Most or least effective aircraft in the U S military

[TROJANII]

No one had mentioned the F-15? No air to air losses at all.

[Kyleb]

Anyone who knows USAF history knows that long range bombers have proved their worth in many times...the CALCM non-stop raid from Barksdale to Iraq in Feb of 1991 being just one example of them doing a job nothing else could do.

Long range bombers do have a great worth, but that particular mission (even when it was undertaken) seemed to be one of those things we did because we wanted to demonstrate a capability (or the powers that be wanted to prove the worth of the BUFF plus a fleet of KC-whatevers), rather than because it was the best way to accomplish the task. Why make a crew fly all the way to the Persian Gulf and back nonstop when you could have staged at a base closer to the action?

Last edited by Kyleb on Fri Apr 27, 2012 8:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Punisher05]

It would seem to me (as a strict amateur) that the "nuke" mission of the strategic bomber might better be replaced by a missile-based platform, but they have definitely proven their worth as on-site artillery for the guys on the ground.

Just my $0.02

Brandon

[andyman64]

drones don,t make me laugh electronics can always be messed with there is always some boffin somewhere that will find away to bring down drones there is no substitution for a human behind the stick!!!

PS i think the B58 was a big stick we didnt have to keep for long just because it said this is what we can do what have you got!!!

[Randy Haskin]

The B-1 haters never ask the Army guys who called on the Lancer to help them out of tight spots in the recent wars.
They'd loiter, with 3 types of bombs in its three bays (or a huge amount of one type of ordnance) for hours waiting for a call to help out the good guys.
Try doing that with a F-15-16-18 or Tornado. You'd need to have a flight of four or six loitering doing the same job, and then not necessarily do it as well.

Yeah, you're right -- nobody else could possibly carry three different types of ordnance with long loiter times while providing CAS. Can the B-1 strafe?

[muddyboots]

Admit it Randy. You're old and outdated. Worn out. Ready for green pastures. why, I bet you can't even walk without a cane.

[Elwyn]

What was the name of that primary trainer the Air force used briefly about a decade or so ago? If I'm remembering correctly they had a horrible safety record and were pulled out of service and destroyed.

[Cvairwerks]

Slingsby Firefly T67-M260-T3A. Only a/c in the US inventory that had a requirement to measure wing surface temps prior to flight. If the surface temp in any location was over limits, they were prohibited from flight until under the limits. I don't think they ever solved the fuel starvation problem completely either.

[Jarink1]

John, I won't disagree that the strategic bomber still has a useful role in modern warfare, but I still think in this particular case the B-2 has not fulfilled its promise. They are hugely expensive and I feel actually less useful (about half the conventional bombload of a B-1, I believe), especially in the recent wars you mention where the air defense threat has not really required an aircraft with its defensive capabilities. FWIW, I served on the ground in Desert Shield/Storm and would much rather have 2 or 3 B-1s dropping 3-4 times the amount of ordnance in front of me than a single B-2 for the same price.

[Adam Kline]

Best bang for the buck would have to be L-4 and L-5s. $1700.00 to $5200.00 apiece and multi- capable. Ambulance to artillery direction --pretty cost effective for many years.
Many Ed Heinemann designs were mentioned earlier and I agree AD-1, A4D, and F-16 which Ed said " Although I can't take credit for the design of the F-16 I had a lot to do with it. This is another example of how an airplane was built for half or less of other or competing planes. This was accomplished by a strong desire to do so and good cooperation between the manufacturer, General Dynamics, Fort Worth and the Air Force." Taken from AIAA 81-0917 Aircraft Design Then and Now by Ed Heinemann.
He went on to mention that the first 500 A4Ds cost $860,000 each. SBD Dauntless $86,000. A4Ds spent many more years in service then the SBDs.

[Randy Haskin]

What was the name of that primary trainer the Air force used briefly about a decade or so ago? If I'm remembering correctly they had a horrible safety record and were pulled out of service and destroyed.

The USAF called it the T-3.

Leave it to Big Blue to take a perfectly good aircraft and screw it up so bad that they have to destroy all the examples so it doesn't kill anyone else.