Built by Sun Shipbuilding. Laid down ???, launched 14 Dec 1939, completed 4/1940 as merchant Mormacland. Acquired by USN 20 March 1941, converted at Newport News, transferred to RN and commissioned in RN service as HMS Archer (D78) 17 Nov 1941.

The 4 inch guns were replaced with British weapons in 1942; 2 dual 40 mm added and 1 20 mm removed 2-3/1943. Used in ASW and escort service. This ship was a continual source of maintenance problems; engines were very unreliable.

Started major engine repairs 8/1943 but defects were found to be extremely serious; decommissioned 6 November 1943 and used as a stores hulk. Used as an accommodations hulk after 3/1944. Main reduction gears replaced at Belfast starting 8/1944; repairs completed 3/1945 and transferred to the Ministry of War Transport as a ferry carrier (renamed Empire Lagan) 15 March 1945.

Returned to USN 9 Jan 1946, stricken for disposal 26 Feb 1946. Sold into merchant service 1946 as Archer. Renamed Anne Salem 1949, Tasmania 1955, Union Reliance 1961. Burned, blown up and beached to prevent sinking at Houston TX 7 November 1961 after collision with tanker Berean. Salvaged and scrapped at New Orleans starting 3/1962.

Displacement: 15,120 tons full load (Charger in US service: 16,000 tons full load)
Dimensions: 465 x 69.5 x 25 feet/141.7 x 21.2 x 7.6 meters
Extreme Dimensions: 492 x 78 x 25 feet/149.9 x 23.7 x 7.6 meters
Propulsion: 6-cylinder Doxford diesels, 1 shaft, 8500 hp, 16.5 knots
Crew: 555 (Charger in US service: 856)
Armor: none
Armament: 3 4/50, 19 20 mm (Charger in US service: 1 single 5/38 DP, 4 single 3/50 AA, 4 quad 40 mm AA)
Aircraft: 15 (Charger in US service: up to 36)

Concept/Program: Members of the first batch of escort carrier conversions. Converted from merchant C3 freighters, generally similar to Long Island but converted prior to completion as freighters. Ordered for RN service, but Charger was retained by USN for joint USN/RN training purposes.

Class: Not officially assigned USN class names as BAVGs. Charger officially was a one-unit class in US service.

Design/Conversion: Generally similar to Long Island but with a longer flight deck, larger hangar, and an island. These were still fairly minimal conversions.

Variations: Charger outfitted and ballasted to USN specifications.

Modifications: All RN ships had their US-style 4 inch guns replaced by British weapons in 1942.

Classification: All initially classed as BAVG. Charger switched into AVG series when returned to USN; designated AVG, ACV and CVE in sequence.

Operational: RN employed these ships mostly as convoy escorts; two were lost after relatively short service lives. USN used Charger as a training and transport carrier only.

Departure from Service/Disposal: Survivors deemed obsolete and quickly discarded postwar; RN ship returned to USN for disposal. They were sold into merchant service and reconverted.

No name assigned
ex merchant Rio Hudson
Lend-Lease as HMS Avenger (D14)
MC Hull 59
BAVG 2
Photos: [Rio Hudson, Rio Parana and Rio De La Plata just prior to conversion], [HMS Avenger].


Built by Sun Shipbuilding. Laid down 28 November 1939, launched 27 Nov 1940, acquired by USN 20 May 1941. Converted at Bethlehem Staten Island, transferred to RN and commissioned in RN service as HMS Avenger (D14) 2 March 1942.

Served as convoy escort and participated in Operation Torch. Torpedoed and sunk by U-155 off Gibraltar 15 November 1942; uncontrollable fires and explosions resulted from single torpedo hit.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is a fighter plane currently in early development by Lockheed Martin. The primary customers are the United States armed forces and the United Kingdom (RN and RAF), but the Netherlands, Australia, Turkey, Denmark, Norway, Singapore, Canada, Italy and Israel are also participating in the program.

From the very beginning, F-16 was intended to be neither a technical break-through, nor an enormously powerful weapons platform, but rather a cost-effective "workhorse", that could perform various kinds of missions and maintain around-the-clock readiness. This distinguishes the F-16 from its predecessors, many of which were not designed for all-weather operation (F-104) or were extremely expensive / made for aircraft carrier operations (F-14).


F-16C Fighting Falcon

From the point of view of design, the F-16 is closer to a fighter than to a ground attack aircraft. It is small and agile, and its canopy is designed for the pilot's optimal visibility, a feature vital during air-to-air combat. For this purpose, the F-16 carries an M61 Vulcan cannon, and can be equipped with air-to-air missiles. However, the F-16 can also perform ground-support tasks if necessary. For that task, it can be equipped with missiles or bombs.

