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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 4, 2006 20:15:56 GMT 12
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Post by Bruce on Apr 4, 2006 23:08:10 GMT 12
Interesting artwork on the wall behind the Sprite in the second to last pic - looks like at some stage it could have been a training aid for positioning on a frigate deck....
Certainly the Seasprites are impresive machines - far more capable than the old Wasp. The old 3 sqn emblems have gone from the tails - were any 6 sqn markings visible?
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Post by mumbles on Apr 4, 2006 23:13:55 GMT 12
I thought they were 3 SQN, or have I missed something?  |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 4, 2006 23:20:19 GMT 12
Seriously it was a flying visit so I never had a close look at the markings Bruce. However No. 1 Hangar was marked No. 6 Squadron. I did have a closer look at the one that was seriously damaged in an incident in the Arabian Gulf involving rotor 'ground effect' due to incorrectly being tied down during an engine run. They were seriously lucky it didn't shake itself to bits completely. I have seen photos of this happening, and it only takes seconds for a chopper to be in smitherines! It's slowly being rebult. Sam, the Naval Helicopter Support Flight was detached from No. 3 Squadron last year and No. 6 Squadron was reformed as a new maritime helicopter squadron. With No. 3 Sqn in OH and 6 Sqn in AK it makes sense. www.airforce.mil.nz/about-us/squadrons/6-squadron/default.htm |
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Post by Calum on Apr 9, 2006 10:24:52 GMT 12
Gawd they're butt ugly aircraft :-)
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 9, 2006 12:06:29 GMT 12
After the Wasps I think they're rather cute!
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Post by phil on Apr 9, 2006 12:50:42 GMT 12
The most potent airborne weapons platform we have, and it's flown by the Navy...
Still, I think they look pretty cool, not sure about cute though, more menacing than cute, especially head on.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 9, 2006 13:08:21 GMT 12
Yes, perhaps cute wasn't quite the right word. They are certainly menacing, and purposeful. And huge compared with the Wasps. Great aircraft by all accounts too. So with them, the Iroquois fitted with guns, and the Orions with their torpedoes, air-to-air missiles and bombs, that's our air defence in a nutshell, right? Or do the Tiger Moth and Harvard have the 1942 style bomb racks ready for fitting at a moment's notice?  |
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Post by phil on Apr 9, 2006 14:48:09 GMT 12
Well the Orions don't have any air to air missiles, or any missiles for that matter. But other than that, yep that's about it.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 9, 2006 14:55:06 GMT 12
I thought I'd read they'll get missile defence in the current upgarde, but i may be getting confused. I think it had something to do with the fact that NZ keeps deploying them in the Gulf but they don't have air to air defence? Maybe I dreamt it.
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Post by phil on Apr 9, 2006 17:06:42 GMT 12
They will get missile defence, as in countermeasures.
There is talk of giving them a stand off missile for anti shipping.
An air to air missile isn't much use to an aircraft like an orion, since it can't easily manuever to employ the missile against an airborne threat.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 9, 2006 17:27:43 GMT 12
Cheers Phil. Not much of a weapons expert, me. It's really good to have an armourer who knows his stuff on the forum.
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Post by phil on Apr 9, 2006 18:54:51 GMT 12
They may yet get LGBs and JDAMs for over land CAS. Might be wishfull thinking though.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 9, 2006 18:57:23 GMT 12
Er, what? Sorry, I'm not sure of what all those abbreviations mean mate. Laser Guided Bombs and... what for what?
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Post by phil on Apr 9, 2006 20:11:00 GMT 12
Sorry, JDAM -Joint direct attack munition, eg GPS guided bombs. CAS - Close air support.
Basically what was going on in Afghanistan, medium level precision bombing from above the SAM threat. GPS guided bombs allow the forward air controllers to call the coordinates of a target and the aircraft dials them in and drops the bomb. The aim is to give the P3 an over land capability, although quite what that will involve I'm not sure.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 9, 2006 20:38:53 GMT 12
Cheers. Sounds like interesting developments for the Orions' roles
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Post by phil82 on Apr 9, 2006 20:44:37 GMT 12
Funnily enough, the RAF fitted two Sidewinders under each wing of the Nimrods operating around Ascension and the Falklands. The intention, apparently, was to discourage the Argentine Air Force from having a go and, if the opportunity arose, to take out that B707!
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Post by phil on Apr 9, 2006 20:58:31 GMT 12
Well I think we still have a few sidewinders lying around. Unfortunately the P3 lacks the electrickery to launch them.
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