OTOH, buzzing played a part in the degradation of the “Rock Pile”, the Acropolis in Athens. It was on the flight path of the Athenae airport and was getting a lot of pollution and vibration because of it, and people were constantly going below the authorized glide path for a better look.

The US nuclear carriers are too big for a lot of operations. They often have to make “K” turns in the Persian Gulf. Your carriers for the Harriers were more useful in today’s world when you need something quickly, but don’t really need an air wing. Our Harriers fly off of Landing Assault ships which are similar in size to HMS Ark Royal, but don’t have the fuel-saving curved launching deck.

I don’t understand decommissioning a vessel a few years after a major re-fit and a decade before its replacement will be ready, but I don’t pay the bills. I would think that more, smaller carriers would better than a couple of huge ones.

I can’t believe the stupidity of our government in scrapping our Harriers and our aircraft carriers even if they were toy boats compared with the likes of the Nimitz.

I see them flying over. You can’t watch them on their training missions because they use live munitions on ranges out in the middle of nothing, or out over the Gulf.

We get a lot of NATO aircraft coming in to use the ranges, generally to test new weapons systems.

The A-10s and the Harriers aren’t “Formula 1” exotic fighters, but if things are nasty on the ground they are very welcome visitors. The F-35 is supposed to replace both types, but it will never be as good as either.

I would see the SR-71 regularly at Kadena AB on Okinawa.

My Pennsylvanian uncle (married to my mum’s sister) lived in Mildenhall so F-4s, F-111s, C5s, C141s and KC/C135s were common sights…. and the SR71 every so often and the odd Buccaneer out of RAF Honnington.

When I lived in Dover in the 80s I used to see A-10s from out of Bentwaters doing dummy attack runs on (I think) Dover Castle. It was quite a sight