Spied on US I-20 Today....

Mike Cecil · #1 29-03-12, 01:43

Well, travelling the roads of the USA always reveals some interesting traffic. Today, heading East between Midland TX and Ft Worth TX, was no exception. Quite a number of civilian semi-trailers hauling US military equipment of all types: Humvees, 8x8 HMMTS(?), semi trailers, semi-tractors, USMC containers, etc.

But the really curious sight was the FIVE British Harrier jets: one Harrier fuselage per semi-trailer, and one wing-section per semi trailer, heading west. Still with grey/green camouflage and British roundels. At 75mph, I didn't get the chance to see any Brit reg numbers, but someone must know the 'what, why, and to who' of this rather curious group of aeroplanes now 'gone west' and resident in the USA....

Any thoughts on this, anyone?

Mike C

Mike Kelly · #2 29-03-12, 02:06

May have been spares for the US Marine Harriers . The British may have sold some old surplus stock to the Yanks , for parts or a rebuild ?

Mike

jason meade · #3 29-03-12, 03:10

Everyone always needs a good target...lol

Mike Kelly · #4 29-03-12, 03:52

here is your answer Mike C .. I was correct
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...rier-jets.html

Mike Cecil · #5 29-03-12, 04:41

Well done Mike! Thanks.

Mike C

Hanno Spoelstra · #6 29-03-12, 07:01

Is the acquisition of these "one careful owner" aircraft a sign of confidence the USMC have in the programme which should deliver its intended replacement?

Ryan · #7 29-03-12, 13:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

here is your answer Mike C .. I was correct
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...rier-jets.html

Holy hell, their selling their entire fleet!
And if they have mothballed Ark Royal too does that leave them without any carriers?
Sounds like they are counting CMPs as a new second line of defence.

Little Jo · #8 29-03-12, 14:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

Holy hell, their selling their entire fleet!
And if they have mothballed Ark Royal too does that leave them without any carriers?
Sounds like they are counting CMPs as a new second line of defence.

Hi Ryan

Yep mate the Ark Royal is up for sale. Looks like the last of the Aircraft Carriers are no longer required. See below.

Cheers

Tony

Telegraph.co.uk

Thursday 29 March 2012

HOME»NEWS»UK NEWS»DEFENCE
HMS Ark Royal put up for sale on 'military eBay'
The Royal Navy's former flagship HMS Ark Royal has been put up for sale on the Ministry of Defence's auction website.

HMS Ark Royal Photo: PA
12:44PM BST 28 Mar 2011
Just two weeks after the aircraft carrier was decommissioned at its home port of Portsmouth Naval Base, Hampshire, the Ark Royal has been advertised on the edisposals.com website.
The sale follows that of its sister ship HMS Invincible, which was towed away last week to a scrapyard in Turkey after being sold on the same internet site.
Although the Ark Royal could also be sold for its scrap metal, other proposals for it include a commercial heliport in London as well as a base for special forces to provide security at next year's Olympic Games.
And a move could be made to turn it into a nightclub and school in China.
Bidders have until 10am on June 13 to put their tenders forward for the ship. No minimum price is given.
RELATED ARTICLES
HMS Ark Royal: Their final mission 24 Nov 2010
Strategic Defence Review: HMS Ark Royal to be scrapped 19 Oct 2010
The website edisposals.com is run by the Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) arm of the MoD which has a budget of £14 billion to equip the UK's armed forces.
Also on sale on the site are three Type-42 destroyers HMS Exeter, HMS Southampton and HMS Nottingham.

Tony Smith · #9 01-04-12, 16:40

Many years ago, the RN looked at decommisioning HMS Ark Royal and selling her to Australia to replace HMAS Melbourne. At the time, the Argentinians got a bit rowdy and it was decided to keep the Ark Royal and the sale fell through.

Now the RN is again selling the Ark Royal, and once more the Argentinians are rattling sabres. It's plain to see that continued peace in the South Atlantic rests on Britain retaining "Noah's Warship". And we're still waiting for an aircraft carrier!

chris vickery · #10 01-04-12, 19:41

Lets hope our brothers to the south don't get burned on a clearance sale from the UK like we did with "barely used" submarines.....
The barely used subs were barely used because they were junk to begin with and the Brits knew it.
BTW, our second hand subs are still not sea worthy despite being sold in operational condition several years back, plus killing a Canadian sailor to boot.

rob love · #11 01-04-12, 22:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris vickery

Lets hope our brothers to the south don't get burned on a clearance sale from the UK like we did with "barely used" submarines.....
The barely used subs were barely used because they were junk to begin with and the Brits knew it.
BTW, our second hand subs are still not sea worthy despite being sold in operational condition several years back, plus killing a Canadian sailor to boot.

To be fair that death was the result of the way the new owners were operating it, and not because of the submarine itself. I believe the findings of the inquest were that the sub should have had the hatches closed while the ocean was that rough.

From Wikopedia:
"On 5 October, Chicoutimi was apparently surfaced and running through heavy seas 100 miles (160 km) north-west of County Mayo, Ireland. Both hatches in the bridge fin lock-out chamber were left open and an estimated 2,000 litres of seawater entered the vessel. The seawater caused an electrical panel to short out, which in turn started a major fire and caused all power to cut out, leaving the submarine adrift.[2] "

Apparently the waves were between 6 to 8 meters in height.

chris vickery · #12 02-04-12, 03:19

I shall stand corrected on the details surrounding the death of the sailor, but this aside, the ex British subs were sub-standard even to the expectations of the British Navy and are in fact, junk.
A recent report regarding the seaworthyness of these subs indicates that out of 4 subs purchased, 3 have spent the majority of their time in docks and the fourth just slightly less since purchased due to various problems.
The re-fits are way over budget and it seems we would have been better off buying new to start with.
Canadian Navy crews have been sailing them in simulators for the past few years, in fact some submariners have never even been to sea during their
enlistment....

maple_leaf_eh · #13 04-04-12, 04:30

The UK has twice the population of Canada, three times that of Australia, but pretenses of defence spending like the US. It is inevitable that something has to give. The USMC is getting a good deal on new/used jump jets, considering they were partnered with the RAF/RN from early on. The USMC/USN have flown the wings off most of the newest F18 in the fleet and have had to go back to early models mothballed in the desert. Ten years at war will do that to any inventory.

Front page story recently was how Canada was hiring skilled RAF pilots to fill some specific holes in the manpower grid. I know a young Royal Engineer who resigned one Queen's commission for another Queen's commission. An Intelligence Sqn Ldr and a fellow now training to be a military doctor. All recent emigres. So, thank you Mr Cameron! Thank you for being responsible with your nation's finances. We'll take care of the paperwork.