- 2 months ago
For educational purposes
The four US services deploy more than 5,000 front-line aircraft and 3,000 helicopters; their units serve in more than 20 allied countries and from carrier battlegroups in almost every ocean; and the range of weaponry they deploy is the most devastating in military history.
US Air Power tells the full story of this amazing war machine. Superb colour film much of it specially declassified for the programme looks at all the major aircraft, helicopters, and weaponry.
Throughout, the emphasis is on action with much of the footage taken during training exercises and combat simulations, and the programme has a detailed script by leading aviation authority Bill Gunston.
The four US services deploy more than 5,000 front-line aircraft and 3,000 helicopters; their units serve in more than 20 allied countries and from carrier battlegroups in almost every ocean; and the range of weaponry they deploy is the most devastating in military history.
US Air Power tells the full story of this amazing war machine. Superb colour film much of it specially declassified for the programme looks at all the major aircraft, helicopters, and weaponry.
Throughout, the emphasis is on action with much of the footage taken during training exercises and combat simulations, and the programme has a detailed script by leading aviation authority Bill Gunston.
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LearningTranscript
00:00Tonight, on Wings, take off with U.S. Air Power.
00:28From bases around the world, American Air Power stands ready to scramble at a moment's notice to meet any challenge.
00:36From high-precision attack jets to heavy bombers, the U.S. arsenal is capable of delivering a devastating blow to any corner of the earth.
00:45High-tech reconnaissance aircraft keep the Strategic Air Command in touch with worldwide developments.
00:51Aircraft carrier battle groups patrol the seas.
00:53Tonight, soar high with U.S. Air Power on Wings.
00:58U.S. Air Power gained preeminence during the Second World War, a superiority best remembered by vast armadas of bombers, such as B-17s droning over Axis territory.
01:17They took on the enemy's fighters and, using the Norden bomb site, dropped thousands of tons of high explosives with unprecedented accuracy.
01:26But it was a new kind of bomb which ended the war.
01:29Two B-29s, the greatest aircraft of their day, dropped two atomic bombs on Japan.
01:35Hence the equation, one bomb, one city.
01:38Along with nuclear weapons came jet airplanes, like the F-80 Shooting Star.
01:51The F-104 Starfighter, which was the first aircraft to fly at twice the speed of sound.
01:57And the high-flying U-2.
01:59Today, the Strategic Air Command is the largest group within the U.S. Air Force.
02:15It is headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.
02:17Its communications network extends to every one of SAC's 114,000 personnel.
02:42Powerful computers and communication systems never sleep, but continuously monitor the exact status of 97 B-1B bombers, 250 B-52s, 950 Minutemen Intercontinental Missiles, and a small but growing force of Peacekeeper Missiles.
03:00With the capability of effectively destroying our planet many times over, there is no room for error.
03:12Some of SAC's aircraft carry no weapons, though they are the most powerful and most costly aircraft ever built.
03:24Based on the civilian jumbo jet, the mighty E-4 weighs 400 tons and carries 60 people.
03:42In times of crisis, the commander of SAC and the president of the United States would each be safely transported aloft in an E-4 command aircraft.
03:58Once aboard, they would direct all U.S. armed forces, even if Washington no longer existed.
04:04Lost in the vastness of the sky, they would be immune to attack by the enemy.
04:16With aerial refueling by the KC-135 strato tanker, they could stay airborne indefinitely.
04:22The KC-135 strato tanker, they could stay airborne indefinitely.
04:52Before, but almost as expensive, the Boeing E-3A Sentry is the world's greatest guardian of the skies, and also carries no weapons.
05:02It is officially called the AWACS, or Airborne Warning and Control System.
05:10Its chief payload is a powerful radar that transmits and receives through a giant antenna 30 feet across, rotating high above the aircraft.
05:19On board, 16 to 20 specialists handle complex computers to carry out surveillance, weapons direction, and battle staff functions.
05:30Without firing a shot, the E-3 dramatically multiplies the effectiveness of U.S. air power.
05:41As the rotodome turns, it sweeps the radar beam to all points of the compass.
