RAAF F18s in combat

[steve]

Aussie F18s were committed to military sorties in Iraq 2 war ...Was the two seat version ever used on a combat mission?

[corsair67]

Steve, from what I understand none of the Hornets deployed on operations in the Middle East were F/A-18B aircraft. From memory, 14 aircraft were deployed to the 'Middle East Area of Operations', plus 4 were also deployed to Diego Garcia to free up US air assets for deployment.

The book "Hornets Down Under" actually has a list of serials of the Hornets deployed, but I don't have the book on me at the moment so you'll have to wait until tomorrow for a definite answer!

But here's a picture of F/A-18 Hornet A21-52 in action somewhere over the MEAO.

[steve]

When it suites i like to consider myself Australasian!.....such was when the aussies stepped up to the plate with the Brits and yanks...and committed an air arm...in Irag2 ......Back to the two seater F18b...offcourse they are training aircraft ..however they have the same capabilities as the f18a ..have they not?...When NZ signed up for the 28 f16s...4 were to used as parts leaving 24....16 of those were the f16 single seat and 8 F16s doubled crewed variety....what i am asking is : would the two seater version of either aircraft be used as an attack aircraft as a matter of course or only as a back up...If the b version went into combat would it be with an empty rear seat.....courious?

[corsair67]

Steve, the F/A-18A and B Hornets are comparable in capabilities, so yes if it came to the crunch they could be used in combat operations. The only problem is that the B model carries about 6% less fuel than an A model.

The USMC uses F/A-18B and D Hornets for FAC operations with the backseat occupied by an 'extra pair of eyes' to assist in target finding, comms and target marking.

Now for anyone who is interested (modellers and plane spotters), here are the details of the RAAF F/A-18A Hornets used operationally during the Iraq campaign in Operations Bastille and Falconer from Febuary 2003.

A21-12, A21-14, A21-19, A21-20, A21-22, A21-23, A21-27, A21-37, A21-38, A21-40, A21-43, A21-49, A21-52 and A21-55.

Most of the crew and ground support personnel were from 75 SQN, but the aircraft were drawn from all RAAF operational units and as such retained their original squadron markings, with low-viz mods where required. The reason for this was that only aircraft which had already gone through the first two phases of the Hornet Upgrade Program (APG-73 radar, new radio set, GPS/INS, etc) were to be sent into combat.

The four F/A-18A Hornets deployed to Diego Garcia in November 2001 were:

A21-04, A21-05, A21-07 and A21-48.

These aircraft were from owned/operated by 77 SQN, but in February 2002 they were relieved by 3 SQN, who of course added the 3 SQN Southern Cross emblem to the tails of the 77 SQN aircraft!

[steve]

Thanks for that ..interesting regarding the US marines use of the B & D models. So basically there's no reason why not except for a slight reduction in fuel capacity. I suppose an Air Commordore could always ride shot gun!