Steeljaw Scribe

Notes and commentary on things present, reflections on a career in naval aviation and serendipitous items as strike me at the moment…

Steeljaw Scribe header image 5

Entries from May 2007

Countdown to Midway: Battlespace

May 24th, 2007 No Comments

Timeline: SUNDAY, 24 MAY 1942USN - Carriers Hornet and Enterprise move towards Pearl Harbor, where they will quickly be refitted and sent to Midway. The Japanese preparing to attack Midway mistakenly believe these carriers are in the Solomons.
Geography: Midway Atoll is part of a chain of volcanic islands, atolls, and sea mounts extending from Hawaii [...]

Tags:  

Chronicles of Naval Aviation: Squadron Nicknames

May 22nd, 2007 No Comments

We get mail and some of it is darn interesting. Take this for example - sometime back we posted on the return of CDR Pete Mongilardi’s   remains from Vietnam. Following up on that posting came a note from the former OPS O of VA-153 relating how the Bluetail Flies came by that [...]

Tags:

Factory fire in Russia sparks scare, rumors of atomic plant explosion

May 22nd, 2007 No Comments

In an area of the world where memories of Chernobyl 5are not a dim/receding thing of the past, it doesn’t take much to invoke immediate concern, if not panic:

ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia (AP) — A fire broke out Monday at a Russian factory that makes equipment for atomic power plants, but there was no risk of [...]

Tags:

F-22 Raptor-ski: Part II

May 21st, 2007 No Comments

Seems all isn’t skittles ‘n’ beer over in Sukhoi land   these days…

Funding for the new engine for Russia’s next-generation fighter, the Sukhoi T-50, is in big financial trouble, and will force the aircraft’s firsts flight in 2009 to be undertaken with AI-31 engines now used on the Su-27. NPO Saturn, which led the [...]

Tags:

Smoked…

May 20th, 2007 No Comments

So … Luna Rossa smoked BMW Oracle to win the best-of-9 series, 5-1, sending the American team home and guaranteeing that for the first time in 24 years, there will be no American team in the finals…

Congratulazioni Luna Rossa, la squadra migliore vinta!
Rate this: 2.5
Sphere: Related Content

Tags:

Flightdeck Friday: Countdown to Midway - Land-based Air (US)

May 18th, 2007 No Comments

Sunday, 17 May 1942. PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, 7th Air Force): The 7th Air Force is placed on alert in anticipation of a possible attack on Midway. For the next 10 days the old B-18’s on hand are used on sea searches to supplement the B-17’s. VII Bomber Command receives an influx of B-17’s during [...]

Tags:  

Missile Defense 101 – The Threat

May 17th, 2007 1 Comment

(Part II of the series - Part I (ICBM Fundamentals) may be found here  )

 
Musudan, North Korea: 0307Z 31 August 1998. On the pad stands an intelligence surprise – a three-stage developmental ICBM which on this day, will attempt to place a small satellite on orbit, broadcasting the immortal hymns of The Dear Leader. Flying [...]

Tags:

Navy Names Two New Guided Missile Destroyers

May 16th, 2007 No Comments

YHS’ take - as long as there are destroyers in the Navy, one should be named Spruance…

Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter has announced the names for the U.S. Navy’s two newest Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyers to honor two American heroes famous for their naval service.

DDG hull number 110 will be named the USS [...]

Tags:

Wednesday’s Child

May 16th, 2007 No Comments

…or “Lex visits the Flight Doc for his Annual Physical  “
(sorry - too hard to resist…)

…and since we can take as well as we give   here’s equal time for a rejoinder:

… as the Scribe will get his “in the end”… as it were…

Rate this: 2.5
Sphere: Related Content

Tags:

DoD Blocks Websites

May 14th, 2007 No Comments

Guess lunchtimes will be a bit duller around DoD offices these days:

WASHINGTON, May 14, 2007 - The Defense Department is blocking access to many popular Internet sites from department-owned computers due to bandwidth issues, U.S. Strategic Command officials said today.
Joint Task Force Global Network Operations, which directs the operation and defense of the Defense Department’s [...]

Tags: