Logbook: Mediterranean

Time for a change of pace.  After we rotated home in December 1967 we began to work up to our next deployment, tentatively scheduled for April of 1968.  This deployment was to be with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean, where we would "show the flag" or more formal terms, carry out the naval presence mission.

Another way to die  Not all aviation fatalities occur in  combat.  The dangerous nature of carrier operations usually exacts a price from flight crews and, sometimes, deck hands.

A Broken Airplane  Not all accidents are fatal.  The Navy counts as "accidents" any occurrence that reques more than 10000 (est) maintenance hours to repair.  This happened to the A5 too oftenas well, as a result cutting edge design.

Crew Coordination   From the get-go, Naval Flight Officers were taught the importance of crew coordination between pilot and ourselves.  With the introduction of the two-sear F-4 Phantom and A-6 Intruder to the fighter and attack communities respectively, pilots suddenly had to accomodate to another voice aboard the aircraft.  Most pilots realized that the complex missions now required the addition resource associated with another crewman and were welcoming, but not all did.  

Our British Cousins   The Royal Air Force operated a reconnaissance squadron on Malta.  On a port visit, we exchanged visits to their base and USS Forrestal.  The RAF navigators were evnvious of the RA-5C systems, while we liked the Canberra setup. After hours, much hilarity ensued