Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnews!cbnews!military
From: dmc@otto.yerkes.uchicago.edu (Dave Cole)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: VIFF (was The Snakebite/Pougachev's Cobra)
Message-ID: <1990Oct29.024237.5256@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 29 Oct 90 02:42:37 GMT
References: <1990Oct15.033716.12587@cbnews.att.com> <1990Oct19.033933.16625@cbnews.att.com>, <1990Oct26.015212.24827@cbnews.att.com>
Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker)
Organization: University of Chicago, Yerkes Observatory
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From: dmc@otto.yerkes.uchicago.edu (Dave Cole)
In article <1990Oct26.015212.24827@cbnews.att.com> ab3o+@andrew.cmu.edu (Allan Bourdius) writes:

>>The Harriers spent most of the war picking off relatively defenseless
>>bombers, which could not shoot back effectively;
>
>Most of the "relatively defenseless bombers" were A-4 Skyhawks, if I'm
>not mistaken.  Kind of negates an A-4 resurgence into the front-line US
>combat role.  It does make the Harrier look good anyway.
>
>Allan

These A-4 Skyhawks were operating at the extreme edge of their range, never
stopped to dogfight, and carried no air-to-air missles.  I'm certain that
with bases close to the front and a couple of AIM-9L's under the wings of
the Skyhawks, the contest wouldn't have been nearly so one-sided.

After all, the Brits never took their carriers west of the Falklands, for
fear of the increased air threat.


Dave Cole
dmc@otto.yerkes.uchicago.edu