Big ooops?

[M609]

A F-16 driver probably dodged a bullet with this one, well at least he did not kill anyone.

F-16 with 20mm vs School (http://www.nbc10.com/news/3890831/detail.html)

http://images.ibsys.com/2004/1104/3891167.jpg

Have anyone heard of something like this before?

[Spugford]

But how many did he fire to achieve 25 hits?!!

:}

[BEagle]

Perhaps there was a Warrior AFV parked in the school car park?

"Shee-hit. One o' they Eye-raki muthas. Gonna' waste me some Ay-rabs for Bubba Bush. BBBBBRRRRRRRTTTT - eat lead, Osama! Yeeeeeeeee-hah!!"

[moggiee]

Darn , those terrorists are even hiding in schools now!

[BEagle]

Even if they were driven there by an Urban Espaceman in a people-carrier!

;)

[tmmorris]

Nice to see a bit of common sense in the article though:

The range has been used by the military since the end of World War II, long before the once-rural area was developed

i.e. you build a school next to a range, that's your choice...

Tim

[moggiee]

by BEagle: Even if they were driven there by an Urban Espaceman in a people-carrier!
back to room 101 then!

[c-bert]

Considering the size of the USA you have to wonder who made that decision ....:confused:

[moggiee]

Isn't 3.5 miles pretty close for USAF precision attacks?

I refer to events such as the Farnborough/Blackbushe/Lasham debacles.

[Razor61]

According to another source, there is supposed to be a B-52H flying a global power mission this month to Holbeach range from Edwards AFB, similar to the one back along that had two B-1Bs doing the same before supporting the 9Sqn reunion.

The B-52H crew wanted to drop the weapons from 40,000ft but that was ruled out by the UK.

Instead they will drop from 20,000ft and make three passes dropping 3 bombs on each pass onto the beach.

Look out Kings Lynn, a few miles away, if an F-16 jock misses a range and hits a school from 7,000ft from a cannon aimed on where he points his nose, then be aware of several bombs raining down from 20,000ft a few miles from Kings Lynn!

Razor

[D-IFF_ident]

Glad no-one was in - funny, therefore.

But let's not make jokes of terrorists in schools?

[Pontius Navigator]

The B1's almost hit the target at Wainfleet. Got quite close to the one they were aiming at too.

Holbeach 1030-1130 next Wednesday.

Reason they can't drop at 40,000 is that that is upper airspace and we don't have notam clearance fo go above 245.

[M609]

A bit of topic, but...

If it's not classified, can someone tell me how long a normal "dumb" bomb (Mk.82 or similar) can "glide" when released from let's say 25.000ft?

I mean, if the aircraft is running at high speed, it's not going straight down?

Probably a stupid question, but I've noted that some ranges/dangerareas cleared for A-G weapons are rather small.

[Fox3snapshot]

Best ask the Yank Hornet crews that whacked the RSO's hut in Kuwait killing a Kiwi Army officer and a few others......they have a pretty good handle on weapons envelopes and targeting criteria.

:ugh:

[the_cyclone]

M609

How far a bomb falls after release is called its 'forward throw'. This depends on many factors including height of release, speed of aircraft, dive / climb angle of aircraft, wind speed and direction. (Must be some more I can't remember now aswell!)

The accuracy of weapons varies. Each weapon can be relied on to land to within a certain accuracy given its ballistic trajectory and allowing for manufacturing tolerances; and this is one consideration that is factored before you drop. This is clearly only as reliable as the accuracy of the weapon aiming in the jet, and the accuracy of the target marking by the pilot, and the ranging option used.
So there's no easy answer to how far will a bomb go - depends on the bomb and the release. However, its impact point can be pretty accurately predicted and hence the actual target area can be quite small.

[buoy15]

the_cyclone
Need to include weight and size
In the late 70's. a crew returning from a mini det decided to a fit in a couple of radar homings in D807 in the Moray Firth prior to landing. In those days, the towing arm was lashed in the bomb bay with an entry in the F700 that the doors must remain closed.
Well you can probably guess the rest
For a while after, one of the questions the Nav's and pilots got on a check ride was
"What's the forward throw of a towing arm at 200ft":O

Love many, Trust a few, Always paddle your own canoe!

[BEagle]

Perhaps not quite as embarrassing as the Buccaneer pilot who decided to give a fast, low flypast at a FTS after a 'motivate the Bloggses' briefing, rolled the bomb door open - and deposited luggage and classified slides across rather a lot of the local countryside.....