wcsswag@ccs.carleton.ca (Alex Klaus) (04/12/91)
From: wcsswag@ccs.carleton.ca (Alex Klaus) Donald Newcomb Asks: One thought I had at the time related to the lack of organic AEW in the British fleet. This was an outgrowth of the doctrinal decision made in the mid seventies which reduced British carrier operations to near-home ASW roles, and produced a fleet of carrierlets which could not support fixed-wing operations required for AEW aircraft such as the E-2C Hawkeye. This deficiency was sorely evident in the South Atlantic War several years later. The RN still had in 1982 AEW potential however, it was limited to some Shakeltons, fitted with Gannett AEW radar. Problems with this design, the Shakeltons was first flown in 1949! Additionally, the Shakelton could not be used in the in Falkland becuase of the lack of air-to-air refueling capabilities. They hopes the Shakelton would hold up until the Nimrod AEW Mk.2 came into service. They solved problem, shorlty after the Sheffield incident I believe. Their solution to the problem was they took some Sea King ASW helicopters, and attached the Searchwater radar, that was destined for Nimrod AEW Mk.2. (Note: strange the SEa King AEW got finished, but the Nimrod didn't) My books say the time scale to finish the Sea King AEW project was about days. Usage: The radar is attached to the side of the helicopter, on pivot mount, that swings 90 degrees for landing and tack. When in use it sort of looks like a half inflated beachball hanging off the side off the helicopter. Range: According to my copy of the Harpoon computer simulation, is about 173nm. Hope this answers your question Alex.
james@castle.ed.ac.uk (J Gillespie) (04/16/91)
From: J Gillespie <james@castle.ed.ac.uk> A few quibbles/corrections wcsswag@ccs.carleton.ca (Alex Klaus) writes: >The RN still had in 1982 AEW potential however, it was limited to some >Shakeltons, fitted with Gannett AEW radar. Problems with this design, the That's "Shackleton" (I hope), as in the explorer. >They hoped the Shackleton would hold up until the Nimrod AEW Mk.2 >came into service. The Nimrod AEW was going to be the Mk. 3. Mk. 2's are very capable ASW aircraft, and have been for a number of years. >(Note: strange the Sea King AEW got finished, but the Nimrod didn't) >My books say the time scale to finish the Sea King AEW project was about days. The Sea King was an altogether much less ambitious project, which basically consisted of bolting a radar set onto a Sea King under wartime conditions, i.e. to get something working FAST. The Nimrod AEW project was much more ambitious to start with, carried out under peace time conditions (not much hurry), on top of which the MoD kept altering the goals. Net result: billions of pounds and several years wasted on a project which was never finished. >Hope this answers your question Me too :-) -- James Gillespie Edinburgh University james@ed.ac.uk
iwood@sol.uvic.ca (Ian Wood) (04/20/91)
From: iwood@sol.uvic.ca (Ian Wood) wcsswag@ccs.carleton.ca (Alex Klaus) writes: >(Note: strange the SEa King AEW got finished, but the Nimrod didn't) Not in the least a strange thing. The Sea King AEW system built from existing components on the basis of 'It's needed RIGHT NOW!' There was a war on and things get built very fast during such times of need. Another example from the Falklands War was how fast the software patches allowing Sea Harriers to use AIM-9L Sidewinders. In such cases, the best available people get put on a project and are told to make it work (sometime last week). The Nimrod AEW, on the other hand, was a peace time weapons procurment project and it was real big ... (filling in the results is left to the student) (I know, I know, this strays along the edge of the charter) -- Ian Wood Systems Operator UUCP : iwood@sol.uvic.ca University of Victoria BITNET : CCIAN@UVVM