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2003-05-21 Iraq

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Posted by Chuck 2003-05-21 08:00 pm|| || Front Page|| [13 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 "The allies flew more than 41,400 sorties. That consumed 18,622 tons of fuel,"
Less than 1000 lbs of fuel (about 150 Gallons) per sortie? That can't be right.

I'll bet MSNBC mangled this number and that 18,622 tons of fuel is only what was actually delivered by aerial tanker during air to air refueling missions.

Posted by Dave 2003-05-21 20:25:39|| 2003-05-21 20:25:39|| Front Page Top

#2 "Known costs: $917,744,361.55 " - Less than a billion dollars! Most estimates are in the 50 to 100 billion range.

Posted by Phil B 2003-05-21 21:52:42|| 2003-05-21 21:52:42|| Front Page Top

#3 Dave, of those 41,400 sorties, there's a good probability that more than half of those were rotary-wing aircraft. They don't guzzle fuel quite like a fast-mover.

Posted by Old Patriot 2003-05-22 00:55:48|| 2003-05-22 00:55:48|| Front Page Top

#4 The war's not over, not by a long shot. The shooting has died down a bit. This estimate is premature.

Posted by Tresho 2003-05-22 02:32:11|| 2003-05-22 02:32:11|| Front Page Top

#5 OP. Some were helos. And some were B-52's flying from England and DG. Just for grins and giggles I looked up some typical loadings: F18C 4,926 Kg internal fuel. F18E 6,531 Kg.

At those numbers even if tactical fighters were only 10% of missions flown that would account for ALL the fuel documented in the MSNBC report. 1000 LBs per mission (440 Kg) still looks a little low for an overall average.

Posted by Dave 2003-05-22 02:38:19|| 2003-05-22 02:38:19|| Front Page Top

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