The F-16 originates in a set of specifications the United States Department of Defense issued in 1974. Two companies were chosen during the concept stage: General Dynamics with the XF-16 design and Northrop with a design which bore the name XF-17. The F-16 was chosen from the two prototypes; however the two-engined XF-17 was not abandoned and later on became the F/A-18 Hornet.

Initially, the F-16 was manufactured in two models: A (combat version) and B (two seats, used for training). The first time an F-16A took off was in December 1976; the first aircraft was delivered to the US Air Force in January 1979. In the 1980s, the F-16A/B was superseded by the F-16C/D with improved avionics and engine.

Due to their ubiquitousness, the F-16s have participated in numerous conflicts, most of them in the Middle East. In 1981, 4 Israeli F-16s participated in a raid that destroyed an Iraqi nuclear reactor near Baghdad. The following year, during the invasion into Lebanon, Israeli F-16s engaged on numerous occasions with Syrian aircraft, ending up victorious at all times but one. F-16s were also used afterwards in their ground-attack role for strikes against Lebanon. In the Gulf War of 1991, F-16 from the air forces of the Coalition participated in the strikes against Iraq.

Soko (English falcon) is a Yugoslav aircraft factory situated in Mostar, now in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Types of produced planes:

* 522
* S-55-5 Mk. 5
* G-2 (N-60) 'Galeb' ('Sea gull')
o G-2A
* G-3 'Galeb'
* J-1 'Jastreb' ('Vulture')
o J-1 (J-21)
o RJ-1 (IJ-21)
o TJ-1 (NJ-21) 'Jastreb'
* J-20 'Kraguj' ('Hawk')
* J-22 'Orao' ('Eagle')/Avioane IAR 93 B
o 'Orao' 1 (IJ/INJ-22)
o 'Orao' 2 (J-22)
o 'Orao' 2 (NJ-22)
* G-4 (N-62) 'SuperGaleb' ('SuperVulture')
o G-4M 'SuperGaleb'

The Harrier is a successful close-support and reconnaissance fighter aircraft with V/STOL capabilities, currently built by BAE SYSTEMS and Boeing (under license).


Royal Air Force Harrier GR-7

The Harrier family was started with the Hawker P.1127. Design began in 1957 by Sir Sidney Camm, Ralph Hooper of Hawker Aviation and Stanley Hooker of the Bristol Engine Company. Rather than using rotors or a direct jet thrust the P.1127 had a innovative vectored thrust turbofan engine and the first vertical take-off was on October 21, 1960. Design continued after Hawker Siddeley Aviation was created with the Kestrel, which first flew on March 7, 1964. The Kestrel was a evaluation aircraft offered to military test pilots from Britain, the US and West Germany (the Tri-partite evaluation unit). Successful tests led to an order for sixty aircraft from the RAF in 1967. The Harrier GR Mk.1 was the first production model, it first flew on December 28, 1967, and entered service with the RAF on April 1, 1969. Construction took place at factories in Kingston-upon-Thames in southwest London and at Dunsfold, Surrey. The latter adjoined an airfield used for flight testing; both factories have since closed. The ski-jump technique for STOL use by Harriers launched from Royal Navy aircraft carriers was tested at the Royal Navy's Somerset airfield at Yeovilton. Their flight decks were designed with an upward curve to the bow following the successful conclusion of those tests. The air combat technique of VIFFing was evolved in the Harrier - vectoring in forward flight - to outmanouevre a hostile aircraft or other inbound weapon.

The Saab JAS-39 "Gripen" (Griffin) is a fighter aircraft from Sweden..

Already in operational service with the Swedish Air Force, which has ordered 204 aircraft (including 28 dual-seater), Gripen has also been ordered by the South African Air Force (28 aircraft). Hungary and the Czech Republic have each ordered 14 Gripens.

F-15 Eagle

The F-15 Eagle is an all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter designed to permit the US Air Force to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat.

The Eagle's air superiority is achieved through maneuverability and acceleration, range, weapons and avionics. The F-15 has electronic systems and weaponry to detect, acquire, track and attack enemy aircraft while operating in friendly or enemy-controlled airspace. The weapons and flight control systems are designed so one person can safely and effectively perform air-to-air combat.

United States Air Force F-15 Eagle

The F-15's maneuverability and acceleration are achieved through high engine thrust-to-weight ratio and low wing loading. Low wing-loading (the ratio of aircraft weight to its wing area) is a vital factor in maneuverability and, combined with the high thrust-to-weight ratio, enables the aircraft to turn tightly without losing airspeed.

