Tribute: IYAOYAS

[HeyJoe]

020305-N-0376S-018 At sea aboard USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) Mar. 5, 2002 -- Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class Kirk Seirer from San Diego, CA. and Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Michael Pacheco from Kearny, AZ, transport BLU-111 penetrator bombs from the weapons elevator to the hangar bay. John C. Stennis and Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9) are conducting combat missions over Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Kimara Scott. (RELEASED)

020425-N-3397A-004 At sea aboard USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) Apr. 25, 2002 -- An Aviation Ordnanceman makes adjustments to hold a fin on a 1000 pound Laser-guided Bomb Unit (GBU-16) on the ship’s flight deck. Kennedy and her embarked Carrier Air Wing Seven (CVW-7) are conducting combat missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Apprentice Ruben U. Apodaca. (RELEASED)

020421-N-5188B-001 At sea aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73) Apr. 21, 2002 -- Aviation Ordnanceman First Class Andrew Martinez from Crestone, CO, fuses a general purpose bomb on an F-14 “Tomcat” assigned to the “Jolly Rogers” of Fighter Squadron One Zero Three (VF-103). VF-103 and Washington are conducting integrated training exercises in the Caribbean Sea. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Peter D. Blair. (RELEASED)

 

[HeyJoe]

020423-N-9849W-011 At sea aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) Apr. 23, 2002 -- Aviation Ordnancemen from the ship’s Weapons Department prepare to load bombs onto air wing aircraft. Kitty Hawk is providing a forward presence in the Asia-Pacific region, while conducting training and exercises with regional allies. Kitty Hawk is the Navy’s only permanently forward-deployed aircraft carrier operating out of Yokosuka, Japan. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class John E. Woods. (RELEASED)

020324-N-5362A-005 Forward deployed with Patrol Squadron Four (VP-4) Mar. 24, 2002 -- Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class Brian Leonard loads a AGM-65 “Maverick” air-to surface missile on a P-3 “Orion.” VP-4 is conducting combat missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 1st Class Arlo Abrahamson. (RELEASED)

020325-N-0271M-002 At sea aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) Mar. 25, 2002 -- Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Jerry Bohanan from Turlock, CA, disarms a AIM-9 “Sidewinder” missile from an F/A-18 “Hornet.” Airman Bohanan is assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron Two Seven (VFA-27) as a crewmember of the Aviation Armament Division. Kitty Hawk is conducting work-ups in preparation for an upcoming extended underway period, and is the Navy’s only permanently forward deployed aircraft carrier homeported in Yokosuka, Japan. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Lee McCaskill. (RELEASED)

 

[NavAir42]

Best boss I ever had was a LDO AO CDR, the Gunboss on the TR during Desert Storm. When I checked onboard he said "Jim, Outside of W Division (nuclear weapons technicians), you're going to be working almost exclusively with AOs and AO LDOs. Let me tell you about AOs....75% are dumb as rocks and the other 25% are some of the smartest Sailors you'll ever meet. By the time they make first class, whether they're smart or dumb, pushing around all the rocks have developed them into good leaders. The smart ones all make Chief, Warrant or LDO. Just tell them what needs done, get out of their way and watch it happen."

Truer words were never spoken. Those rocks gave me plenty of headaches but the smart ones made it a great tour.

Truer words have never been said.

 

[A4sForever]

What's up with the non-skid paint job on the that guy?

It's not 'non-skid' ... it's a heat-resistant ' ablative' coating ...

The casing of the Mk80 series is constructed of cast steel, as we all know. The outer shell of the Mk80 series measures approximately one inch in thickness (that's thick), thus ensuring fragmentation as the brittle cast steel shatters upon bomb detonation. This effectively increases the destructive power and damaging blast radius of the weapon.

While you can consider the 'surface' of the bombs to be a smooth surface, aboard naval vessels an ablative coating (designed during Vietnam) to provide insulation against extreme temperatures or shipboard fires has covered the Mk80 series ever since the late '60s. This coating results in a very rough exterior surface, which deteriorates 'slowly' during a fire, rather than going off high-order (earlier) during a fire.

It buys time for fire parties aboard ship if we're facing a conflagration. Think USS Forrestal ... USS Enterprise ... USS Oriskany ...

It goes w/out saying that this does not adversely effect the low-drag or fragmentation properties of the bomb when dropped on bad guys' foreheads ....

 

[navyao]

BZ "HJ," thanks for thinking of us. I gotta tell all of you guys, there's nothing more motivating than to see you guys come back with a slick jet and to hear everything went "boom" when you needed it to. IYAOYAS!

 

[A4sForever]

...

GREAT picture. And look at this guy -- what a STUD. Probably Florida, Texas, or Kaneohe ... somewhere hot & dusty, but near the H2O.

Big guns, too ... including the Model 1919 Browning .30 caliber re-engineered into the M2 AN (Army-Navy) aircraft machine gun -- 1200-1500 RPM !!!

 

[HeyJoe]

GREAT picture. And look at this guy -- what a STUD. Probably Florida, Texas, or Kaneohe ... somewhere hot & dusty, but near the H2O.

Big guns, too ... including the Model 1919 Browning .30 caliber re-engineered into the M2 AN (Army-Navy) aircraft machine gun -- 1200-1500 RPM !!!

Concur...same guy? Not sure, but same type aircraft for sure

 

[HeyJoe]

Actually discovered location was Corpus Christi in August of 1942. A photographer from Office of War Information visited and shot several outstanding images with 4x5" Kodachrome, which stands up well to ravages of time. Kodachrome was preferred by all magazines for color reproduction until only recently when digital photography finally challenged Kodachrome for resolution and clarity of color.

Some more work by Mr Hollem during his visit to Texas:

 

[SynixMan]

That's the Navy I want to be a part of...

 

[scoolbubba]

Funny, I had to google IYAOYAS not too long ago. I saw it on one of our yellow shirts and was pretty sure it didn't mean line division or anything like that. It made waayyyy more sense when I realized the AO3 who was wearing it would be wearing a red float coat under any normal conditions.

 

[HeyJoe]

Blue Death...

100803-N-6362C-254 U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (Aug. 3, 2010) Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Justin Gray assembles MK-76 practice bombs aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). The MK-76 is designed to simulate the trajectory and free fall of larger-scale ordnance. The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group is deployed supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Tyler Caswell/Released)