ST. LOUIS, Nov. 04, 1996 -- The Canadian Hornet team, comprised primarily of the 4 Wing out of Cold Lake, Alberta, tallied 30,432.32 points and was the only William Tell participant competing with the F/A-18 Hornet. The Canadian Hornets were competing against F-15s and F-16s belonging to six U.S. Air Force teams.
Team Canada took first place in six out of 11 categories, finishing first in the standings for Operations Team, Profile 1, Aircrew Element, Weapons Director Team, Top Gun (Capt. Steve Nierlich) and Top Scope (Staff Sgt. Jeff Craver). These six awards, combined with fourth place finishes in other events, gave Team Canada the victory in the Overall competition.
In other categories, Team U.S. Air Forces in Europe flying F-15C/Es took top honors in Profile 2 (Element Attack) and second and third in Top Gun and Top Element. In combination, McDonnell Douglas F/A-18s and F-15s made a clean sweep in all operational categories.
A total of seven teams, Team Canada and six teams from the Air Force major commands all over the world, competed in the event held at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., Oct. 21-27.
In addition to the Canadian and U.S. Air Forces in Europe teams, this year's competition also included teams from the Air Combat Command, Air Education and Training Command, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard and Pacific Air Forces.
The purpose of the competition, which began in 1954, is to have aircrews perform under simulated combat conditions in order to test the proficiency of the air-to-air combat organization and give the world a firsthand view of the organization's superiority, readiness and capability.
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McDonnell Douglas
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