A multimission avionics system includes a head-up display, advanced radar, inertial navigation system, flight instruments, ultrahigh frequency communications, tactical navigation system and instrument landing system. It also has an internally mounted, tactical electronic-warfare system, "identification friend or foe" system, electronic countermeasures set and a central digital computer.

The head-up display projects through a combiner, all essential flight information gathered by the integrated avionics system. This display, visible in any light condition, provides the pilot information necessary to track and destroy an enemy aircraft without having to look down at cockpit instruments.

The F-15's versatile pulse-Doppler radar system can look up at high-flying targets and down at low-flying targets without being confused by ground clutter. It can detect and track aircraft and small high-speed targets at distances beyond visual range down to close range, and at altitudes down to treetop level. The radar feeds target information into the central computer for effective weapons delivery. For close-in dogfights, the radar automatically acquires enemy aircraft, and this information is projected on the head-up display. The F-15's electronic warfare system provides both threat warning and automatic countermeasures against selected threats.

A variety of air-to-air weaponry can be carried by the F-15. An automated weapon system enables the pilot to perform aerial combat safely and effectively, using the head-up display and the avionics and weapons controls located on the engine throttles or control stick. When the pilot changes from one weapon system to another, visual guidance for the required weapon automatically appears on the head-up display.

The Eagle can be armed with combinations of four different air-to-air weapons: AIM-7F/M Sparrow missiles or AIM-120 AMRAAM advanced medium range air-to-air missiles on its lower fuselage corners, AIM-9L/M Sidewinder or AIM-120 missiles on two pylons under the wings, and an internal 20mm Gatling gun in the right wing root.

Low-drag, conformal fuel tanks were especially developed for the F-15C and D models. Conformal fuel tanks can be attached to the sides of the engine air intake trunks under each wing and are designed to the same load factors and airspeed limits as the basic aircraft. Each conformal fuel tank contains about 114 cubic feet of usable space. These tanks reduce the need for in-flight refueling on global missions and increase time in the combat area. All external stations for munitions remain available with the tanks in use. AIM-7F/M Sparrow missiles, moreover, can be attached to the corners of the conformal fuel tanks.

The F-15E is a two-seat, dual-role, totally integrated fighter for all-weather, air-to-air and deep interdiction missions. The rear cockpit is upgraded to include four multi-purpose CRT displays for aircraft systems and weapons management. The digital, triple-redundant Lear Siegler flight control system permits coupled automatic terrain following, enhanced by a ring-laser gyro inertial navigation system.

For low-altitude, high-speed penetration and precision attack on tactical targets at night or in adverse weather, the F-15E carries a high-resolution APG-70 radar and low-altitude navigation and targeting infrared for night pods.

The first F-15A flight was made in July 1972, and the first flight of the two-seat F-15B (formerly TF-15A) trainer was made in July 1973. The first Eagle (F-15B) was delivered in November 1974. In January 1976, the first Eagle destined for a combat squadron was delivered.

The single-seat F-15C and two-seat F-15D models entered the Air Force inventory beginning in 1979. These new models have Production Eagle Package (PEP 2000) improvements, including 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms) of additional internal fuel, provision for carrying exterior conformal fuel tanks and increased maximum takeoff weight of up to 68,000 pounds (30,600 kilograms).

The F-15 Multistage Improvement Program was initiated in February 1983, with the first production MSIP F-15C produced in 1985. Improvements included an upgraded central computer; a Programmable Armament Control Set, allowing for advanced versions of the AIM-7, AIM-9, and AIM-120A missiles; and an expanded Tactical Electronic Warfare System that provides improvements to the ALR-56C radar warning receiver and ALQ-135 countermeasure set. The final 43 included a Hughes APG-70 radar.

F-15C, D and E models were deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1991 in support of Operation Desert Storm where they proved their superior combat capability with a confirmed 26:0 kill ratio. F-15 fighters accounted for 36 of the 39 Air Force air-to-air victories. F-15Es were operated mainly at night, hunting SCUD missile launchers and artillery sites using the LANTIRN system.

They have since been deployed to support Operation Southern Watch, the patrolling of the No-Fly Zone in Southern Iraq; Operation Provide Comfort in Turkey; in support of NATO operations in Bosnia, and recent air expeditionary force deployments.

