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Ready to shake? Jets to bomb Pendleton
April 14th, 2009, 3:00 am · 16 Comments · posted by Gary Robbins, science writer-editor
A Marine F/A 18 Hornet. Image courtesy of U.S. Marines.
On three occasions since early March, windows and doors have mysteriously rattled across Orange County. It might happen again Wednesday and Thursday. Only this time, the source of the shaking won’t lead to a guessing game.
Camp Pendleton says in a news advisory that, “F-18s will be dropping up to 500 pounds of high explosive munitions into the Whiskey and Zulu impact areas. Impacts will begin at noon and end at 5 p.m. each day. There also will be mortar live firing of high explosive munitions … Thursday from 6 a.m. until 11:59 P.M.
“Depending on atmospheric conditions, the sound of the explosions may be amplified and heard up to 50 miles away.”
The sound fades with distance, but can cause vibrations that are strong enough to shake doors and windows. Caltech says that artillery fire at Pendleton was likely responsible for the shaking experienced across the county on April 7. The shaking on March 3 and March 16 remains unexplained.
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Related stories …
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KABOOM!!! me likey !!
hee hee
mo’ money for my daddy and his military friends
That figure 500 pounds is likely per aircraft or per bomb, not a total for those who are slightly unaware of such activities,
Likely the mortarman will be using WP rounds to mark for the air strikes. Nasty stuff, that WP. It has a tendency to start fires at Pendleton, as well.
Can they please fly over my ex wife’s house?
Haha. Horrible, but I definitely chuckled.
Grunt41, what is “WP”? I watched them fir mortars off in Pendleton once. Those things are scary period! I mean, I like blowing stuff up but I’m not fond of blasting it out of a tube right in front of my face. Thank God for guys like you Grunt and all Marines, were it up to guys like me we’d be screwed!
White Phosphorous.
F/A18’s; The sound of Freedom!
Shouldn’t these bombs be dropped on Al Queda and the Taliban??
It pays to practice and become proficient, prior to dropping any percussive poundage.
yee haw. bring it on.
No noise yet.
Nothing like a good ‘Live Fire’. That’s the greatest firework show money can buy.
On Monday, April 13, 2009 while standing in my driveway at home in San Juan Capistrano (just above the 5 freeway) I saw a very low flying military jet flying toward the ocean. It was in a moderate bank turning and leveling at about 500 - 1000 feet above. It was not an F-18. It had canard wings at the noise and swept wings which had a triangular appearance. I thought at first it looked like a soviet jet I’ve seen pictures of but of course cannot be certain. What was up with that????
I hear Disney mortars every evening, from Irvine.
I’d hate to live closer.