Yanks in the Falklands War?

[brickhistory]

Brick, I think it all stems from Shakespeare and his 'Julius Caesar'. Sorry if it offends you, but Russ Crowe or any of the old Brit Shakespearean actors rounding their vowels in a toga or a Roman soldier's short leather kilt somehow works for me where Victor Mature or Robert Young trying to look (and particularly sound) believable in a very short skirt just doesn't.

No offense taken (thick skin firmly in place). Just the thought struck me is all.

And to further your thought, does the above mean that a male British accent does go well in a very short skirt? (Not that there's anything wrong with that...........)

Re Spartacus - weren't the evil Romans played by British actors while the 'heroes,' Spartacus and his switch-hitting buddy (played by Tony Curtis) Americans?

My favorite miscasting of John Wayne was as Ghengis Khan. Classic!

Re the Vulcan in Brazil - the Shrike made a wonderful coat hangar if I remember the photo correctly.

[Porrohman]

Accordng to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrike_missile ;

Although the Shrike missile did not enter regular service with the United Kingdom, it was supplied to the RAF for use in the Falklands War of 1982. RAF Shrikes were fitted to modified Vulcan bombers in order to attack Argentinian radar installations during Operation Black Buck. The main target was a Westinghouse AN/TPS-43 long range 3D radar that the Argentine Air Force deployed during April to guard the Falklands' surrounded airspace. The Argentine operators were aware of the US-supplied anti-radar missiles and would simply turn it off during the Vulcan's approaches. This radar would remain intact during the whole conflict. However, air defences remain operational during the attacks and the Shrikes hit two of the less valuable and rapidly replaced secondary fire control radars. As a result of this experience next generation missiles were designed to "remember" the radar position even if they were turned off. Also, following a Vulcan making an emergency landing at Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian authorities confiscated one Shrike which was never returned.

[octavian]

Harrier/Mirage DACT

Follow on from posts 19, 51 and 99: I was an ATCO at Eastern Radar (RAF Watton) during the build up to Op Corporate, and on quite a number of occasions we handled small groups of Mirages, inbound from their country of origin, to meet up with small groups of Harriers for DACT in various areas off the north Norfolk coast. On completion the Mirages would head for home zapping through most of the southern England airspace with the full co-operation of the various UK civil sectors, only to be met with a resounding 'non' from Paris or wherever. Oddly enough I don't believe any Mirage returned northbound.

If any DACT took place over Wales with SHARs out of Yeovilton they would have been handled by London (Mil)

There may have also been activity with the F5 Aggressors out of Alconbury, but that probably would not have stood out in my mind as they were quite active at that time anyway.

[Double Zero]

F-5 Aggressors

I remember speaking to a Navy Test Pilot a few years after the Falklands War - he mentioned that he with a Seajet " could just about hold off an F-5, but get marmalised by anything like an F-16 "

Of course that was before BVR AMRAAMS came into the equation; ironically he was on the first FRS2 ( as then ) trials when speaking !

So the theory of our lot playing with F-5 Aggressors at some stage sounds right to me.

[Eagle402]

Comedy accents in the movies

Surely the worst ever has to be Sean Connery's take on the Lithuanian captain of Red October in the otherwise excellent film 'The hunt for ....'.

Despite Sean's best efforts, he sounded just the same as in any other film e.g. :

"Shonar, give me a shingle ping, jusht the one..."

Eagle402

p.s.brickhistory - I am liking your subtle "Not that there's anything wrong with that". My all time fave Jerome Seinfeld quote.

[Ewan Whosearmy]

Navy Adversaries

I wonder if there was any effort to speak to the US Navy Adversary squadrons flying A-4s at the time?

[Maple 01]

If any DACT took place over Wales with SHARs out of Yeovilton they would have been handled by London (Mil)

I heard it was in the SWAps under Neatishead (just before my time) Shrike took out the wave guide on the TPS43 making it useless but recoverable post-war, which is what happened or so I've been told

[trap one]

No wasn't Swapps under Neat as Neat only had 84/85 feed in those days (R30).
I can remember GR3/F4 and Mir V and Super E's overhead E Anglia but there was no A4 DACT to my Knowledge.

Portreath not sure if that was up and running as a CRP by then. If so then they would have worked within the Swapps. But these were the days when the WC was not allowed to routinely control over land.

[BEagle]

In the F4 world, we certainly did DACT with the Mirage F1 - a tricky little sod! Simulated Matra 530 engagement parameters, IIRC.

I also bounced a pair of SuEs in transit heading north up the North Sea. I remember thinking how the planform was very similar to a big Gnat! That time we actually got a good stern AIM-7 firing one one of them, then an AIM-9 on the other; my navigator was a creme-de-la-creme QWI, so was an ace with the missile control system - I just pointed the jet where he asked.

[Paladini]

Wasn't Roger Dunsford, ex-AWC, involved with Black Buck?

[Exnomad]

Falklands

As an aside, I was working with an RN officer at the time, and understood that any missing item in the entire RN inventory theoretically went down with the Sheffield. One further thought, the Sea Skua installation on the Lynx which I helped to design only ever sank a small vessel that was probably worth less than a Sea Skua.

[Woff1965]

I often wondered why the RAF took Shrike when the US had the more capable, longer ranged STANDARD ARM AGM 78 available. Surely the Vulcan could carry those.

Was it simply that that was all the US offered or wasn't it possible to clear the larger weapon for the Vulcan.

[Maple 01]

Dooh! trap_one's right, not SWAps, but Neat airspace south (ish) according to a 'source'

[Union Jack]

Scarecrow450

Including Richard Harris- Juggernaut( it's a film, jumping out of a C130 into the sea for IEDs on a liner) the C130 was in brown/black colour scheme- sorry I'll stop now.

No need to stop since the film was presumably based on the May 1972 real life incident on board QE2 - see http://tinyurl.com/66qemu for the details.

Jack

PS I wonder if the ATO was awarded para wings for his mid-ocean first jump .....

[Porrohman]

Probably just water wings (and a survival suit)

[Double Zero]

Movies

Eagle402,

I agree re. Shaun Connery's accent, but the book 'Hunt for Red October' is much better, though there's the odd howler such as '"armrests on Harrier ejection seats".

The ultimate, by the same author Tom Clancy which I'd love to see a film of ( - it would have to be largely computer-generated ) is 'Red Storm Rising' which sounded fantasy at the time but now sounds eerily possible...

[The Helpful Stacker]

Double Zero - Thats the only Tom Clancy book I'd really like to have seen made into a film too.

Two men in a jeep against the Russian hordes.

[LookingNorth]

Double Zero - the Shrikes having the possibility of overstressing pylons designed to carry ruddy great Skybolts doesn't sound very likely!! They certainly did have at least one successful Shrike attack, I met the Argie battery commander who was under it. Reckoned it was an exciting night.

[jammydonut]

The late Nish Bruce - SAS - who mysteriously fell 5000ft from a light aircraft without a parachute told me the story of the US/Argie troops that were captured. He also told me a the plan to invade Buenos Aires. The SAS were to HALO into various streets, chainsaw down telegraph and lamp posts so that C-130's could land........

[The Helpful Stacker]

Thats a pretty meaty pylon for the Shrike.