The Sukhoi 27 (Su-27 - NATO designation: Flanker) is a Russian single-seater fighter aircraft designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau (SDB) under Pavel Sukhoi. The aircraft is currently in service with the airforces of the CIS, China (as the J-11), Syria, and Vietnam. India has also received a variant of Su-27s, designated Su-30MKI's (Flanker-C). The export cost is around $35 million per aircraft, or $70 million on a ten-year supported lease.

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 (NATO reporting name: "Fulcrum") is a Russian jet fighter aircraft designed in 1972 as a replacement for the MiG-21 and MiG-23 in the fighter role.

Characteristics

* Role: multi-role fighter
* Powerplant: rated at ? kgf military thrust and ? kgf maximum thrust
* Size:
o Length: 20 m (56 ft 10 in)
o Height: 4.73 m (15 ft 6.25 in)
o Wingspan: m
o Wing area: m²
* Weight:
o Empty: kg
o Normal Takeoff: kg
o Maximum: kg
* Speed:
* Ceiling: about 18 km
* Range:
o Air Combat (10 minute loiter): km
o Air Combat (3 hour CAP): km
o Ground attack (hi-lo-hi): km
o Ground attack (lo-lo-lo): km
o Ferry: more than km
* Wing Loading: kg/m² at normal takeoff weight
* Thrust/weight ratio: 22,200 pounds
* Armament:
o One 30mm GSh-30L cannon with 150 rounds

Six AAMs including a mix of SARH and AA- 8 Aphid (R60) AA-10 Alamo (R27T) AA-11 Archer (R73) FAB 500-M62, FAB-1000, TN-100, ECM Pods, S-24 AS-12, AS-14

The F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather fighter and attack aircraft.

The original single-seat F/A-18 Hornet was the United States's first strike-fighter. It was designed for traditional strike applications such as interdiction and close air support without compromising its fighter capabilities. In its attack mode, it is used for force projection, interdiction and close and deep air support. In its fighter mode, the F/A-18 is used primarily as a fighter escort and for fleet air defense, supplementing the F-14 Tomcat. F/A-18 Hornets were flown by the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron beginning in 1986.


Two United States Air Force F/A-18 Hornets prepare to launch from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman. The nearest aircraft has folded its wingtips.

The F/A-18 demonstrated its capabilities and versatility during Operation Desert Storm, shooting down enemy fighters and subsequently bombing enemy targets with the same aircraft on the same mission, and breaking all records for tactical aircraft in availability, reliability, and maintainability. The aircraft's survivability was proven by Hornets taking direct hits from surface-to-air missiles, recovering successfully, being repaired quickly, and flying again the next day.

The F/A-18 is a twin engine, mid-wing, multi-mission tactical aircraft. The F/A-18A and C are single seat aircraft. The F/A-18B and D are dual-seaters. The B model is used primarily for training, while the D model is the current Navy aircraft for attack, tactical air control, forward air control and reconnaissance squadrons.

The newest models, the single seat E and two-seat F Super Hornets, carry over the name and design concept of the original F/A-18 but are in fact different aircraft with a new, 30% larger airframe. The Super Hornet has a stretched fuselage and larger wings, leading-edge extensions, and horizontal tails; the GE F414 engines are a more powerful development of the F/A-18's F404; the avionics suite is upgraded but broadly similar. The E/F began when McDonnell Douglas proposed an enlarged Hornet to replace the cancelled A-12 project. (The ambitious and very expensive A-12 design was to have been a stealthy replacement for the US Navy A-6 and US Air Force attack aircraft.) Congress was unwilling to fund a "new" aircraft, however the proposed F/A-18E could be represented as a mere upgrade, and a $3.8 billion development contract was signed in December 1992. The first of the new aircraft was rolled out at McDonnell Douglas September 17, 1995, and the Super Hornet is currently in production.

All F/A-18s can be configured quickly to perform either fighter or attack roles or both, through selected use of external equipment to accomplish specific missions. This "force multiplier" capability gives the operational commander more flexibility in employing tactical aircraft in a rapidly changing battle scenario. The fighter missions are primarily fighter escort and fleet air defense; while the attack missions are force projection, interdiction, and close and deep air support.

The F/A-18C and D models are the result of a block upgrade in 1987 incorporating provisions for employing updated missiles and jamming devices against enemy ordnance. C and D models delivered since 1989 also include an improved night attack capability.

Apart from the US Navy, US Marine Corps and NASA, F/A-18 is used by the armed forces of: Australia (Royal Australian Air Force), Kuwait (Al Quwwat Aj Jawwaiya Al Kuwaitiya), Switzerland (Kommando der Flieger und Fliegeabwehrtruppen), Finland (Suomen Ilmavoimat, F-18C/D interceptor variant), Malaysia (Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia), Canada (Canadian Armed Forces, designation CF-188 and CF-188B), Spain (Ejército del Aire, designation C.15).

