OPERATION TOP GUN

Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty as a vast western frontier opened to settlement the forces of Law and Order rested with a few dedicated men men with a belief in the ideals of Liberty with Justice for All a willingness to fight for those ideals with deadly accuracy with the weapons they used they were the top guns of the West today our Frontiers stretch continually outward and upward to the far shores of the oceans of the world and to the fringes of space the Free World is an oceanic Coalition bound together militarily and economically by the Sea most of our trade as well as our allies are across those Seas all of our potential enemies therefore the survival of our nation and the Free World now and in the future depends upon our free use of these oceans and the air above them for lawful Commerce the hard riding keepers of the peace in this infinite Frontier are the men of the Navy's Air Forces prepared for defense or instant retaliation in any quarter of the globe they are the top guns of the Space [Music] Age [Applause] [Music] the today the Top Guns of the Navy are gathered at Yuma Arizona at the Marine Corps auxiliary air station to prove their skills and their weapons in the fourth annual Naval Air weapons meet the purpose of the meet to promote the training incentive and competitive Spirit essential to combat Readiness in peace time and to provide official recognition of individuals and teams for top honors in the employment of air weapons concurrently it affords Naval Aviation an opportunity to evaluate its weapon systems supporting equipments and training techniques under condition simulating allout combat operation there are four major areas of competition they are light attack heavy attack all- weather fighter and day Fighter for the first time in a Navy weapons meet ground location and Airborne television cameras will take you on operational mission you will ride in partnership with these Top Guns of the Navy impressive as this air Armada is it is only Hardware without the pilot air crew teams that give it efficiency and accuracy on an Around the Clock across the calendar basis every man in the air and ground crew knows that he is a vital factor in every Mission flown by the aircraft under his care the high morale these Top Gun teammates reflects the tremendous Pride each individual takes in the fact that he knows that his job was done right plane captains ordinance men Electronics technicians machinist mates metal Smiths all support Personnel have a vital part in the high level of performance which has earned a consistent well done for the air Navy each a4d team competing in the light attack Jet event is flying a total of six missions medium angle Loft long range profile mission High Dive over the- shoulder Loft rockets and conventional bombs in The Loft operation each contestant delivers a nuclear shape in these events the approach to the Target is made at minimum altitude at a predetermined point the pull-up is initiated and the pilot flies a specified profile following delivery the pilot retires in the direction from which he came diving back to the deck to gain extra speed this method of delivery allows the pilot to clear the target area before his weapon detonates 2.75 FF Rockets are used during the rocketry events scoring is measured at the Target area by Target operators and observed by the senior judge of the light attack event in the ad light attack prop phase the profile event is a long range low-level time consuming mission of 650 Mi with minor changes the light attack prop Conventional Weapons missions correspond to the light attack Jet events however generally more accurate deliveries can be expected due to lower speeds at the release points each a3d skywarrior heavy attack team will fly a total of three missions first pinpoint bombing then navigation and radar bombing site runs finally bomber stream pinpoint bombing is aptly named in it a shape is dropped from high altitude on a ground Target scoring depends on elapsed time and the distance of the shape from the target the navigation and radar bombing site run is to test The Navigators approximately 1,000 M from takeoff the Navigator notifies a ground Radar Site standing by the aircraft then proceeds to a designated radar bombing site and simulates a nuclear drop which is scored electronically in the bomber stream operation designed to simulate a large scale attack the aircraft are launched at 15-minute intervals precise takeoff time is important the targets are announced in minimum efficient time to allow proper planning in these events the a3ds accurate bombing site and computer play a significant part in the f4d squadrons competing in the all- weather fighter category competition consists of lead collision rocketry at 30,000 ft and at 50,000 ft the Aro 36 Target is towed at a speed of Mark point8 for the 30,000 ft events and Mark point9 for the 50,000 ft events the speed of the fighter making the intercept is suggested but may be varied by the team Ground Control intercept controller to his best advantage through the use of Airborne intercept radar the firing pilot must detect and lock on the Target and complete his firing run while flying his airplane without visual reference to the ground scoring is accomplished through photo assessing four