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coldwar

The B-47 Stratojet served as the strategic air command’s backbone throughout the early Cold War

by Till Daisd March 29, 2023

The USAF operated 28 B-47 bomb wings and four RB-47 reconnaissance wings, totaling 1,357 B-47s and 175 RB-47s, during the height of their use in 1958

The Boeing B-47 Stratojet was a turning point in the history of aviation and an innovation in aircraft design. It included a lot of cutting-edge components for the time, like swept wings, underwing jet engines, main landing gear mounted on the fuselage, and automated systems that reduced the crew size to three from the usual four.

Today, every major jet aircraft comes from the B-47. Due to all of these capabilities, the Stratojet became a crucial part of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) of the U.S. Air Force in the 1950s and early 1960s, serving both as a nuclear bomber and a reconnaissance aircraft.

In May 1951, the propeller-driven B-29s and B-50s in the SAC’s medium bomber units started to be replaced by the B-47, which was created to satisfy the demand from 1944.

The RB-47H carried electronic countermeasures (ECM) equipment and electronic sensors in radomes in several locations — in the nose, under the front and rear of the fuselage, under the wing tips, and on some later RB-47Hs like the one pictured here, in a pod attached to the right side of the fuselage.

Notably, the B-47’s top speed was more than 200 mph quicker even though it could carry roughly the same amount of bombs as the aircraft it replaced. Due to the B-47’s limited range in comparison to SAC’s heavy bombers (the B-36 and later the B-52), Stratojet units were frequently sent on temporary assignments to forward air bases all over the world.

These deployments typically lasted three months, but thanks to the Reflex Action program, they were cut down to three weeks starting in 1957.

The Stratojet served as a nuclear strike bomber, but its speed and payload also made it an excellent aircraft for strategic reconnaissance. Photographic reconnaissance B-47s made many overflights of the Soviet Union between 1952 and 1956, giving detailed images of the country’s military and industrial facilities. The Soviet Union’s intercontinental ballistic missile program and air defense systems were the subjects of Stratajet intelligence gathering.

The B-47’s weather reconnaissance models acquired air samples from Soviet nuclear explosions in addition to collecting weather data. These crucial RB-47 missions over and near the Soviet Union’s border were risky; Soviet fighters shot down two reconnaissance Stratojets and damaged one, killing seven USAF personnel and imprisoning two others for a short time.

Though mismatched in speed, the propeller-driven KC-97 became the main tanker aircraft used to extend the Stratojet’s range. During refueling, the B-47 flew just above stall speed while the KC-97 flew at full throttle.

Almost 2,000 Stratojet aircraft were produced by Boeing, Douglas, and Lockheed between 1947 and 1957. The USAF operated 28 B-47 bomb wings and four RB-47 reconnaissance wings, totaling 1,357 B-47s and 175 RB-47s, during the height of their operations in 1958.

According to Robert Robbins, a B-47 test pilot, “the best way to tell about the performance of the Stratojet was to say that any good crew could have flown it. It took no unusual ability or education. […] Rather, the credit should go to the men who carried out these visions on the drafting boards and the factory workers who made the visions a reality.”

The USAF phased out its final B-47 bombers in 1965, and in 1969, a WB-47E Stratojet was retired.

The RB-47E carried one forward-looking camera in the nose and up to six cameras in the modified bomb bay, plus photoflash bombs for night photography and a defensive 20mm cannon in the tail.

Source: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force and Boeing

Photo by U.S. Air Force

March 29, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

NASA YF-12 Blackbirds and their participation in the “Coldwall” project

by Till Daisd March 28, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The NASA YF-12 Blackbird research program was ambitious; the plane, unless it was grounded for extensive maintenance or modification, flew on average once every week

The images in this post taken in 1975 show NASA YF-12s carrying the so-called “coldwall” heat transfer pod on a pylon beneath the forward fuselage.

The Langley Research Center’s coldwall experiment involved a stainless steel tube that was fitted with thermocouples and pressure sensors. The tube was refrigerated using liquid nitrogen and was covered with a unique insulating coating. At Mach 3, the tube might have its insulation pyrotechnically blown away, leaving it immediately exposed to the temperature environment. The experiment had a lot of in-flight issues, like engine unstarts, but eventually, the flight was successful.

The Flight Research Center’s role in the YF-12A, a Lockheed A-12 interceptor, which started in 1967, is noteworthy. Data from the Ames wind tunnel that had been produced in the strictest of secrecy was of interest to the Ames Research Center. Also, the YF-12A was seen by the Office of Advanced Research and Technology (OART) as a way to enhance high-speed technologies that would aid in the development of supersonic transport (SST).

