N.Z. planes in naval exercise

Press, 19 April 1982, Page 2

N.Z. planes in naval exercise

By

A. J. PETRE

in Honolulu

One New ‘Zealand Orion aircraft shot down for one major warship sunk by a New.'Zealand "missile”- is the probable score so far in the Rimpac naval exercise off Hawaii. The two P 3 Orion aircraft from Whenuapai process No. 5 R.N.Z.A.F. squadron have been in Hawaii for 10 days. Yesterday they were part of the “enemy” Orange. force attacking the "friendly” Blue force comprising United States. Canadian, Australian, and Japanese ships. .Also among the friendly craft is the New Zealand frigate- Canterbury. ■iThe officer commanding the New Zealand air detachment. Squadron Leader T. W. Medcalf, says that his team of 38 is performing well up to the standard of other aircraft in the exercise. <•> The P3s have been flying

nine hours a day for the last 10 days mainly, but not always, as “enemy" aircraft attacking the fleet and seeking out submarines. They have tracked down one submarine so far but have not sunk it. The main purpose of the exercise, and much of its emphasis, is on anti-sub-marine training. The exercise is being held over a month between Hawaii and California, 5000 km away. In all, about 40 ships and about 29,000 men are taking part, as well as dozens of aircraft. ■ Although' the Royal Australian Air Force will fire an $BOO,OOO Harpoon missile and the New Zealanders will fire two "unarmed" practice torpedoes against an Australian submarine, most of the firing in the exercise is purely imaginary. Aircraft track the ships, pop up over the wave tops and into radar beams, and

fire their missiles by radio from up to 150 km away. If they have crept into range without being detected the umpires of the exercise may later credit them with a “hit” or even sinking a ship. The decision on the severity of the attack is decided by the roll of a dice. If the aircraft are spotted first by the ships radar, however, they themselves may be “shot down.” If the aircraft find submarines and get close enough to attack them they drop small charges into the sea within about 1000 m. These charges have enough power to make clanging noises against the submarine’s null and tell the crew they have been hit. Today New Zealand Orion aircraft will take-off to make a final attack upon the "friendly" fleet before it makes an amphibious landing on an island not far from

the island of Oahu, on which lies the city of Honolulu. During the attack on the fleet about 200 air-launched missiles will be fired, giving the umpires a busy time deciding what < is hit and what is sunk. .Although no-one says so the enemy are , obviously’ simulating the sort of aircraft and ships the Russians could be expected to put into the Pacific in.-a war. While the air war is being conducted by the Orlons and other aircraft, the frigate Canterbury is somewhere at sea today with the battle fleet which will help launch the amphibious assault. Volcanic dust has caused problems for New Zealand aircraft taking part in the exercise. First encountered during operations two days ago, the dust has formed a red haze

at high altitudes. American scientists say the dust is from volcanic eruptions in Mexico a few weeks ago. Since then, the weather in Hawaii has been unusually oyercast and cool, with some rain. . Local people blame the lack- of sunshine — more than 25 per cent less than the average for this time of year — on the dust in the atmosphere. The dust caused pilots and observers taking part in the exercise minor visibility problems. A big problem, however, has been caused by the amount of salt in the atmosphere. Air Craft after landing have heavy salt deposits on their fuselages and they have to be washed down at regular intervals to avoid severe corrosion.