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Subject: Was the A-4 the right choice for Australia?
Aussiegunner    9/7/2004 1:30:59 PM
The Royal Australian Navy chose the A-4 Skyhawk to replace the Sea Venom on its 15000 tonne Majestic Class carrier, HMAS Melbourne, during the late 60's. I tend to think that air defence of the fleet should have been the priority, with the F-8 Crusader purchased instead. What does everybody else think. Would the F-8 have operated off such a little carrier? Would it have performed adequately in a secondary anti-ship/close air support role? How would it have fitted into Australia's forward defence stratagy of the time?
 
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DropBear    RE: gf   11/15/2004 4:22:08 AM
I won't even go there, as I have over 200 of the little sods!.
 
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Heorot    RE: Swift   11/15/2004 5:18:50 PM
A pretty aircraft but: "...an absolutely marvellous aircraft." - anonymous RAF Wing Leader, a few weeks before all Swift F.1s were grounded because of various accidents and crashes.
 
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Aussiegunner    RE:Zunis - Skyhawk   11/15/2004 11:27:55 PM
I'd rather be on the said destroyer than one facing down a Skyhawk with a clutch of Snakeyes. The Falkland proved that they are the better weapon for attacking large ships, by far.
 
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skyhawk    RE:Zunis - Skyhawk   11/16/2004 3:44:57 AM
AG, I am of course talking in regard to the situation in the 60's & not later. I can assure you that the sight of a pod of Zuni's being launched & then hitting their target is a tad spectacular. Especially when the launch is at flight deck level about 200 meters from the ship.!!
 
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Aussiegunner    RE:Zunis - Skyhawk   11/16/2004 9:55:01 AM
"AG, I am of course talking in regard to the situation in the 60's & not later. I can assure you that the sight of a pod of Zuni's being launched & then hitting their target is a tad spectacular. Especially when the launch is at flight deck level about 200 meters from the ship.!" The Snakeye has been around since at least the 60's, with iron bombs in general having a much better chance of sinking a destroyer than a clutch of Zunis. I'm sure they are spectacular to watch going off, but the real question is whether they are going to sink a large ship. I'm pretty sure that most 3000tonne class ships could shrug off a clutch of Zunis with repairable damage topside. The same can't be said for a 500pounder.
 
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Yimmy    RE:Zunis - Skyhawk   11/16/2004 12:59:53 PM
"The same can't be said for a 500pounder" I would say that would depend on a fair few factors, a 500lb bomb not really containing that much explosives. A 500kg bomb is a different matter.
 
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Aussiegunner    RE:Zunis - Yimmy   11/17/2004 6:38:40 AM
"I would say that would depend on a fair few factors, a 500lb bomb not really containing that much explosives." The Argentine Navy used 500 pound Snakeyes with devestating success in the Falklands. Basically, a 3000-4000 class ship hit by one or more of those is out of commission, if not permanantly then at least long enough to keep it participating in a small war.
 
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gf0012-aust    RE:Zunis - Yimmy   11/17/2004 6:57:04 AM
technically a pig pavetacked a 500 pounder LGB on a CVN during one of our test exercises with our mates across the pond. IIRC it did enough theoretical damage to put the CVN out of the game for a few hours.
 
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Yimmy    RE:Zunis - Yimmy   11/17/2004 7:06:00 AM
"Argentine Navy used 500 pound Snakeyes with devestating success in the Falklands" I think using the word "devestating" is a fairly large exageration. How many ships were sunk or put ouf of commision by a loan 500lb bomb then? As far as I know none were sunk in such a way.
 
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Aussiegunner    RE:Zunis - Yimmy   11/17/2004 7:34:36 AM
You are right in that the Argentine navy generally landed several bombs on target. However, don't forget that Sea Skimming anti-ship missiles generally have a smaller warhead than a 500lb'er and we know the results of one of them hitting. A 500lb'er landing topside will generally blow a bloody big hole in whatever part of the ship it hits and set the ship on fire, the real killer of warships. In any case, as several bombs are generally dropped together from one plane, a ship will generally take several hits, so the effects of the bombs are multiplied.
 
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