Posted on 05/03/2019 8:44:56 AM PDT by C19fan
August 1981 opened with a massive show of American force in the Mediterranean Sea, just north of Libya. Two of America’s super-carriers, the USS Forrestal and the class’ namesake, USS Nimitz, had entered into what Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had illegally declared his nation’s territorial waters.
America’s carriers were there to oppose that declaration, and for days, fighters from both countries danced in an airborne extension of diplomatic tensions until two U.S. fighters entered into a deadly dogfight.
"The left side of the lead Libyan aircraft lit up with a big flame as the missile motor ignited," recounted Lieutenant Larry "Music" Muczynski, one of the two F-14 pilots. That missile banked up, missing both planes and giving the American fighters all the impetus they needed to see what the Navy’s newest air superiority fighter could do.
"He fired an AIM-9L off of station 1A (left glove pylon, shoulder station)," Music said of his fellow airman's first shot. "The missile pulled lead, then did a ninety degree reversal and hit the aircraft in the tail. The aircraft started to roll, the drag chute deployed and the guy immediately ejected."
And just like that, the Navy’s carrier-based bomber hunter, the F-14 Tomcat, had scored its first air-to-air victory, a plane built to defend America’s carriers from attacking aircraft in a massive global conflict that never come.
(Excerpt) Read more at popularmechanics.com ...
Ping.
The Navy has much cooler toys now... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYCByMX-tuE
I am always disappointed when I do not see as Mig-28 make an appearance. hee hee
Thanks for sharing the article. I was a kid during the whole “Line of Death” blather from Libya.
I remember President Reagan’s great off the cuff response to some dumb reporter’s dumb question: “Mr. President, what did you do after they woke you up and told you this had happended?”
Reagan: “Well, they didn’t wake me up.”
Incredulous leftist media hack: “You mean they didn’t wake you up about this?!”
Reagan (chuckling): “No. They are only supposed to wake me up if they shoot one of OURS down.”
Press heads exploded!
then did a ninety degree reversal
Love the Tomcat. My favorite fighter of all time.
Tomcat shredder.
Most STUPID idea since electing a muslime to congress.
That is one sad video.
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Line of death but unfortunately Moramar did not say whose death it would be.
I remember a Reno Air Race I want to 88 or 89, where we saw MIG-19s fly by, F-5, F-14, A-4, Double Uglies the A-6, A-7s and even an F-8 fly by. EA-6B’s with Playboy Bunny Tails and that does not include the historical aircraft. The MIGs belonged to a Reno based Company and were used for movies. They bought a bunch of junk MIG-19s and made a couple flight worthy. You had to pay a lot to get a ride in one.
A-4s were my bread and butter. I inspected an E model going on it's last flight, I believe for static display as a Blue Angel bird. I worked on Fs, Ms, OA-4Ms, A-4 KU, TA-4KU, TA-4F/J. I worked on F-5 E/F T-38s, BAE Hawks. I had a little time on the first block F-18s. You should of seen the visual mapping guidance system, it was cool then but totally archaic now. It was not even digital it was like a microfiche reader.
I miss those days, we did $hit that would get you kicked out of the military today. Back then boys would boys and the flight line was our playground.
Outside of McNamera's "Whiz Kids," no one "hoped" or "believed" that the TFX was anything other than a boondoggle from the get go. The Navy needed an air superiority fighter and a platform for the long range Air-to-Air Phoenix missile. The Air Force needed an all-weather high speed medium bomber. The different roles could not be performed by the same airframe given the technology of the time.
That almost made me shed a tear remembering some of the stuff we did, sometimes out of boredom, sometimes just for the hell of it.
I absolutely LOVED the F-14 and its Phoenix missile. Imagine a 125-mile range...they are part of the reason that the Bear stayed inside of its cage until Reagan could bankrupt them.
However, what this article reminds me of is the 1986 incident with Libya, in which we blamed Quaddafi for the disco bombing in Germany. We sent F-111s to bomb him...and the pilots must’ve been so tired after having to fly all the way around the Iberian Peninsula and across the Med, that the laser-guided bombs they dropped “accidentally” hit the French embassy compound. Yeah, that was a shame.
I do remember a parody song that came out at the time, based on “Rockin’ in the USA,” called “Rockets from the USA” - and I’ve not been able to find a copy of that anywhere. Anyone have any ideas about that?
Reagan was the model for true Conservative thought.
Trump is the closest we have had since ‘88
Then in Top Gun we had to watch Tom Cruz wet himself a few times before shooting down the Mig.
This is the example I always think of when people start talking about what China is doing with the East and South China Seas.
Nah, it's "journalist trying to talk about things he knows little to nothing about to make it sexier" speak.
The 'Winder traced lead pursuit in the tracking phase and transitioned to pure for the terminal phase. Just doesn't sound as exciting.
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