Why the Navy Needs Disruption Now

[Ed Anger]

I'm a A-4 groupie.

[Berkut]

I still say the Phantom had twice the charisma of the F14 and F15.  Thing looked like a flying muscle car.

It was a good-looking plane (not as good looking as the F-14 or F-15) but not a very good fighter.  The Navy had to take F-8s back from the reserves to get a front-line fighter in Vietnam.

It was really more of an interceptor, right?

Didn't they actually deploy it without a gun at first? Which of course did not work out so well when you don't have a free fire zone and have to actually ID your targets by Mk 1 eyeball before shooting...

[MadBurgerMaker]

I always thought the Vigilante was pretty cool. Interesting way of delivering nukes too:  Just dump them out the ass end.  Sure, they might accidentally fall out on the carrier deck on launch, but hey, that's the price you pay for innovation. 

The tiny bit of the wingtips that would fold was a nice touch too.  Now the wingspan is only gigantic, instead of absurdly stupid!  The "nose" wheel was set like 20 feet back as well.  Must have been fun to roll around on a flight deck in that.  Get an RA-5 in the air though, and it's slick as shit.

[Tonitrus]

Why did everything that is awesome about airpower come out of the 50's? 

[Admiral Yi]

I'm a A-4 groupie.

WTF?  The A4 was the Yugo of strike aircraft.

[MadBurgerMaker]

WTF?  The A4 was the Yugo of strike aircraft.

The A-4 is a cool little plane.

[celedhring]

The first airplane models I owned as a kid were a Phantom and a Stratojet. I concur that 1950s planes kicked ass. Huge fan of the B-47s rocket-assisted takeoff.

[CountDeMoney]

The A-6 should still be in service, goddammit.

[grumbler]

It was really more of an interceptor, right?

Didn't they actually deploy it without a gun at first? Which of course did not work out so well when you don't have a free fire zone and have to actually ID your targets by Mk 1 eyeball before shooting...

It was originally designed as a strike fighter, then redesigned as an interceptor when the A-7 was adopted by the Navy (its original strike fighter size meant it could carry the big radar and second crewman needed for that role), then adopted by the Air Force as a strike fighter.  It was never intended as a subsonic dogfighter because the Five-Sided Playpen was convinced back then that missiles and radar made subsonic gun fights obsolete.  That, obviously, was in error.

[grumbler]

WTF?  The A4 was the Yugo of strike aircraft.

The A-4 is a cool little plane.

And still in service, more than 60 years after its IOC.

[celedhring]

The A-6 should still be in service, goddammit.

The Prowler is still in service. Doesn't that count?

[grumbler]

The A-6 should still be in service, goddammit.

The Prowler is still in service. Doesn't that count?

(a) It's only in service with the USMC,
(b) it's not an A-6, it's an electronic warfare aircraft, so,
(c) no, it doesn't count. 

[CountDeMoney]

EA-6B FAIL

[11B4V]

I always thought the Vigilante was pretty cool. Interesting way of delivering nukes too:  Just dump them out the ass end.  Sure, they might accidentally fall out on the carrier deck on launch, but hey, that's the price you pay for innovation. 

The tiny bit of the wingtips that would fold was a nice touch too.  Now the wingspan is only gigantic, instead of absurdly stupid!  The "nose" wheel was set like 20 feet back as well.  Must have been fun to roll around on a flight deck in that.  Get an RA-5 in the air though, and it's slick as shit.

Sexy looking aircraft.

[grumbler]

I always thought the Vigilante was pretty cool. Interesting way of delivering nukes too:  Just dump them out the ass end.  Sure, they might accidentally fall out on the carrier deck on launch, but hey, that's the price you pay for innovation. 

The tiny bit of the wingtips that would fold was a nice touch too.  Now the wingspan is only gigantic, instead of absurdly stupid!  The "nose" wheel was set like 20 feet back as well.  Must have been fun to roll around on a flight deck in that.  Get an RA-5 in the air though, and it's slick as shit.

Sexy looking aircraft.

Another plane that looked good without being good.  The Vigilante had the highest loss rate of any US aircraft employed in Vietnam, even though, for much of the war, the navy refused to fly them over the north.  The Navy stopped production after 120 had been built, but was then forced to order 36 more because of the high loss rate.  Vigilante squadrons were not happy squadrons.