USS Midway 1985

J

joe bob

Charter Member
I know we have some Navy folks of this vintage so I thought I would share a video I found posted by a retired USAF WSO of his tour of the USS Midway back in 1985
He was attached to the Cope Thunder exercise which the Navy also participated in there in the Philippines.
It seems the Navy gave him a great tour of their operations.

Nothing fancy but it is great to see the Phantom and A-7 doing their thing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHQEbCdibJM

His video of Cope Thunder bombing runs gone wrong is also well worth a look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFpaNxGigSU
 
joe bob said:
I know we have some Navy folks of this vintage so I thought I would share a video I found posted by a retired USAF WSO of his tour of the USS Midway back in 1985
He was attached to the Cope Thunder exercise which the Navy also participated in there in the Philippines.
It seems the Navy gave him a great tour of their operations.

Nothing fancy but it is great to see the Phantom and A-7 doing their thing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHQEbCdibJM

His video of Cope Thunder bombing runs gone wrong is also well worth a look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFpaNxGigSU
Click to expand...

Good videos. I didn't read the comment for your second link good enough, and was surprised when I saw the crash at the end. So sad. NC
 
That was a bit shocking at the end of the Cope Thunder video. Liked the Midway flic. In 1989 I got my one and only carrier landing, in a Lockheed US-3 (S-3 converted for mail and cargo). The ship we landed on was Midway. It was a long flight (4+ hrs) from Diego Garcia to CV-41 up by the Gulf, and certainly the most exciting airplane ride I've ever experienced.
 
Great vids, was still smiling after the A-6 drop this tanks vice bombs, then the A-7 hit the ground, dangerous business even in training.
 
Yes, even the merely embarrassing ones like dropping in a turn or punching off tanks show how intense the flying is when you add even simulated threats to the mix.

I am sure this was a compilation of events used to brief exercise participants but it would be interesting to know over what length of time these occurred.
In the unlikely event that it was all on the same exercise then losing an A-7 and coming close to losing an F-4 and camera crew would certainly warrant a safety stand down.
 
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