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) offered NASA the use of two YF-12A aircraft, 60-6935 and 60-6936 since the USAF required technical assistance to fully operationalize the SR-71A, the latest reconnaissance variant of the A-12 family. In June 1969, a combined NASA-USAF program was established.

The 935 was prepared for flight for three months by technicians from NASA and the Air Force. Col. Joe Rogers and Maj. Gary Heidelbaugh of the SR-71/YF-12 Test Force completed a successful maiden flight on December 11, 1969, which officially launched the flight program.

During the program, NASA pursued a loads research program that included inflight heating, skin-friction cooling, “coldwall” research, a heat transfer experiment, flowfield studies, shaker vane research, and tests in support of the Space Shuttle landing program, while the Air Force focused on military applications.

The second YF-12A, 936, made 62 flights while 935 eventually took over as the program’s workhorse, flying 146 times between December 11, 1969, and November 7, 1979. On June 24, 1971, this aircraft was destroyed in a non-fatal crash, and it was replaced by the YF-12C SR-71A 61-7951, which had YF-12A inlets and engines and the bogus tail number 06937.

Clarence “Kelly” Johnson created the Lockheed A-12 family, also known as the Blackbirds, which were made primarily of titanium to withstand aerodynamic heating. The Blackbirds could cruise at Mach 3.2 and reach altitudes of more than 80,000 feet when powered by JP-7. The A-12 was the first model, a CIA reconnaissance aircraft that made its maiden flight in April 1962. In 1963, a version for interceptors known as YF-12A was created. The SR-71, a reconnaissance variant used by the USAF, made its first flight in 1964.

The leading and trailing edges of the A-12 and SR-71 designs included high-temperature fiberglass-asbestos laminates.

The NASA YF-12 research program was ambitious; unless the plane was down for extensive maintenance or modification, it flew once every week on average. 3.1 million dollars were spent on the program annually merely to do the flight tests. Pilots Fitzhugh Fulton and Donald Mallick, flight test engineers Victor Horton and Ray Young, and other NASA personnel flew the YF-12. John Manke, William Dana, Gary Krier, Einar Enevoldson, Tom McMurtry, Steve Ishmael, and Michael Swann were among the other NASA test pilots that flew the YF-12A. Only Fulton, Mallick, Horton, and Ray piloted the YF-12C.

Source and Photo by NASA

March 28, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

Francis Gary Powers U-2 shot down

by Till Daisd March 27, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Francis Gary Powers was supposed to have been killed and his aircraft destroyed when he failed to finish his mission. As a result, the U.S. concocted a cover story about an innocent weather plane that had been lost over Turkey

A high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft called the Lockheed U-2 was first introduced in 1957. The first flight of the original U-2A, which Kelly Johnson and the Lockheed Skunk Works built in complete secrecy, took place in August 1955.

Although it is still in use by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) today, the U-2 was a crucial spying instrument controlled by the CIA during the Cold War. The Soviet Union, Cuba, Vietnam, and China were among the targets of intelligence gathering.

As explained by Senior Airman Sean D. Smith, Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs in his article Let’s Learn about the Cold War: Part 12 – The 1960 U-2 Incident, the U-2 could offer surveillance in any weather, and its high operational altitude made it challenging to intercept with fighters

During the Cold War, pictures taken by U-2 aircraft gave the West essential intelligence. The president and other U.S. decision-makers received crucial intelligence about Soviet military capability during the first flights over the Soviet Union in the late 1950s.

Original U-2A Dragon Lady at USAF Museum

On May 1, 1960, an S-75 Dvina (NATO reporting name SA-2 “Guideline”) surface-to-air missile (SAM) shot down a U-2 spy plane being piloted by CIA civilian Francis Gary Powers over the Soviet Union on a mission to photograph top-secret Soviet sites. Indeed, fourteen SA-2s were purportedly launched at his U-2 by the Soviets. Even though none of the missiles hit Powers’ aircraft, one of them exploded behind the U-2 and caused a shock that damaged the delicate plane. In addition, the Soviets accidentally shot down one of their own MiG-19 fighters during the conflict, killing the pilot.

This could have been catastrophic since, throughout the Cold War, espionage was prioritized in order to prevent overt acts of aggression between the US and the Ussr.

The report of an innocent weather plane lost over Turkey was used by the Eisenhower administration as a cover story for the incident after Powers failed to finish his mission, leading the United States to believe he had been killed and his plane destroyed.

Francis Gary Powers, the U-2’s CIA pilot, had been captured by the Soviet Union and had survived the crash without America’s knowledge. Even worse, a large portion of his plane, including secret equipment, was intact.

