1967 USS Forrestal fire
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1967 USS Forrestal fire
On 29 July 1967, a fire broke out on board the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal, USS ''Forrestal'' after an electrical anomaly caused a Zuni (rocket), Zuni rocket on an McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, F-4B Phantom to fire, striking an external fuel tank of an Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, A-4 Skyhawk. The flammable jet fuel spilled across the flight deck, ignited, and triggered a chain reaction of explosions that killed 134 sailors and injured 161. At the time, ''Forrestal'' was engaged in combat operations in the Gulf of Tonkin, during the Vietnam War. The ship survived, but with damage exceeding United States dollar, US$72 million, not including the damage to aircraft. Future United States Senator John McCain and future four-star admiral and Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Ronald J. Zlatoper were among the survivors. Another on-board officer, Lieutenant Tom Treanore, later returned to the ship as her commander and retired an admiral. The incident was the seco ...
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Gulf Of Tonkin
The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin ( northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern coastline of Vietnam down to the Cồn Cỏ district, in the north by China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and to the east by the Leizhou Peninsula and Hainan Island. English sources from the People's Republic of China refer to the Gulf of Tonkin as Beibu Wan. Description and etymology The name ''Tonkin'', written "" in chữ Hán characters and in the Vietnamese alphabet, means "eastern capital", and is the former toponym for Hanoi, the present capital of Vietnam. It is not to be confused with Tokyo, which is also written "" and also means "eastern capital". During the French colonial era, the northern region of today’s Vietnam was called ''Tonkin''. ''Bắc Bộ'' is the native Vietnamese name of Tonkin, which is the nowad ...
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USS Oriskany
USS ''Oriskany'' (CV/CVA-34) ( or ) was one of the few s completed after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was named for the Battle of Oriskany during the Revolutionary War. The history of ''Oriskany'' differs considerably from that of her sister ships. Originally designed as a "long-hulled" ''Essex''-class ship (considered by some authorities to be a separate class, the ), she was not completed and construction was suspended in 1946 after the end of World War II. She eventually was converted to an updated design called SCB-27 ("27-Charlie") and commissioned in 1950. This updated version became the template for modernization of 14 other ''Essex''-class ships. ''Oriskany'' was the final ''Essex''-class ship completed. She operated primarily in the Pacific into the 1970s, earning two battle stars for service in the Korean War, and ten for service in the Vietnam War. In 1966, one of the worst shipboard fires since World War II broke out on ''Oriskany'' when a ma ...
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Ground Attack Aircraft
An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pressing the attack.Mortensen 1987, pp. 24–25. This class of aircraft is designed mostly for close air support and naval air-to-surface missions, overlapping the tactical bomber mission. Designs dedicated to non-naval roles are often known as ground-attack aircraft.Gunston 2009, p. 73. Fighter aircraft often carry out the attack role, although they would not be considered attack aircraft ''per se''; fighter-bomber conversions of those same aircraft would be considered part of the class. Strike fighters, which have effectively replaced the fighter-bomber and light bomber concepts, also differ little from the broad concept of an attack aircraft. The dedicated attack aircraft as a separate class existed primarily during and after World War II ...
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CATOBAR
CATOBAR (catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery or catapult-assisted take-off barrier arrested recovery) is a system used for the launch and recovery of aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier. Under this technique, aircraft launch using a catapult- assisted take-off and land on the ship (the recovery phase) using arrestor wires. Although this system is costlier than alternative methods, it provides greater flexibility in carrier operations, since it imposes less onerous design elements on fixed wing aircraft than alternative methods of launch and recovery such as STOVL or STOBAR, allowing for a greater payload for more ordnance and/or fuel. CATOBAR can launch aircraft that lack a high thrust to weight ratio, including heavier non-fighter aircraft such as the E-2 Hawkeye and Grumman C-2 Greyhound. Types The catapult system in use in most modern CATOBAR carriers is the steam catapult. Its primary advantage is the amount of power and control it can provide. Duri ...
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Mark 83
The Mark 83 is a bomb, part of the Mark 80 series of low-drag general-purpose bombs in United States service. Development and deployment The nominal weight of the bomb is , although its actual weight varies between and , depending on fuze options, and fin configuration. The Mk 83 is a streamlined steel casing containing of tritonal high explosive. When filled with PBXN-109 thermally insensitive explosive, the bomb is designated BLU-110. The Mk 83/BLU-110 is used as the warhead for a variety of precision-guided weapons, including the GBU-16 Paveway laser-guided bombs, the GBU-32 JDAM and Quickstrike sea mines. The Mk 83 is also used as the warhead in a variety of Pakistani smart bombs made by GIDS. During Operation Swift Retort in 2019, 2 JF-17 Thunders of the No. 16 Squadron "Black Panthers" armed with newly developed Mk. 83 Range Extension Kit (REK) bombs struck military targets in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. This bomb is most typically used by the United ...