types of targets are in use for Top Gun competition the air to ground Target area is located in the desert range near Yuma scoring is visual being measured at the targets by Target operators and observed by the senior judge of the event air-to-air Gunnery is evaluated with conventional Banner tow targets the banner towed by an aircraft of utility Squadron 7 is hooked on at the head of the runway 1500 ft of cable is played out as the towing aircraft makes a high angle takeoff after the firing runs the banner is released over a retrieval area for hit assessment the delmare Aro 36 toad Target which is used to evaluate missile fire has radar reflective and photographic scoring capabilities the delmare ROP targets are released towed and recovered by underwing mounted launchers the tow reel which controls deployment and Recovery is actuated by an internally contained wind driven turbine operation Top Gun marks the first Navy use of the Ryan kd4 fireb in a major weapons meet action the remotely controlled free flying High Performance jet targets challenge f8u Crusader day fighter squadrons and f3h Demon all weather fighter squadrons p2v Neptunes and JD 1's operating from Brownfield near San San Diego and point Magoo will launch their fire PES southeast of San Nicholas Island and remote Ground Control at maguo will take over Target operation a vital Link in aerial interception is the ground control Interceptor who vectors the aircraft to its Target until lockon can be affected by the Interceptor then the Airborne weapon system takes over the attack the attacking pilot is Vector in when the target enters the hot Lake of its on station operation the pilot is allowed 5 minutes after the target enters the firing area to get his missile away camera recording Telemetry and the Airborne referee will score the events a full hit score is awarded if the missile hits the fire B regardless of the conditions under which it was fired the Crusaders armed with deadly heat seeking swinders and demons carrying Sparrow 3 missiles meet the attack of the enemy fireb on the inner and outer ranges of the Pacific Missile Range approximately 50 Mi off The Point maguo Naval missile Center the exacting 30-minute interval of launches requires two simultaneous ground control operations as the first bird is launched and begins its climb to Mission altitude the alternate ground control operator begins pre-launch checkout of the second scheduled fire b as the primary KDA enters the range on the first Hot Leg of its racetrack pattern fire B number two is launched and begins its climb to altitude Crusaders Vector in on the duty Target and launch their side winders Sparrow 3es slash across the range as demons close for the kill the next few impartial minutes are final Judgment of Pilots planes and weapons as hit or miss is recorded as the fire be disappears in a roaring tangle of metal or streaks for the recovery area Mission completed the interceptors break for home as Target number two enters the range and the pattern of mock Invasion continues the primary target is guided to the recovery area parachute deployment is commanded the fire B floats gently to the surface of the sea an hus1 helicopter converges on the impact area a fish pole boom tipped with a pelican hook permits ready hook on to the KDA riser in a few minutes the target is on its way to the saltwater decontamination area at Point Mago immediate freshwater wash down and cleansing of individual components lengthens the life of the fireb immeasurably permitting many missions before expenditure during the next few days the shattering scream of jet engines is punctuated by the staccato chatter of 20 mm Cannon the crash of Mark 76 bombs and 2.75 Rockets side winders and Sparrow 3es slash across the sea range the desert shakes under the impact of the full arsenal of air to ground weapons the Navy's top Gunners are riding the Range High wide and handsome and the scoreboard at Yuma spells out the story of their success finally the Smoke Clears and it's all over but the shouting vice admiral Clarence E extrom commander of the Pacific Fleet Naval Air Force the host for operation Top Gun proudly sums up the record-breaking total scores the Top Gun Saga has taken its place in the an of great Frontier stories but the keepers of the piece maintain their vigilance and their accuracy through continuous training in their skills the outstanding success of the fireb as an efficient economical Target for air toar weapons evaluation and training has aroused the interest of the Navy in this Advanced transonic fireb as target support for operational training exercises in surface ships fire ing surfac to- a intercept missiles the vital new role of missile ships is to establish a defensive anti-aircraft missile umbrella over task groups freeing the total combat potential of the main Force for offensive action this new fireb is a faster more versatile and competent jet Target capable of continually challenging and evaluating the complex functions of our arsenal of offensive and defensive weapon systems defensively and offensively unceasing practice under the most realistic combat conditions possible guarantees on a practical basis that all of our Armament can and will fulfill its assignment against an enemy and that our Free Nation shall continue to exist in a free world