05:47From over five miles above the Earth, the radar can see everything of interest on or above the surface, out to a distance of 250 miles.
05:55In total contrast, the now-retired Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird flew missions more like a spacecraft than an airplane.
06:11Its amazing shape enabled it to fly faster than 2,000 miles an hour, and also made it difficult to see on enemy radar.
06:21Every flight was planned like a space mission.
06:27Hundreds of skilled people were involved.
06:30All efforts focused on two men, the pilot and the RSO, or Reconnaissance Systems Officer.
06:37Dressed in full pressure suits, they looked more like astronauts than pilots.
06:41In the rear cockpit, the RSO managed complex radars, infrared sensors, and cameras similar to those carried by spy satellites, though details are still secret.
07:01Up front, the pilot flew the amazing airplane.
07:04For crew safety, escape systems that could operate at over 100,000 feet had to be developed.
07:21The Blackbird, still used in NASA research missions, is over 107 feet long and 55 feet wide.
07:29Constructed largely of titanium, it is made to withstand the high temperatures and forces imposed on it when flying faster than a bullet.
07:41When the gear comes up, the SR-71 becomes the fastest and highest flying airplane in the world, and one of the most elusive.
07:49A contributing factor to the Blackbird's stealth is that it flies at over 80,000 feet, or 16 miles above the Earth.
08:09To reach high altitude and speed, each power plant generates more than 30,000 pounds of thrust.
08:16More thrust, more thrust than the engines on board the Queen Mary.
08:23Most of SAC's aircraft are armed.
08:26Perhaps the most renowned bomber in the world, the Boeing Stratofortress, first flew in 1952.
08:32Today, many of them are older than their pilots.
08:35Though originally designed to fly at 40,000 feet, carrying a few nuclear bombs,
08:51these B-52Ds were rebuilt to fly at low level and carry up to 40 tons of conventional high explosives.
08:58In Vietnam, they dropped more tonnage than in all of World War II.
09:15Today, only the latest versions of the B-52 are in service.
09:19These are the G and H models.
09:21A vital weapon carried is the ALCM, or ALCM, air-launched cruise missile.
09:27At the bomber's base, a special truck brings up ALCMs for loading aboard the aircraft.
09:34A B-52 can carry 20 of these awesome weapons,
09:3812 under the wings and 8 on a rotary dispenser inside the fuselage.
09:43After release from the bomber, the ALCM's wings unfold,
10:01the jet engine ignites, and it becomes a miniature airplane over 20 feet long,
10:06and flying at jet speed.
10:13Each cruise missile is armed with a powerful W-80 nuclear warhead.
10:18It can guide itself a distance of more than 1,500 miles
10:21and deliver its warload with great precision on a chosen target.
10:31In the Gulf War, B-52s once again saw action,
10:36proving that this aircraft is truly the grand old warhorse of the skies.
10:43I've been around for 30 years.
10:49I've heard that there's even been three generations in a family of B-52 pilots,
10:53so that's pretty neat.
10:56If you want to do what your dad did,
10:58there's one airplane you can still do it in.
11:03The Rockwell B-1B has four engines,
11:06half as many as a B-52,
11:08but they are twice as powerful.
11:10Aerodynamically, the B-1B differs dramatically from its older predecessor.
11:17For takeoffs and landings,
11:19its pivoted swing wings can be extended to full span.
11:23During supersonic flight,
11:25they are folded back for maximum efficiency.
11:28Low supersonic speed is used for the long haul toward the target,
11:32while high subsonic speed can be used
11:34for the final low-level dash to the weapon's release point.
11:40Unlike the B-52,
11:42the new bomber,
11:43which is manned by a pilot, co-pilot,
11:45and two systems operators,
11:46was specially designed to attack at low level.
11:49This is achieved using advanced navigation aids
11:52to deliver free-fall bombs with greater accuracy.
11:55It was especially designed to be difficult to detect on enemy radars,
12:00and its apparent size, as seen by radar,
12:02is only one one-hundredth that of the B-52.
12:07It is, however, not a true stealth aircraft,
12:10and the more advanced bomber has been developed by Northrop
12:13for service in the 1990s.
12:15For the moment, the 97 B-1Bs,
12:25which entered SAC service in 1985,
12:28form by far the most formidable long-range bomber force
12:31outside the Soviet Union.
12:36Today, America's air power is also looking toward space.
12:41NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense's Command,
12:45is a bi-national organization
12:47operated by U.S. and Canadian forces.
12:56For many years,
12:57this secure headquarters inside Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado
13:01has been the NORAD Combat Operations Center.
13:10Cheyenne Mountain keeps track of hundreds of satellites orbiting the Earth,
13:14including many of Soviet military origin,
13:17and a total of 5,800 objects drifting in space.
13:28Since 1982, the U.S. Air Force has assigned all space operations
13:33to Space Command,
13:35whose responsibilities are not merely global,
13:38but now extend far from Earth.
13:39Space Command operates 23 worldwide space surveillance units.
13:47Three of the largest, located in Alaska, Greenland, and England,
13:51comprise the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System.
13:55These BMEU stations monitor outer space
13:58to watch for ballistic attacks on North America
14:00and the United Kingdom.
14:01If they sounded the alarm,
14:081,000 nuclear missiles could be launched in retaliation.
14:12In fact, America's strategic missiles
14:13are designed to ride out an attack
14:15and remain launchable
14:16long after an initial nuclear exchange has taken place.
14:20Geographically, the biggest U.S. Air Force command
14:36is PACAF, the Pacific Air Forces.
14:39They cover a third of the world,
14:41from Hawaii to Asia.
14:43Typical of PACAF's operations
14:45is that at Kunsan Air Base in South Korea,
14:48where McDonnell F-4D Phantom II fighters
14:51are loading 20-millimeter gun pods
14:53and GBU-10 laser-guided smart bombs.
14:56They also carry electronic countermeasure pods
14:59to defeat hostile radars.
15:01These famed fighters have recently been replaced
15:04by the F-15 Eagle and the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
15:08The Fairchild A-10A Thunderbolt II is a strange-looking bird,
15:21often called the Warthog,
15:23but always treated with respect.
15:32Designed to kill tanks,
15:34it has the most powerful aircraft gun in the world.
15:36It's 1,350 rounds of armor-piercing 30-millimeter ammo
15:41are fed into the magazine with a powered loader.
15:43The A-10 is also armed with 2.75-inch rockets,
15:57which are loaded into wingpods.
16:03Streamlined Mark-82 bombs
16:05are another option for strike missions.
16:07A single-seater, the A-10A has two turbofan engines at the rear
16:21and a thick bathtub of titanium armor around the cockpit.
16:25These A-10s belong to the Connecticut Air National Guard,
16:29but have been deployed to Hawaii for live fire exercises,
16:47These A-10s belong to the Connecticut Air National Guard, but have been deployed to
16:56Hawaii for live fire exercises, vital training for their part-time pilots.
17:05More than any other fixed-wing airplanes, the A-10 stays low during combat.
17:10That is how to survive over the battlefield.
17:19Of all the aircraft in today's arsenal, the one most young pilots want to fly is the General
17:24Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon.
17:27These F-16s at Hill Air Force Base in Utah were some of the first in service.
17:33Fuel tanks, bombs, and 20-millimeter ammo go aboard as the ground crews prepare the aircraft
17:37for training.
17:51Fighting Falcons from the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing take off for more tough training missions.
17:57Pilots are taught how to hit ground targets and how to dogfight.
18:03When the F-16 was first designed, many doubted it could do the job.
18:07It has the same power plant as its big brother, the F-15, but only one engine instead of two.
18:14It was soon proven that this graceful machine could outfly and outfight almost everything.
18:20The F-16 was the first aircraft in service able to sustain a back-breaking 9G turn.
18:26In a dogfight, it has yet to meet its master.
18:31Its Westinghouse radar assists both navigation and bombing.
18:38For air combat, the Sidewinder heat-seeking missile is deadly accurate.
18:57Air to ground load such as cluster bombs can weigh up to six tons, and still the F-16 is
19:02probably the most agile aircraft in the sky.
19:14The pilot reclines in a sloping seat that helps him withstand the G-forces of air-to-air combat.
19:20He has a transparent canopy all around, giving a perfect view.
19:33After his first flight, one pilot said that it was like riding on a jet-propelled telegraph pole.
19:52USAFE, or U.S. Air Force Europe, stations U.S. aircraft on the eastern side of the Atlantic to support the American commitment to NATO.
20:08Its fighter assets in Europe include F-15s and F-16s.
20:12In the event of war, vast air reinforcements could cross the Atlantic.
20:26Because of the anticipated intensity of a war in Europe, all U.S. bases were to be equipped
20:31with hardened aircraft shelters.
20:34Here the ground crews are trained in anti-nuclear biological and chemical warfare.
20:39To offset threats, the aircraft can be turned around under cover.
20:55Hardened aircraft shelters at Lake and Heath in England are home to the General Dynamics F-111F aardvark.
21:02The F-111F is designated as a fighter, but is actually very effective as a low-level bomber.
21:08In 1986, F-111Fs were used to bomb Libya.
21:13Later the E and F models proved to be an unrelenting asset during the Desert Storm campaign.
21:17F-111Fs carry over 12 tons of bombs.
21:30They were also the first aircraft with pivoting swing wings, used during heavy load takeoffs
21:35and for flight at supersonic speed.
21:36The aardvark is a deep penetration surgical strike tool.
21:40Able to deliver conventional or nuclear weapons against enemy targets at night or in bad weather.
21:47The aardvark is a deep penetration surgical strike tool.
21:57Able to deliver conventional or nuclear weapons against enemy targets at night or in bad weather.
22:06The crew of two sit side by side.
22:25Flying just above the deck in bad weather or over rugged terrain calls for strong nerves and quick thinking.
22:31That's the only way to hit the target and stay alive.
22:38The plane is totally automated in a sense that it will go where we've programmed it to go.
22:43It will physically fly over the ground at 200 feet.
22:46And the airplane looks ahead of itself with a radar set and sees the hills in front of us.
22:53And it says to itself, OK, I need to start a climb now to crest over the hill at 200 feet.
22:59And I tell you, when we're down at 400 feet at night, when you can't see outside or when you're in the clouds,
23:06and we have absolutely no visibility outside the window.
23:11Of the many versions of the F-4 Phantom to see Air Force service,
23:15the one destined to remain around for some time is the RF-4C.
23:20This Phantom isn't loaded down with weapons, but is loaded with infrared radar, special cameras, and side-looking radar,
23:28used when flying reconnaissance missions through enemy territory.
23:325,200 Phantoms were built.
23:36The most recent version, the Phantom F-4G, is an anti-radar strike aircraft,
23:41able to seek out and destroy enemy installations using deadly accurate anti-radiation homing missiles.
23:48The feisty little Northrop F-5E Tiger II never played a frontline role with the U.S. Air Force,
24:09but probably went through more aerial combat engagements than any other fighter.
24:13Painted to look like Soviet MiGs, they served as aggressor aircraft, playing the part of the enemy.
24:20Flown by the best fighter instructors in the business,
24:23their task was to turn the average fighter pilot into an unbeatable one.
24:28They've recently been replaced in the bad guy role by the F-16.
24:36Typical of units whose pilots have been honed to perfection by the Aggressor Combat School
24:41are the first tactical fighter wing.
24:44The premier fighter group with tactical air command,
24:46they're equipped with the fearsome McDonnell F-15 Eagle.
24:50Here they are deployed at Camp New Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
24:54The F-15 is unquestionably the number one fighter in the Air Force.
24:59First flown in 1972, the Eagle is a worthy successor to McDonnell's Phantom.
25:05The F-15 is powered by two Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines, providing almost 25 tons of thrust.
25:18The F-15 is a large aircraft, much heavier than a B-17 bomber of World War II.
25:24It can fly at nearly two and one-half times the speed of sound, and is a deadly enemy in combat.
25:31The Eagle wields a 20-millimeter gun, four big Sparrow radar-guided missiles, and typically four sidewinders.
25:41Using its huge radar, the F-15 pilot easily finds the enemy, locks on, and fires.
25:47An Eagle fires a missile against a QF-102.
25:57Once an all-weather interceptor, the aircraft is now flown under radio control to serve as an air combat target.
26:03Perhaps this is a better way to die than in a scrapyard.
26:06Today, the McDonnell plant is building a new kind of F-15, the F-15E.
26:16This Eagle can let go over 23,000 pounds of bombs.
26:21It can also be armed with cluster bombs.
26:30Painted in somber camouflage, it can do anything an F-15 fighter can do, but also has tremendous ground attack capability,
26:38carrying four times the load of a B-17 heavy bomber of World War II.
26:42It has more fuel capacity than six first-generation jet fighters.
26:53For additional range, it can nuzzle up behind a KC-10 tanker,
26:57and take on board as much as it needs to complete the mission.
27:01All the while, this powerful airplane retains the in-flight maneuverability
27:07that makes it so coldly efficient in close air combat.
27:12Early F-15 fighters were single-seaters, but this new dual-role version adds a backseat for the weapons system officer,
27:29and a second pair of eyes to watch for enemy aircraft.
27:36Much larger planes dominate MAC, the U.S. Air Force's military airlift command.
27:41A huge organization with worldwide responsibilities,
27:46MAC's most numerous airlifter is the ubiquitous Lockheed C-130 Hercules.
27:51It was first flown in 1954.
27:54Still in production, this aircraft can put down almost anywhere,
27:58disgorging anything from an armored vehicle to 20 tons of rice for famine relief.
28:02A standard mission is paratrooping, and 64 or even 92 fully armed troops can drop from the doors on either side.
28:11Heavy items of cargo can be delivered by various methods,
28:22one of which is LAPES, a low-altitude parachute extraction system.
28:27The plane's center of gravity shifts massively as the load is released.
28:30Pilots lacking a cool head and a steady hand don't last long.
28:35The C-130 can also conduct covert operations, including the insertion of Navy SEALs into enemy territory,
28:44a demanding and dangerous task under any circumstances.
28:48Well, I've seen a C-130 that hit a bulldozer on takeoff, and it tore out the ramp, the aft part of the airplane,
28:59and it flew about an hour and a half back to Cameron Bay from the forward location
29:04with the ramp half hanging out the back of the airplane and made it okay.
29:08I don't think they ever flew the airplane again, but at least it made it back that far.
29:11Now we return to Wings on the Discovery Channel.
29:21The United States Army's array of helicopter power has often been described as the world's third largest air force.
29:28Indeed, one particular type of helicopter, the Bell UH-1,
29:32has been built in larger numbers than any other military aircraft since World War II.
29:36Officially, it's named the Iroquois, but American fighting men everywhere call it the Huey,
29:44an odd name derived from its original designation of HU-1.
29:53First flown in 1956, it still serves in large numbers as the standard tactical airlifter.
29:59Hueys can carry squads of up to 14 troops, and in the resupply role can lift 2,000 pounds of cargo.
30:08Though different versions of the Huey serve all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces,
30:14by far the greatest numbers sport the Army's olive drab.
30:18Most of them will spend their operational life perilously close to enemy land forces.
30:22They survive by flying nap of the earth, often literally brushing through grass and treetops whenever they're within range of hostile missiles or artillery.
30:40Hueys never stay in one place for long, and their pilots have plenty to do, having to navigate accurately,
30:52keep an eye open for enemy fighters, and, perhaps the most unnerving of all, avoid wire strikes.
30:57They must also avoid being overrun on the ground by fast-moving mechanized enemy units.
31:19Hueys are made by Bell Helicopter Textron, the same company that manufactured the OH-58 Kiowa.
31:25The Kiowa is used by both the Army and Navy, but the chief customer is the Army, which uses it as a battlefield scout platform.
31:35Though it can accommodate five or even six passengers, the Kiowa usually has just two on board,
31:42one of whom may be a general, eager to see exactly what's going on on the battlefield.
31:46This is Bravo Tango 4-2. Enemy armor at November Bravo 185120.
32:01Such reconnaissance means ground-hugging nap of the earth flying.
32:04To counteract a catastrophic wire strike, Army Kiowas are fitted with cable cutters.
32:10Helicopters do much more than fly trucking and scouting missions.
32:15These tough brutes could take on an armored division.
32:17They are the Cobras, or Snakes, officially named the AH-1G Huey Cobra.
32:27Though derived from the original UH-1 Huey, they have a slim fuselage with a fighter-like cockpit for the pilot and gunner.
32:36The latter sitting in front and lower, to give both men a nearly perfect view all around.
32:40Cobras come in different versions, with either one or two engines.
32:49Most are able to fire up to eight deadly tow missiles, which can pierce through the toughest armor.
32:57Under the nose is a power-driven turret with a 20 or 30 millimeter cannon.
33:02Each Cobra also wields up to 76 air-to-ground rockets.
33:05When enemy armor appears, the Cobra cautiously unmasks for a few seconds,
33:13just long enough to fire a tow missile and guide it to its target.
33:16At a range of 3,000 meters, a head-on Cobra is almost invisible.
33:36After each missile is fired, the Cobra dips behind natural cover and moves to a different location.
33:43The Army's new assault helicopter is the Sikorsky UH-60A Black Hawk.
33:52Powered by two 1,500 horsepower General Electric engines,
33:56the Black Hawk carries a crew of three and up to 14 troops or six-liter casualties.
34:01Slung loads of up to 8,000 pounds can be hauled by this rugged machine.
34:05Biggest and most powerful of the Army's helicopters is the Boeing Vertol CH-47 Chinook.
34:16This bird has an unusual layout with tandem rotors, one at the nose, the other at the tail.
34:21The latest version, the CH-47D, can lift off at a weight of 50,000 pounds, carrying a payload heavier than the helicopter itself.
34:31But wounded are its most precious cargo.
34:35And in evacuating as many as 24 casualties at a time, it may perform the most valuable assignment on the battlefield.
34:42Captain Otto Pernado, flying the FB-111 to Plattsburgh, New York, and wings will be right back on the...
34:55Another of the world's most powerful air forces belongs to the United States Navy.
35:03The main striking power of the Navy is vested in 14 giant carrier battle groups, which can deploy air power anywhere in the world.
35:12Each battle group is based around a colossal aircraft carrier that displaces as much as 90,000 tons and has a crew of 6,000.
35:22They are giant floating air bases, packed with everything needed to sustain a massive air operation, yet able to move 500 miles in a single day.
35:33At over 30 million dollars each, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat is one of the world's most expensive fighters.
35:44Its price tag reflects its capabilities.
35:47No other aircraft can simultaneously pick out 6 hostile aircraft and shoot them all down from a distance of over 100 miles.
35:54Fitted with swing wings, the F-14 has a crew of two and carries a 20 millimeter gun and three different kinds of air-to-air missiles.
36:04Its task is to defend the fleet against attack from the air.
36:07The newest Navy and Marine Corps fixed wing combat aircraft is the McDonnell Douglas F-18.
36:17The single seat Hornet was designed to replace the F-4 as a fighter and the A-7 as an attacker.
36:22It can operate by day or night.
36:25The Navy's counterpart to the AWACS is the Grumman E-2C Hawkeye.
36:44It carries two pilots and three operation specialists, plus a powerful radar, able to detect anything of significance within 3 million cubic miles of sky.
36:56A Sikorsky SH-3 C-King comes topside on the elevator to the carrier's flight deck.
37:13After unfolding, it departs on an anti-submarine mission, carrying anti-submarine warfare sensors and two Mark 44 and Mark 46 torpedoes.
37:26The dunking sonar is used to locate submerged submarines.
37:32Smoke markers pinpoint the position of the sub.
37:37To prolong their patrol, C-Kings can undertake in-flight refueling.
37:42The helicopter simply cruises along beside a friendly warship, taking on a fresh supply of jet fuel.
37:56The U.S. Navy's new generation of shipboard helicopter and another Sikorsky product is the S-860B Seahawk.