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General-purpose Bomb
A general-purpose bomb is an air-dropped bomb intended as a compromise between blast damage, penetration, and fragmentation in explosive effect. They are designed to be effective against enemy troops, vehicles, and buildings. Characteristics General-purpose (GP) bombs use a thick-walled metal casing with explosive filler (typically TNT, Composition B, or Tritonal in NATO or United States service) comprising about 30% to 40% of the bomb's total weight. The British term for a bomb of this type is "medium case" or "medium capacity" (MC). The GP bomb is a common weapon of fighter bomber and attack aircraft because it is useful for a variety of tactical applications and relatively cheap. General-purpose bombs are often identified by their weight (e.g., ). In many cases this is strictly a ''nominal weight'' (the counterpart to the ''caliber'' of a firearm), and the actual weight of each individual weapon may vary depending on its retardation, fusing, carriage, and guidance syste ...
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A-7E VA-25 Dropping Bombs Over Vietnam C1970
The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was derived from the Vought F-8 Crusader; in comparison with the F-8, the A-7 is both smaller and restricted to subsonic speeds, its airframe being simpler and cheaper to produce. Following a competitive bid by Vought in response to the United States Navy's (USN) ''VAL'' (Heavier-than-air, Attack, Light) requirement, an initial contract for the type was issued on 8 February 1964. Development was rapid, first flying on 26 September 1965 and entering squadron service with the USN on 1 February 1967; by the end of that year, A-7s were being deployed overseas for the Vietnam War. Initially adopted by USN, the A-7 proved attractive to other services, soon being adopted by the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Air National Guard (ANG) to replac ...
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North Vietnam
North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it opposed the French-supported State of Vietnam and later the Western-allied South Vietnam, Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). The DRV Fall of Saigon, invaded Saigon in 1975 and ceased to exist the following year when it Reunification Day, merged with Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, the south to become the current Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam. During the August Revolution following French Indochina in World War II, World War II, Vietnamese communist revolutionary Ho Chi Minh, Hồ Chí Minh, leader of the Viet Minh, Việt Minh Front, Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, declared independence on 2 September 1945 and proclaimed the creation of the Democratic Repu ...
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Carrier Air Wing Seventeen
Carrier Air Wing Seventeen (CVW-17), is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier . Mission To conduct carrier air warfare operations and assist in the planning, control, coordination and integration of eight air wing squadrons and one detachment in support of carrier air warfare including; Interception and destruction of enemy aircraft and missiles in all-weather conditions to establish and maintain local air superiority. All-weather offensive air-to-surface attacks, Detection, localization, and destruction of enemy ships and submarines to establish and maintain local sea control. Aerial photographic, sighting, and electronic intelligence for naval and joint operations. Airborne early warning service to fleet forces and shore warning nets. Airborne electronic countermeasures. In-flight refueling operations to extend the range and the endurance of air wing aircraft and Search and ...
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Yankee Station
Yankee Station (officially Point Yankee) was a fixed coordinate off the coast of Vietnam where U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and support ships operated in open waters over a nine-year period during the Vietnam War. The location was used primarily by aircraft carriers of Task Force 77 to launch strikes over North Vietnam. While the coordinate's official designation was "Point Yankee", it was universally referred to as Yankee Station. Carriers conducting air operations at Yankee Station were said to be "on the line" (in combat) and statistical summaries were based on days on the line. Yankee Station was initially located at 16° 00′ N, 110° 00′ E, however with a massive increase in operations over North Vietnam in 1966 the station was moved about 145 miles (230 km) northwest to 17° 30′ N, 108° 30′ E, placing it about 90 miles (145 km) from the North Vietnamese shore. Yankee Team beginnings The name derived from it being the geographic reference point "Y", pr ...
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Naval Air Station Cubi Point
U.S. Naval Air Station Cubi Point was a United States Navy aerial facility located at the edge of Naval Base Subic Bay and abutting the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines. When the base closed, the air station became Subic Bay International Airport and is still operating today. However, the IATA airport code was changed from NCP to SFS, as part of the transition. Background During the Korean War, Admiral Arthur W. Radford, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet saw the need for a naval air station at Cubi Point. It was a rugged and jungle-covered finger of land from Subic Naval Base. Radford believed the air station would be a vital link for the U.S. Navy in the Philippines. In spite of the magnitude of the job and the tremendous difficulties the construction involved, the project was approved by The Pentagon. Civilian contractors were initially contracted to fulfill the project, but after seeing the forbidding Zambales Mountains and the maze of jungle at Cubi Point, ...
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Horn Of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), p. 26 Located on the easternmost part of the African mainland, it is the fourth largest peninsula in the world. It is composed of Somaliland, Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. Although not common, broader definitions include parts or all of Kenya and Sudan.John I. Saeed, ''Somali'' – Volume 10 of London Oriental and African language library, (J. Benjamins: 1999), p. 250.Sandra Fullerton Joireman, ''Institutional Change in the Horn of Africa'', (Universal-Publishers: 1997), p.1: "The Horn of Africa encompasses the countries of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia. These countries share similar peoples, languages, and geographical endowments." It has been described as a region of geopolitical and strategic importance, since it ...
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