Kelly Johnson and Gary Powers in front of a U-2

Smith claimed that the Soviets were aware of the spy they had captured and that the United States was lying about it. The U-2 incident also happened right before the Four Powers Summit, which was to be attended by American President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, French President Charles de Gaulle, and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.

Eisenhower and Khrushchev had been getting along before the U-2 incident, and this meeting—which would have been the first between the presidents of the United States and the Soviet Union in five years—might have helped bring the Cold War to an early conclusion.

Khrushchev held off on revealing that Powers was still alive in order to enhance America’s humiliation, however, he drew his punches by blaming the CIA more so than the Eisenhower government for the tragedy.

The Cold War continued, there was ongoing tension between the US and Ussr, and the Four Powers Summit failed as a result of the tension brought on by the U-2 incident.

After serving less than two years of his sentence before being brought back to the United States in exchange for a Soviet spy named Rudolf Abel, Powers was convicted of espionage in the USSR and sentenced to three years in jail and seven years of hard labor.

The U-2 nevertheless continued to offer high-altitude, all-weather surveillance and reconnaissance, day or night, in direct support of American and allied forces, even after the accident. The U-2 captured images of the Soviet Union’s offensive nuclear missile buildup in Cuba in October 1962, which sparked the Cuban Missile Crisis. The U-2 has recently supplied intelligence for operations in Korea, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq. In addition, the U-2 offers peacetime reconnaissance upon request to support search and rescue operations as well as disaster relief from floods, earthquakes, and forest fires.

The Powers Incident’s key details are highlighted in the video below.

Additional source: U.S. Air Force and National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

Top Image: From the Powers Family Collection

Photo by Senior Airman Bobby Cummings and Staff Sgt. Robert M. Trujillo / U.S. Air Force

March 27, 2023 0 comment

History

The German teenager Mathias Rust, who landed his Cessna in Red Square

by Till Daisd March 26, 2023

written by Till Daisd

At the height of the Cold War, on May 28, 1987, German teenager Mathias Rust, then 19 years old, flew a risky “peace mission” from Helsinki to Moscow

At the height of the Cold War, on May 28, 1987, German teenager Mathias Rust, then 19 years old, flew a risky “peace mission” from Helsinki to Moscow. In the video in this post, he explains why he did it in his own words.

With only 50 flying hours under his belt, Rust made the bold decision to accomplish what had previously been thought impossible. As you watch the video, it’s unbelievable how low he flew considering all the air defenses you would expect to be in place, particularly knowing how a MiG jet fighter passed him.

“It passed me on my left side so close that I could see the two pilots sitting in the cockpit and I saw of course the red star of the wing of the aircraft.”

Rust was scared, but the aircraft passed past and vanished into the clouds rather than striking him. According to the BBC, Rust’s plane was misidentified as a friendly aircraft due to a combination of extraordinary luck and human error.

Mathias Rust’s Cessna preparing to land in Red Square.

Confusion was present in the air and at control centers due to a plane crash the day before, an ongoing search and rescue operation, training for new pilots, and these factors combined.

Without any more contact from USSR defense forces, Rust nevertheless managed to go hundreds of miles over Soviet airspace to the capital. He wanted to make a big statement by bringing down the aircraft in the heart of Red Square, but it was crowded with people at the time.

Normally, it would have been difficult for him to land there because of nearby cables that would have been in the way; however, by accident, they were down for maintenance. He intended to land where the parades are all held, but there were too many people and he instead chose to land nearby.

You’d think the military would lose control and capture him right away, yet they managed to find him. But, they surrounded him and the aircraft as well as numerous bystanders laughed about it, and praised his bravery.

After making peace, the incident’s pilot, Mathias Rust, spent 14 months in a harsh labor camp. He worked as a financial analyst and a yoga instructor in 2012, 25 years after the incident, and he still had no regrets.

March 26, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

The Croatian MiG-21 Fishbed cockpit is captured in a stunning GoPro footage

by Till Daisd March 10, 2023

written by Till Daisd

All of the Fishbeds are based at Zagreb-91st Pleso’s Air Base and are flown by a single unit known as the “Fighter Squadron.”

The fantastic video in this post (which also includes cool GoPro cockpit footage) was recently produced by the Croatian Air Force and shows MiG-21 planes in action at the 91st Air Force Base.

The fighter fleet of the Croatian Air Force and Air Defense (HRZ I PZO) consists of twelve MiG-21s, eight of which are single-seat MiG-21bisDs and four MiG-21UMD twin-seat trainers. All of the Fishbeds are based at Zagreb-91st Pleso’s Air Base and are flown by a single unit known as the “Fighter Squadron.”

The planes are employed to provide QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) services and can cover the whole Croatian airspace. The QRA is currently only operational during daylight hours and is part of the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defense System (NATINAMDS), which is housed in Torrejon’s Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC).

