THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 31, 1995 TAG: 9508310471
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: ABOARD THE THEODORE ROOSEVELT LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
Crewmen frantically loaded missiles and bombs aboard warplanes that devastated Serb targets in Bosnia on Wednesday.
In the pre-dawn gloom, deck crew wearing reflective jackets and waving flashlights directed F-14 Tomcats as they shot out into the night.
A catapult slung jets down the runway until their engines flared against the deep purple sky and sent the planes over the Adriatic Sea toward targets near Sarajevo.
The Norfolk-based aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt steamed into the Adriatic to a point just off the coast of Bosnia and began launching air strikes in coordination with other NATO planes flying out of bases in Italy.
Though a French Mirage 2000C was shot down, NATO commanders expressed confidence that their pilots had shut down Serb air defenses.
``You're never absolutely certain when you're flying over folks that are shooting at you,'' said Adm. William J. Fallon, battle group commander aboard the Roosevelt.
But, he said, ``We're pretty happy with where we are at this position.''
Fallon spoke to The Associated Press in Washington, in a telephone interview as warplanes landed and took off from the carrier deck.
``We've been at it here for 16 to 17 hours. It's a steady grind,'' Fallon said.
``Pull back, pull back! More! More!'' shouted one T-shirt-clad sailor as a hoist positioned a finned bomb and then dropped it onto a cart. Other sailors, some wearing weightlifters' belts, maneuvered the lethal cargo.
Off to one side, five sailors worked over air-to-surface missiles, using a long ratchet wrench to make final adjustments. They pushed two of the missiles onto a freight elevator.
The Roosevelt, with 36 F-18s and 14 F-14s aboard, as well as numerous support planes, was diverted from a scheduled port call Tuesday in Greece.
The ship had been participating in a U.S.-Jordanian exercise in the eastern Mediterranean. Among the first planes to fly into Bosnian territory were two Navy EA-6B ``Prowler'' aircraft, intended to jam enemy radar. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Flight deck crew walk on the deck of the Theodore Roosevelt
Wednesday during operations in support of the NATO bombing of
Bosnian Serb positions.
CARRIER AIRCRAFT
The carrier Theodore Roosevelt has about 70 tactical warplanes
aboard, including the following:
14 F-14 Tomcat fighters, assigned to Fighter Squadron 41, based
at Oceana Naval Air Station, Virginia Beach
36 F/A-18 Hornets divided between Fighter Squadrons 87 and 15
from Cecil Field Naval Air Station, Fla. and Marine Strike Fighter
Squadron 312 from Beaufort, S.C.
4 EA-6B Prowler radar jamming jets, from Tactical Electronic
Warfare Squadron 141, based at Whidbey Island, Wash.
4 E-2C Hawkeye radar planes, from Carrier Airborne Early Warning
Squadron 124, based at Norfolk Naval Air Station
6 S-3B Vikings from Anti-Submarine Squadron 24, based at Cecil
Fielf, Fla.
6 ES-3A Shadow air surveillance and reconnaissance planes from
Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 6, based at Cecil Field, Fla.
by CNB