38:10Based on the Army's U-860A Blackhawk, it has been totally redesigned to fly both anti-submarine and anti-ship surveillance day or night in any weather.
38:20The Seahawk has 25 launchers for sonoboards used to detect submerged submarines.
38:31It carries a powerful radar, infrared sensors and a magnetic anomaly detector that is towed behind the chopper when used.
38:38When it finds a submarine, the S-860 can attack with two parachute retarded torpedoes.
38:51Despite their size, Seahawks can operate from the small fantail decks of destroyers and frigates.
39:12A special recovery assist secure and traverse, or RAST system, enables the big copter to be winched down safely, even with the ship pitching in 13-foot seams.
39:24The biggest and most powerful helicopter in the Navy, the MH-53E Sea Dragon, is a special mine countermeasures version of a helicopter originally developed as an assault transport for the Marine Corps.
39:42Powered by three 4,380 horsepower engines, the Sea Dragon is an aerial minesweeper that operates out of the reach of deadly sea mines.
39:54Its internal fuel capacity is augmented by a large sponsor tank on each side, adding an additional 3,200 gallons.
40:01The Sea Dragon has the power to handle any kind of minesweeping gear.
40:11Not only must a huge sledge be pulled through the sea, but it must be fed with electrical power.
40:17Typical of such operations, the giant helicopter works with a Mark 166 magnetic influence sledge.
40:25Among other tasks, the sledge can detonate magnetic mines.
40:28Each arduous towing mission can last up to four hours.
40:40Tough, disciplined and ready, Marines are airlifted by various kinds of helicopters.
40:46The biggest and most powerful are the twin-engine Sikorsky CH-53 Stallion and the triple-engine CH-53E Super Stallion.
40:58Both of these massive choppers can airlift 55 armed troops or bring in artillery, vehicles, ammunition or engineering equipment needed during amphibious assaults.
41:09Alone among U.S. forces, the Marines use short takeoff vertical landing warplanes that can operate without the use of extensive airfields.
41:23Back in 1969, the Corps adopted the British Harrier as a versatile attack and fighter aircraft.
41:33Subsequently, British Aerospace and McDonnell Douglas collaborated to produce a new airplane.
41:39The vastly superior AV-8B Harrier II.
41:42A dream to fly, the Harrier II is new in almost every aspect and has replaced the AV-8A in Marine Corps service.
41:50It has a single-seat cockpit that owes much to the Hornet.
42:04Advanced electronic displays predominate.
42:09For ground attack, Harriers use the Snake-Eye retarded bomb.
42:21If necessary, the AV-8 can take off vertically, even from a small forest clearing.
42:26But once in the air, it flies and attacks at jet speed.
42:30External loads of weapons weigh up to 7,000 pounds for vertical takeoff or 17,000 pounds for a long rolling takeoff.
42:42Rolling takeoffs are also made from the flight decks of amphibious warships.
43:04For shipboard landings, no arrestor gear is needed.
43:06During the Falklands War, the British proved that jet-lift aircraft can fly combat missions
43:18when all other warplanes are grounded by bad weather.
43:29During the same conflict, Harriers armed with Sidewinder air-to-air missiles
43:32and using the vectored thrust of their Pegasus engines commanded a huge tactical advantage over their Argentine adversaries.
43:48The Harrier II introduces a new 25-millimeter rapid-fire cannon.
43:53It is also capable of carrying a wide assortment of weapons and stores.
43:56Though the Harrier II is a truly impressive machine, plans are already afoot to produce a supersonic version of this remarkable aircraft.
44:07Overshadowed numerically by the Soviet Union, the diversity and above all quality of American air forces makes the United States the greatest single air power the world has ever seen.
44:18Future advances in design, weapons and electronics are certain to keep her in that position well into the future.
44:27Coming up, break through the brush and go on the hunt.
44:42From Chile, Alaska to a sweltering Africa, watch out.
44:46High action and adventure continues on Wild Discovery.
44:49Coming up, only on the Discovery Channel.
44:52Explore your world.
44:53Philby Haldis and Winnie-Wilch
45:12Six June lands
45:16Evee
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