Whingeing Pommie Crabs - what a bonus. This is the threat that caused the RAN to change from what was to become an all ASW HMAS Melbourne (youse can see the first USN A-4B deck landing onboard May 1965 elsewhere recently) to the mixed ASW S2sE/Gs & Wessex 31A/Bs eventually with Seakings and of course a second batch of A4Gs (second hand) at the expense of two Oberon class subs (which peeed off them submariners mightily indeed).
"“In the summer of 1961, twenty TU-16KS [Badgers] were sold to Indonesia.” [And later their Kennel missiles and whatnots and any recon shadowers]
Any OzCRAB targets were always a bonus with four underwing AIM-9Bs [+ guns sadly though with only a fixed gunsight (depressible)] and perhaps a large or small centreline tank or nowt. What peeed me of mightily was scoring well with my only test as a sprog on VF-805 of the Thomson-Ferranti gyro gunsight [as used on some Tooms apparently] refused to be bought by bean counters in Canberra although recommended by all and sundry with the knowledge (AWI testing).
Having some four RN FAA AWIs transfer to the RAN in the early 1970s with their experience on Vixens, Phantoms and Buccaneers was a real bonus with all our own AWIs trained at Lossiemouth until the mid 1970s (then they were trained in house at NAS Nowra).
HMAS Melbourne being such a small carrier the A4G was the only aircraft available at the time to be able to operate from such as small deck. True. Not even the TA4G could operate from it (not enough flight deck length to lift off the nose before going over the end during a touch and go or bolter - big problem at night).
According to the recent RN FAA Taranto Night video elsewhere I know youse CRABS have trouble with TOO MUCH INFORMATION so I'll spare ye and just say that the RAN FAA copied the conops of the early to mid 1960 VSF Skyhawk squadrons aboard USN ASW carriers of that era:
http://www.ebdir.net/vsf1/boom_powell_part_1.html &
http://www.ebdir.net/vsf1/boom_powell_part_2.html
RN FAA Taranto Fillum:
http://www.pprune.org/military-aviat...ml#post8751157
&
USN A-4B demo vid HMAS Melbourne May 1965:
http://www.pprune.org/military-aviat...ml#post8762001