Carrier: A Guided Tour of an Aircraft Carrier

advanced autopilot. The U.S. Air Force has tended to resist any use of UAVs, except as targets, because they take jobs away from pilots. There are also real safety concerns about operating UAVs and manned aircraft in the same airspace, since they are usually small and hard to see.

UCAV Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle. Also known as a drone or RPV (remotely piloted vehicle). A recoverable pilotless aircraft, either remotely controlled over a radio-data link, or preprogrammed with an advanced autopilot.

UH-1N 'Huey' light utility helicopter found in Marine light-attack squadrons and support units.

UH-46 Aging Boeing Vertol 'Sea Knight' twin-rotor helicopter found in Navy utility and logistic squadrons. Nicknamed 'Bullfrog.'

UPT Undergraduate Pilot Training

V-22 Osprey Bell-Boeing-built twin-engine tilt-rotor aircraft, combining the agility of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing turboprop. Joint Marine/Navy/Air Force program, delivery began in 1997.

VA Navy Attack Squadron, previously equipped with A-7 or A-6 aircraft. With the retirement of these types, this squadron designation is no longer used.

VAQ Navy Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron, equipped with EA-6 Prowler aircraft.

Variable geometry Ability of an aircraft to change the sweep of its wings in flight, to optimize performance for a given speed and altitude.

VAW Navy Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron, equipped with E-2C Hawkeye aircraft.

VF Navy Fighter Squadron, typically equipped with F-14 Tomcats.

VFA Navy Strike Fighter Squadron, typically equipped with F/A-18 Hornets.

Viewgraph An overhead projector transparency or slide used in briefings or presentations. Also spelled Vu-graph.

VMA Marine Attack Squadron (e.g., VMA-211). Typically equipped with AV-8B Harrier.

VMAT Marine Attack Training Squadron (e.g., VMAT-203). Typically equipped with AV-8B Harrier.

VMFA Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (e.g., VMFA-115). Typically equipped with F/A-18 Hornet.

VMFAT Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron (e.g., VMFAT-101). Typically equipped with F/A-18 Hornet.

VMGR Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (e.g., VMGR-252). Typically equipped with KC-130.

VP Navy Patrol Squadron, typically equipped with land-based P-3 Orion aircraft.

VRC Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (Carrier onboard delivery) equipped with C-2 Greyhound aircraft.

VS Navy Sea Control Squadron equipped with S-3 Viking aircraft.

V/STOL Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing.

VT Navy Training Squadron. Equipped with a wide variety of aircraft-carrier training squadrons typically fly the T-2 Buckeye or T-45 Goshawk.

Wild Weasel An aircraft configured with Radar Homing and Warning (RHAW) gear and Anti-Radiation Missiles (ARMs) operated to suppress enemy surface-to-air-missile sites. Originally performed by F- 100F, F-105F, and F-4G Phantom II aircraft, this mission will increasingly be borne by specially trained and equipped F-16Cs, F/A-18Cs, and EA-6Bs.

XO Executive Officer, second in command of a squadron, vessel, or equivalent unit.

Bibliography

Books:

Adams, James. Bull's Eye: The Assassination and Life of Supergun Inventor Gerald Bull. Times Books, 1992.

Albrecht, Gerhard, ed. Weyers Flotten Taschenbuch (Warships of the World) 1994/96. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn, Germany, 1994.

Alexander, Joseph H., and Merrill L. Bartlett. Sea Soldiers in the Cold War. Naval Institute Press, 1995.

Allen, Thomas, and Norman Polmar. Codename Downfall: The Secret Plan to Invade Japan and Why Truman Dropped the Bomb. Simon & Schuster, 1995.

-. Merchants of Treason. Dell Publishing, 1988.

Allen, Thomas B. War Games: The Secret World of Creators, Players, and Policy Makers Rehearsing World War III Today. McGraw-Hill, 1987.

Amett, Peter. Live from the Battlefield: From Vietnam to Baghdad. Simon & Schuster, 1994.

Atkinson, Rick. Crusade: The Untold Story of the Persian Gulf War. Houghton Miffen, 1993.

Baker, Arthur D., III. Combat Fleets of the World, 1998–1999. Naval Institute Press, 1998.

-. Japanese Naval Vessels of World War Two. Naval Institute Press, 1987.

Ballard, Jack S. The United States Air Force in Southeast Asia. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1974.

Barker, A. J. The Yom Kippur War. Ballatine Books, 1974.

Barron, John. MiG Pilot: The Final Escape of Lt. Belenko. Avon Books, 1980.

Basel, G. I. Pak Six. Associated Creative Winters, 1982.

Bathurst, Robert B. Understanding the Soviet Navy: A Handbook. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1979.

Baxter, William P. Soviet Air Land-Battle Tactics. Presidio Press, 1986.

Beach, Edward L., Captain, USN (Ret.). The United States Navy: 200 Years. Holt, 1986.

Beaumont, Roger A. Joint Military Operations: A Short History. Greenwood, 1993.

Bennett, Christopher. Supercarrier: USS George Washington. Motorbooks, 1996.

Berry, F. Clifton, Jr. Gadget Warfare: The Vietnam War. Batnam Books, 1988.

-. Strike Aircraft: The Vietnam War. Bantam Books, 1987.

Beschloss, Michael R. At the Highest Levels. Little, Brown, 1993.

-. May Day. Harper & Row, 1986.

Bin Sultan, Khaled. Desert Warrior: A Personal View of the Gulf War by the Joint Forces Commander. HarperCollins, 1995.

Bishop, Chris, and David Donald. The Encyclopedia of World Military Power. The Military Press, 1986.

Blackwell, James. Thunder in the Desert: The Strategy and Tactics of the Persian Gulf War. Bantam Books, 1991.

Blair, Arthur, H., Colonel, U.S. Army (Ret.). At War in the Gulf. A&M University Press, 1992.

Blair, Clay. The Forgotten War: America in Korea, 1950–1953. Times Books,