I Love WC IV

Occupational forces, too. I mean, if you take a Kilrathi planet, you don't want to keep your precious Marines tied down.
Besides, planets are much bigger than the average theatre of operations... if you attack a planet that's got a lot of important targets, a large population, and large defences, you'll use Marines to open up a beachhead and then you'll throw in the regular Army. Planetary warfare doesn't need to happen frequently... the scale of combat makes the existence of a huge Army necessary even if you only attack one planet once every five years.

Regarding Naval Aviation, my own theory (which is not backed up by virtually any facts) is that Space Force was originally just planet-based fighters (essentially, space-capable fighters which defend the planet from hostile incursions, and attack any hostile capships that get with range). When it turned out - and even McAuliffe made this obvious - that huge, static planet-based fighter bases are a waste of resources, the Space Force got shifted onto carriers, while the Naval Aviation got relegated to light carriers (note - Bear was a Naval Aviator in End Run, as was, apparently, Lt. Comm. Chekhova), cruisers, destroyers and what few Naval bases there still were(eg., Perry, Ella). The original, static planetary defence Space Force role was given to InSystem Security (like Blair and Shadow) and in some places (Gemini, Border Worlds) to local Militias. Whaddaya think?
 
Precious Marines *lol*

Boy would my Army friends hold a grudge on You :)

It makes sense, the theory that TCN transferred to SF with time, and perhaps kept some flying option, like in todays USN, it further amplifies the impression that the Terran-Kilrathi War is one big Pacific Theatre game (regarding the role of carriers in war, the switch to an independent air force and so on, which all happened in the 40s)
 
I would say that Quarto's theory makes a lot of sense -- but with the provision that there are still planet-based Space Forces units... they simply are also assigned as fighter wings now.

(The problem is that it doesn't take account for the rank-switching after the movie, which my theory does do...)
 
I don't necessarily see Yours and Quartos theories as inconsistent with each other...

The Navy might have established a naval aviation, and there was some type of "space guard" on the stations and planets... Then subsequently the Navy's aviation became the Space Force, and the Space Guard or whatever would then be organisez into the IS...

However Quarto's theory might be set before that, and explain how fighters came to be on carriers in the first place? I don't know, but it seems to me the is less disagreeance than hinted at, at least if You disregard petty details...
 
Well, we know that fighters were originally put on carriers for use as scouts and for bombing planetary targets... and, at least in Action Stations, they're all Naval aviators.
 
Yes indeed, I guess planet-based Space Force units would still exist, though I don't think they'd have that many planet-based combat units - mostly just training and R&D bases.

Hmm... the trouble with your theory, LOAF, is that it was posted in another thread :p. So, first things first...
Originally posted by Bandit LOAF
The Space Force is mentioned by name several times in the Wing Commander 3 novel -- I'm not really sure what you're talking about. As an aside, regarding the issue of Space Forces and Navy ranks, I think a good explanation for the change (which apparently happened between the movie and WC1) is that in '54 Confed switched from the Space Forces as being part of the Navy to giving them their own branch -- much as we created the modern Air Force (rather than the Army Air Corps) after the value of aircraft in combat was proven.
Click to expand...
There, that's better ;).

Right, well, your theory definitely does explain the '54 rank-switching better than mine, but it doesn't explain why Naval Aviators still exist in '68. I mean, after the US Army Air Corps became the US Air Force, the US Army no longer has any flying units, right? Mind you, this didn't necessarily have to be the case with the conversion of Naval Aviation into Space Force, if you can provide a good explanation.

Anyway, I'd try to figure out some sort of Grand Unified Theory, but I do need to sleep occasionally, so... ;-)
 
Quarto... Army aviation is still very much alive and kicking... Practically every helicopter which overflies land and does not land on a ship is flown by an Army pilot. Apaches, Comanches, Loaches, Blackhawks and Chinooks all are Army aviation.
 
Legally, the US army can operate rotary wing (i.e helicoptor) combat and support craft, as well as fixed wing support craft (such as COIN and fire support spotters.) What they cab't do is operate fixed wing combat aircraft, such as fighters or strike aircraft.

Best, Raptor
 
Raptor> Absolutely right. However, this does mean that Army aviation is still there... I sort of see it like this:

SF flies space fighters off carriers
Navy flies space fighters off smaller naval vessels and such
IS flies space fighters from space stations and planets

Who flies atmospheric fighters? Army aviation? It's a totally different doctrine to completely fly in the atmosphere, and it might be akin to today's battlefield support choppers... or?
 
ISS is, rankwise, a division of the Space Force...

Planets are an interesting question -- we've seen naval bases on them (McAuliffe) that have Naval Aviators... but generally we see militia and HD units, which seem to be privately funded and have the Space Forces ranking system.
 
Well nevel bases have naval aviators, that seems rather logical, I mean in Miramar and Oceana, for instance they have naval aviation eventhough these arenot carrier bases... NAS Pensacola houses the Blue Angels, which technically never serve on carriers, so I can see how a naval base on McAuliffe will have naval aviators... But I don't believe that these are the bulk of planetside squadrons...

But it does make sense that there should be a separate division or maybe even a separate Armed Force for flying purely atmospheric fighters with no space capability... As these would be used for ground support I think they fit the description of Army Air best...
 
Wing Commander is, by its nature, focused on space combat, and you don't see very much of anything else...except maybe Repleetah, and that had -no- air support whatsoever. So it's very possible there are ground foreces aviators, so to speak.
 
In the WC4 novel it showed quite clearly carrier based fighters being used to cover a marine insertion onto a hostile planet. Supressing SAM sites, taking out tanks, and protecting friendly ground units.
 
Well since it was the pilots from the Lexington, that should be a clue:)

Now that i think of it, they were in End Run too. Pilots from the Tarawa and one of the Fleet carriers covered the marines landing on Vukar Tag.

We jsut werent ever a part of Marine landings in the games so thats why we didnt do it.
 
I usually consider the ground missions in the WC games to be akin to a carrier-based air support strike.
 
You're not listening. Noone is listening. Who flies the AIRplanes?

I E The craft which have wings and jet engines like the planes of today? Like Ekapshis and so on, which branch of the Terran Confederation Armed Forces flies atmospheric-only craft? I never said anything about Marine landings...
 
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