent naval units and aircraft to attack units of the United States Navy.  Though the Japanese planners had hoped to catch the US carriers in port, they instead succeeded in changing the way the US Navy fought its wars.  By placing the US Pacific Battle Line on the bottom, the Japanese opened up a chance for US planners to use an, up to then, unproven technology as the main way for the US to take war to the enemy.  Of course, I am speaking of the Aircraft Carrier.

There was another way that the USN took the war to the enemy.  Unrestricted Submarine Warfare.

Still, even though it took four more years to finish the war, our first bloody nose was a painful one.  Though the experts never seem to agree, I go with this number:  2400.  2400 men.  Two thousand, four hundred men lost their lives.  The United States armed forces, both the Navy and the Army, were caught with their pants down.  You can talk about conspiracy theories all day long, that doesn't matter.  In the long run, 2400 families lost loved ones that day, and that was only a drop in the bucket.

That is why I think it appropriate that we all spend a few minutes and think of the men and women who either gave part of their lives, themselves, or died for our country and their fellow soldiers.  I would like to personally thank every one of them, but that will never happen, so I'll do it here.  Thank you.  And to you who serve now, Thank you.

I also value the inanimate.  I think of the battleships on Battleship Row.  Arizona, you gave all.  Oklahoma, you sailed again, but under tow and only to founder after the war.  West Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, California, and Nevada you all went back to sea and even managed to bring some much needed revenge back to the enemy who holed you.

Always remember the Day of Infamy.

F-8 Pilot Flies Through Storm

This is a short post about William Rankin, a WWII and Korean War pilot.  He made an unscheduled departure from his F-8 Crusader and spent the next forty or so minutes floating around in a thundercloud.  You might be interested in reading it, and if so, you are in luck!  Here is the link.

Some Interesting Items

This is from an email the Flying Heritage Museum sent me (not because I'm special, but because I signed up for their emails) and I am sharing it with you because I am fairly certain I am one of the few nerds that does that and also that you probably don't.

The rare Ilyushin Il-2M “Shturmovik” attack plane recently completed in Russia is headed to the Flying Heritage Collection (FHC) in Everett, Wash.  Expect it sometime next year. The aircraft is the only flying example of its type left in the world.

You may know that the Il-2 Shturmovik was a ground attack aircraft that the Germans feared in WWII.  It had particularly thick skin.  It carried particularly heavy weaponry intended for ground attack, the targets mainly being tanks.  Think of the German Junker Ju-87 with a few more things on it to make it survive.  All in all, it's a cool aircraft.  You can learn more about it here.

This image from Wikipedia

The second interesting item is that the US has dismantled it's most powerful bomb.  The B-53 was 12 feet long and a little more than 4 feet in diameter and could detonate with a power of 9 megatons of TNT!  Now these behemoths are gone.  You can read more about them here.  If you want to read about the dismantlement of them you can read about it here and here.

Sad Events

Sad events occurred over the weekend.  A heavily modified P-51 was lost and a T-28 was also lost.  Both in air shows.

The P-51 was a heavily modified racer with clipped wings and modified canopy.  He was in Reno and seems to have managed to avoid a greater number of people than the now confirmed nine people.

The T-28 was lost in West Virginia.

Ewa Field, Hawaii

photo from here

On December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States was attacked by forces of the Empire of Japan.  This action resulted in the sinking or disabling of much of the United States Navy's major fleet units.  This action also caused the United States to be catapulted into World War II.  This is a significant event.

I always have found it more interesting to learn about things that I could see, touch, or experience.  As I have mentioned in the past, I have been to the B-Reactor site and stood where Enrico Fermi stood when they brought that reactor on-line in September of 1944.  The ability to stand in the footprints of those who came before allows you to visualize better what those who came before went through and experienced.

The US Navy has allowed many of its ships to be preserved and used as memorials to those who have fought and fallen for this great nation of ours.  However, I do not know of many land installations that have been preserved for the same purpose.  It has come to my attention, thanks to the efforts of John Bond at http://www.december7.com/ , that the small airfield of Ewa near Honolulu, Hawaii, is in danger of being erased.  This field figured prominently in the Pearl Harbor attack.

Should a photo-voltaic power station be constructed on the field, thus cutting it off from the public, or off the field?  I am in agreement with those at http://www.december7.com/ in that it should be located OFF the field.

You can help preserve the field for later generations.  Write a letter, of use this one

COMMANDER, NAVY REGION HAWAII
ATTN: CNRH PAO
850 Ticonderoga Street, Suite #110
JBPHH, HI 96860-5101

Dear Sirs,

I believe the best option for preservation of the December 7, 1941 Ewa Field
Battlefield Site, in a report which has been researched and distributed by
Navy Region Hawaii, is for the proposed Photo-Voltaic Solar Panel farm to be
placed OFF the historic battlefield runway and in an area below it. This
would allow both historic preservation and renewable energy generation and
be a win-win solution for all concerned.

The Photo-Voltaic Solar Panel farm developer, Hunt Corp of Texas, has
already drawn up an alternate location proposal which would meet the same
needs for solar power generation, and which also meets the National Park
Service recommendation as well as the public opinion of many in the local
community of Ewa which would like to see the battlefield site preserved for
a future National Park and National Landmark.
Sincerely,

Your Name
and Organization
Address

FASTEST WAY- EMAIL your text, Doc or PDF TO:  cnrh.pao@navy.mil

I hope you will do this immediately!