The United States Air Force's F-117A Nighthawk is the world's first operational aircraft designed to exploit low-observable stealth technology. Before it was given an official name, the engineers and test pilots referred to the ungainly aircraft, which went into hiding during daylight to avoid detection by Soviet satellites, as "Cockroaches", a name that is still sometimes used.

The Nighthawk is classified as a fighter (the "F-" designation), but it was designed primarily as a ground attack aircraft. A few websites claim that the F-117 can carry Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, but this seems contrary to the rest of the plane's design and reported missions.

The "F-" designation has never been officially explained. However, military organizations have never been quick to embrace new technologies, and the USAF in particular has always been most proud of its fighters ("F-" aircraft), slightly less so of its strategic bombers ("B-" designations), and has never been enthusiastic about providing direct support of ground troops ("A-" type attack planes). It is possible that an aircraft of radically new design would win support more easily if it was a "sexy" fighter rather than "just" an attack plane.

One of the more common explanations for the "F-" designation of the Nighthawk was that it was for security reasons. The aircraft does not exhibit the characteristics of an attack ("A-" designation) aircraft in that it does not have a gun, nor rockets to engage enemy ground targets and provide close-in air support (CAS) for friendly personnel on the ground. Also, the typical role of an attack jet is to operate during daylight hours and/or at low altitudes, which is contradictory to the concept of this platform. The Nighthawk is by default and definition, a strategic aircraft and deserving of the "B-" designation for bombers. The given reasoning behind the misleading title Stealth "Fighter" was to disuade and misdirect possible foreign espionage attempts to gather accurate intelligence on the project.

The unique design of the single-seat F-117A provides exceptional combat capabilities. About the size of an F-15 Eagle, the twin-engine aircraft is powered by two General Electric F404 turbofan engines and has quadruple redundant fly-by-wire flight controls. Air refuelable, it supports worldwide commitments and adds to the deterrent strength of the U.S. military forces.

The F-117A can employ a variety of weapons and is equipped with sophisticated navigation and attack systems integrated into a state-of-the-art digital avionics suite that increases mission effectiveness and reduces pilot workload. Detailed planning for missions into highly defended target areas is accomplished by an automated mission planning system developed, specifically, to take advantage of the unique capabilities of the F-117A.

The first F-117A was delivered in 1982, and the last delivery was in the summer of 1990. The F-117A production decision was made in 1978 with a contract awarded to Lockheed Advanced Development Projects, the "Skunk Works," in Burbank, California. The first flight was in 1981, only 31 months after the full-scale development decision. Air Combat Command's only F-117A unit, the 4450th Tactical Group, (now the 49th Fighter Wing, Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.), achieved operational capability in October 1983.

Streamlined management by Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, combined breakthrough stealth technology with concurrent development and production to rapidly field the aircraft.

The F-117A program has demonstrated that a stealth aircraft can be designed for reliability and maintainability. The aircraft maintenance statistics are comparable to other tactical fighters of similar complexity. Logistically supported by Sacramento Air Logistics Center, McClellan AFB, California, the F-117A is kept at the forefront of technology through a planned weapon system improvement program located at USAF Plant 42 at Palmdale, California.

Combat losses

At least one F-117 has been lost in combat. On March 27, 1999, during the Kosovo War, the 3rd Battalion of the 250th Missile Brigade, equipped with the Neva-M (SA-3 Goa), downed F-117A #82-806 with a liquid-fuelled Neva missile. According to Wesley Clark and other NATO generals, Yugoslav air defences tracked F-117s with old Russian radars operating on long wavelengths. This, combined with the loss of stealth when the jets got wet or opened their bomb bays, made them highly visible on radar screens.

MiG-23 (NATO reporting name Flogger) is a fighter aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its predecessor, the MiG-21, was notoriously lightly armed (some were armed only with two guns, others with only one gun and two short-range air-to-air missiles), and short on fuel (making it very difficult to reach either the intended ceiling or the intended top speed). The MiG-23 was a heavier, more powerful machine designed to remedy these deficiencies.

It was designed to rival the American F-4 Phantom II, and was fitted with similar jet intakes. To facilitate operation on the poor-quality airstrips common in the Soviet Union, the aircraft was fitted with swing-wings.

The MiG-27 was a simplified version of the MiG-23 for use as a ground attack aircraft. The radar and variable-geomety jet intakes were removed on this version. This aircraft was also codenamed Flogger by NATO.