‘I’m sure that he’s still telling the story of “something” hitting his boat, knocking him overboard, but then never appearing,’ James Mowrey, US Navy Nuclear Submarine Officer Mention the word…
NavalWarfare
Cold War
When a US Navy A-4 pilot had to eject after a catastrophic turbine failure that turned his Skyhawk into a fireball
‘I had a catastrophic turbine failure that buzz sawed the back end of my plane and turned the plane into a fireball. I was going about 500 knots indicated. I…
‘I watched in amazement as the Vc circle [on the radar display], which told us the relative closing velocity of the target, started rapidly winding up far higher than I…
NavalWarfare
Former XO of USS Florida explains why using an Ohio-class SSBN as Hunter Killer is like using a B-2 Stealth Bomber to dogfight against an F/A-18 Strike Fighter
‘Doesn’t matter what weapons you carry, if you can’t turn the ship in time to attack or evade, you are dead,’ William Toti, former XO of USS Florida (SSBN-728) The…
Cold War
The only SAM that had a chance to hit the Blackbird was a Nuclear S-300 fired ahead of the SR-71
‘One of the real highlights of flying above Mach 3 and above 80,000 feet is nobody is up there with you,’ David Peters, former SR-71 Blackbird pilot The SR-71 Blackbird…
F-14 Tomcat
F-14 Tomcat pilot and TOPGUN instructor explains how he was able to nail a MiG-29 Fulcrum in a 1v1 Dogfight
“I saw his two afterburners. He is probably doing 500 knots, straight downhill, with both afterburners. And I thought, ‘Gotcha!’ I came up over the top, repositioned my nose, and…
The SR-71 Blackbird pilot Brian Shul on May 20, 2023, in Reno, Nevada, unexpectedly passed away at the age of 75 due to a cardiac arrest At the age of…
F-14 Tomcat
Navy Pilot explains what would have happened in real life to Maverick after having buzzed the tower in full AB and broken the hard deck on the first day of his Top Gun training
‘Since we’ve stopped flying rubber dog s**t out of Hong Kong for environmental reasons, you will likely never fly a Navy aircraft again,’ Tim Hibbetts, US Navy A-6E, F/A-18C pilot…
History
Owen J. Baggett, the B-24 Copilot who shot down a Japanese Zero with his Colt.45 while hanging from his open parachute
Owen J. Baggett pulled out his service pistol, a Colt.45, at the perfect moment. He fired four shots, striking the Japanese pilot in the head and bringing the Zero down…
What happens if a fighter jet pilot falls asleep while flying? According to a 2013 pilots’ union survey, almost half of airline and commercial pilots fell asleep while flying. Of the…