Comments for Speaking of aircraft carriers and the funny people who use them...

Speaking of aircraft carriers and the funny people who use them...

2007-03-01T13:41:33Z

The carrier in the picture in this post, that I challenged you to identify was indeed HMAS Melbourne. Your clinching clue that she was Aussie was the Gannetts. Of all those nations who operated that class of carrier, only the Aussies used Gannetts. Yes, I actually planned the post that way...

Now here's another make-ya-look-twice picture.

Yep, that's a C-130 sitting on the deck of the USS Forrestal. Yep, it's all for real. The whole story (with videos) is available here at The Aviation Zone. At Cassandra's old stomping grounds, I Love Jet Noise, Joatmoaf has more. Just, kewl. We military types will do *such* silly things if you ask us to.

Update: Steeljaw Scribe covered this subject, far more thoroughly, last month. Worth the visit!

Comment from monkeyboy on 2007-03-01

2007-03-01T18:44:15Z

Do they still show the Melbourne-Evans film to mids? "Too close for Mo-Boards, lets eyeball it in." The Naval Aviation Museum should still have the Piper cub that the Vietnamese pilot landed.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2007-03-01

2007-03-01T17:34:52Z

As mentioned in this space some years ago - with the kicker that the Evans was *not* the Melbourne's first victim.

Comment from Steeljaw Scribe on 2007-03-01

2007-03-01T16:53:56Z

The C-130 was but one in a long line of the strange/odd/uncommon that have made their appearances on flattops over the decade. The list includes U-2's, P2V Neptunes carrying nukes, a bevy of Army helos, the V-2 and a navalized P-51. More here: http://steeljawscribe.blogspot.com/2007/01/flightdeck-friday-flat-top-oddities.html BTW, note the inscription on the C-130's nose... - SJS

Comment from John S. on 2007-03-01

2007-03-01T16:48:49Z

HMAS Melbourne- the famous Aussie "can opener" that sliced USS Frank E. Evans (DD-754) in two, hitting dead amidships in the dark hours of 3 June 1969. Probably the fault of the Evan's Officer of the Deck, but 72 dead sailors as a result.

Comment from Pogue on 2007-03-01

2007-03-01T14:58:11Z

Notice that centerline is off center? They moved it 6 ft to port (left) to make sure they could clear the island. IIRC the reason they canned the idea of using C-130's for COD was if that puppy went down on deck you had a useless carrier unless you rolled it off the side. They also disabled an interlock to allow the C-130 to apply reverse thrust while still airborne. In a past squid like life I was on the Forrestal (aka FID) for the 1988 Med/NATO cruise.

Comment from BloodSpite on 2007-03-01

2007-03-01T14:50:31Z

Ahh the USS "Forest Fire" One of my good friends served on her in the late 1990's. Which was a introspective for myself....since my Dad had also served on her in the late 1970's.....