Article

2009-12-01 Africa Horn

Somali pirates hijack oil tanker going to US

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Posted by Fred 2009-12-01 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11134 views ] Top
File under: Pirates

#1 This sounds like a job for the Greek Navy...

Posted by mojo 2009-12-01 12:54|| 2009-12-01 12:54|| Front Page Top

#2 All it would take to end this BS is one US carrier battle group with enough napalm to burn down even stone houses in Eyl or another of the various pirate dens, plus the stones to use it. We also need to find a way to fly A-10s from a carrier deck. I'd pay good money to watch an encounter between a pirate "mother ship" and a pair of A-10s.

Posted by Old Patriot">Old Patriot 2009-12-01 14:10|| http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/]">[http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/] 2009-12-01 14:10|| Front Page Top

#3 Amen OP, and it would be another 250 years before we heard from them again!

Posted by Besoeker 2009-12-01 14:29|| 2009-12-01 14:29|| Front Page Top

#4 "I'd pay good money to watch an encounter between a pirate "mother ship" and a pair of A-10s."

Hell, OP, if we make that Pay-per-View, we could retire the national debt. :-D

(Stupid question: why can't we fly A-10s off a carrier?)

Posted by Barbara Skolaut">Barbara Skolaut 2009-12-01 14:34|| 2009-12-01 14:34|| Front Page Top

#5 Not a stupid ques at all. Taking off...no problem. It's the landings that might represent a challenge. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but A-10's were not designed with tailhooks and other gear required for short landings.

Posted by Besoeker 2009-12-01 14:53|| 2009-12-01 14:53|| Front Page Top

#6 Harrier jet off a carrier?

Posted by JohnQC 2009-12-01 15:20|| 2009-12-01 15:20|| Front Page Top

#7 Can do EASY

Posted by Besoeker 2009-12-01 15:27|| 2009-12-01 15:27|| Front Page Top

#8 "but A-10's were not designed with tailhooks and other gear required for short landings"

Doesn't the Navy have any welders?

Posted by Barbara Skolaut">Barbara Skolaut 2009-12-01 16:01|| 2009-12-01 16:01|| Front Page Top

#9 Yes barbara the Navy has welders, the problem is that aircraft designed for Carrier Take off and landing have reinforced airframes, you'd rip a A-10 in half without a lot of reinforcement.

Posted by Redneck Jim 2009-12-01 16:48|| 2009-12-01 16:48|| Front Page Top

#10 Hmmm, I just remembered Ospreys, they'd work.

Posted by Redneck Jim 2009-12-01 16:50|| 2009-12-01 16:50|| Front Page Top

#11 Anyone, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think of A-10s as being potentially useful in the Persian Gulf against the kind of small boats the Iranians would launch against us if we ever got into it with them.

Posted by Ebbang Uluque6305 2009-12-01 18:37|| 2009-12-01 18:37|| Front Page Top

#12 Not only would the back rip off on a carrier landing from the tail hook but it is likely it would rip the front landing gear out from the catapult shot.

Sorry no worky.

How about this: Land marines. Kick ass.

Posted by Hellfish 2009-12-01 18:40|| 2009-12-01 18:40|| Front Page Top

#13 OP, not gonna happen. If they are going to court martial the SEAL team for giving some guy a fat lip, imagine what they would do if some Somali guy or gal sprained an ankle or had a heart attack seeing our forces offshore?

Posted by Cornsilk Blondie 2009-12-01 19:04|| 2009-12-01 19:04|| Front Page Top

#14 Non-carrier aircraft have operated from various CVs/CVAs in the past, but more as a demonstration rather than any sort of continuious ops. If you can match the WOD ( wind over deck) requirements between the boat and the aircraft no cat or tailhook needed. C-1's and S-2's used to deck launch from Kitty Hawk class boats all the time. I believe that O-2's did also in Viet Nam. So if the takeoff and landing speeds of the A-10 could be met, then no reason why not.
Lockheed put together a small batch of U-2R's for boat ops, complete with a hook and folding wingtips, but eventually converted them back to the U-2S configuration. They launched via the deck run method.
Google up videos of the C-130 deck run and landing; the pilot selected reverse pitch whils still airborne in order to land.

Posted by USN, Ret. 2009-12-01 22:57|| 2009-12-01 22:57|| Front Page Top

23:52 JosephMendiola
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22:50 Old Patriot
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