it's done intentionally since a 'Fighter Pilot gets shot down' sounds more like a failure than 'Bomber Pilot gets shot down' since the Bombers job is to fly INTO the FLAK/SAM arena before they can come out again...
Posted on 09/13/2008 6:58:49 AM PDT by pabianice
This may seem like a small thing, but if the press cannot tell the difference between a fighter and a bomber it needs to be spanked and sent to boot camp.
John McCain flew the A-4 "Skyhawk," a light bomber called a light attack aircraft by the DOD. The A-4 was assigned to VA squadrons; V meaning Navy Air Squadron and A meaning light attack. (In the 60s there were also VAH squadrons -- heavy Attack -- that flew the A-3 "Whale" and the A-5 "Vigilante.") Fighter squadrons are designated VF and at that time flew the F4 Phantom and F-8 Crusader.
This may seem like a small point but the press' inability -- or unwillingness -- to get such facts straight appears to be part and parcel of today's MSM -- bad writing, bad research, and twisted so far to the left that they cannot be seen unless you have exophoria.
Actually the “V” stands for “Fixed Wing”. It is used in the Marine Corps also as in VMFA - 232 (Fixed Wing, Marine, Fighter - Attack)
don't mean to sound rude but did you mean STUPIDITY instead of inability?
Sorry, you’re only technically correct; but not in the larger scheme.
Although mostly involved in the bombing business, the A-4 pilots considered themselves fighter pilots, just as Air Force F-4 pilots and F-105 pilots were fighter pilots—although they also were primarily used as “bombers” during the VietNam war.
If you think of fighter pilots as only those involved in the air-to-air combat business, you are in error....
Exactly.
At least they’re giving him credit for being a pilot...
You know, I think this is a small detail. Your average American does not know the difference. They equate every military pilot with to Top Gun. They do the same thing when they refer to Marines as soldiers. I’m a prior enlisted Marine and that used to bother me terribly. Most of the press are not connected to the Marine Corps, so I’ve stopped expecting them to know the difference.
Did A-4s have guns? Did they get involved in air to air combat? Just curious.
ditto
it's done intentionally since a 'Fighter Pilot gets shot down' sounds more like a failure than 'Bomber Pilot gets shot down' since the Bombers job is to fly INTO the FLAK/SAM arena before they can come out again...
Two internally mounted 20mm cannons.
Yup, A-4 were gunned.
They were even used as aggressor aircraft at “Top Gun” for a long time.
I was in MAG 12 in the Nam.
attack puke
The most generally recognized descriptive term for what McCain did is “carrier pilot”.
Every pilot I know admits that navy pilots have the best landing skills, and work in the most demanding environment.
What other class of pilots has to ask themselves “Where did my landing field move to, and why is it moving up and down in the middle of this dark night?”
Realistically, the general public is not generally interested in the details. If it’s a single-pilot jet that is capable of air-to-air, then it’s a fighter.
has 2 20mm...did some dogfighting...by accident when iot happened
My son flies an F15E Strike Eagle.
So, does this make him a fighter pilot or a bomber pilot?
(Rhetorical question...he is both.)
2-20mm canon w/ 200 rds each.
One Air-to-air kill on a MIG in Vietnam with an unguided Sidewinder.
Generally a strike mission attack aircraft used with bombs and rockets and self defense guns. Very common to Marine grunts calling for fire and Naval strike missions for light bombers.
Navy liked the aircraft as it came in at about 50% the weight and size specs of the aircraft solicitation. Wings were small enough they didn’t have to be folded to meet stowage requirements onboard the aircraft carriers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-4_Skyhawk
Ed Heinemann design...fantastic aircrafi...still in use i believe...they did well in the IAF and in the Falklands too....McCain was an attack puke...that was the slang...
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