On Sun, Oct 12, 2008 at 10:07 AM, Brian Lawson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote:
> > On Oct 12, 2008, at 8:51 AM, richardsan san wrote: > > On Sun, Oct 12, 2008 at 9:43 AM, Brian Lawson > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> The A-4 aircraft that McCain was flying over Vietnam (and may > >> others of that period) did not have self-starting engines. A small > >> jet engine in a cart was used to get the turbines of the aircraft > >> turning so the engine could be ignited. What happened on the > >> Forrestal is that a starter cart was being used on an aircraft > >> across the flight deck from McCain's aircraft. The exhaust from the > >> starter cart was blowing on an air-to-air missile on another > >> aircraft and the missile "cooked-off", its engine ignited from the > >> heat of the starter cart. That missile flew across the deck and hit > >> McCain's aircraft starting the fire and causing it to drop its > >> bombs into the flames which in turn cooked off and exploded causing > >> more fire and damage to other aircraft, etc. > >> > >> I am no fan of McCain but he was in no way responsible for what > >> happened on the Forrestal. > >> > >> <http://www.forrestal.org/fidfacts/page13.htm> > > > > that linked story doesn't jive with the ^ above paragraph. just sayin' > > And how does it not? It clearly states "a Zuni rocket accidentally > fired from an F-4 Phantom parked on the starboard side flight deck aft > of the island. The missile streaked across the deck into a 400 gallon > belly fuel tank on a parked A-4D Skyhawk." McCain was an A-4 pilot, > not an F-4 pilot and he was in the A-4 which was hit. > > There are plenty of other web sites which talk about this incident. > The only difference between them (those which are not politically > partisan) is in how the missile got launched. One I've read reports it > was an electrical surge but that is the only report I've ever heard > which mentioned that as the cause. Most say for "unknown reasons". My > assertion that it was cooked off comes from multiple documentary > programs and other reading material I've seen over the years. I'm > something of a Naval history fan as my father was in the Navy for over > 30 years and was the editor of a highly respected Naval History and > current events magazine, The Hook. > -- it doesn't corroborate the details in your OP. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "StrataList-OT" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/StrataList-OT?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