According to Chris Lofting of Air Forces Monthly magazine’s May issue, the Ukrainian company Odesaviaremservis Aviation Repair Plant (OARP) in Odessa recently refurbished and updated all 12 MiG-21s. Five MiG-21bisDs were scheduled to be shipped to Yemen, but they were never delivered, and the planes were finally purchased by the Croatian Air Force after being parked outside the Odessa plant for several years. However, the Croatian daily newspaper Jutarnji list reported on March 22, 2016, that an investigation into the recently purchased aircraft is underway: Lofting indicated that “Croatian sources claim the Odessa Plant painted Algerian MiG-21 construction numbers on the airframes but left the original c/n plates in place, showing that at least four of them are ex-Bulgarian! It’s unclear what this means for their future.”

However, the MiG-21bisD/UMD aircraft upgrade was mainly focused on the installation of new navigation and communication systems that not only meet NATO and ICAO requirements but also allow the Fishbeds to safely operate within civilian airspace. The “D” suffix stands for the Croatian word Doraden, which means modified.

Croatia is to replace its aged Soviet-built MiGs as soon as possible, with a decision on which fighter will replace the Cold War-era Fishbeds expected by the end of 2016. The SAAB JAS 39 Gripen, Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon, Dassault Rafale, and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 are among the aircraft being evaluated by the Croatian Air Force.

March 10, 2023 0 comment

Cold War History

The F-104: From the Cold War to today

by Till Daisd October 24, 2022

written by Till Daisd

The F-104 is a small single-engine fighter jet known for its speed and dangerous nature, and being used by many countries. Despite its history and widespread use, it has fallen out of favor due to its age.

The F-104 Starfighter was a jet fighter aircraft built by Lockheed Corporation starting in 1956. In its day, it was one of the fastest and most powerful fighters in the world. It is still used today as an aerial demonstration aircraft and drone target practice by the United States military.

It was designed for speed and maneuverability over combat ability or range; therefore, many of its features made it less than ideal for air-to-air combat but more effective at dogfighting incoming enemy planes that were attempting to intercept intruders into their airspace (such as Soviet MiG fighters). The F-104 could reach top speeds around Mach 2—twice as fast as any other plane at that time—which made it useful for chasing down enemy aircraft before they could get anywhere near their targets or escape after launching missiles at them.

The F-104 was designed to be a high-performance interceptor, and it had several features that set it apart from other aircraft of the time.

The wingspan was short, but they were extremely thin and placed high on the fuselage. This design gave it excellent maneuverability at high altitudes, even though its maximum speed was only Mach 2 (2 times the speed of sound).

The landing gear could extend straight out from under the fuselage instead of being extended downward like most other fighters at that time. This made it easy for pilots to see if their wheels were down before takeoff or landing because there wasn’t anything else in their way!

This aircraft also had some unique weapons systems designed specifically for use with this airplane:

An internal gun called an M61 Vulcan 20mm cannon that fired up to 6,000 rounds per minute;
An external pod with heat-seeking missiles mounted beneath each wing;
A wingtip fitted with small folding rockets so they could be deployed while airborne;
And finally—and perhaps most importantly—they came equipped with air brakes on both sides that could slow down during descent so pilots could make sure they weren’t too close when coming into land safely without crashing into something below them.

The F-104 was designed as a single-seat, single-engine, all-weather interceptor aircraft. It has a small, highly-swept wing and a T-tail. Its fuselage is moderately swept with its horizontal stabilizers mounted near the top of the tail fin. All versions have tricycle landing gear and are powered by a single-engine mounted on the rear fuselage to reduce interference drag between it and its wings.

It was retired from active United States Air Force service on November 15th, 2004. The last USAF squadron to operate the F-104 left Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, and turned their aircraft over to their Italian counterparts. However, several countries still fly this supersonic jet today: Turkish Air Force, Spanish Air Force (still the main operator), and Italian Air Force (also still an operator).

The Royal Norwegian Air Force also uses it as a trainer aircraft. NASA also flies a few F-104s in its high-speed research program at Edwards AFB, California, and at Dryden Flight Research Center.

The F-104 Starfighter was built for speed and maneuverability. It could reach twice the speed of sound and it was designed to fight high above the clouds, where pilots would use its fantastic aerodynamics to outmaneuver and outfly enemy jets. This meant that it lacked some important safety features: backup systems, ejection seats, and more powerful engines.

Many military aircraft were designed specifically to win air battles during World War II—and then became obsolete when the nature of warfare changed after 1945. The F-104 was different; instead of being a relic from an earlier era, it was still in service when Vietnam came around in the 1960s. And while some countries have retired their fleets since then (such as Belgium), others still fly them today—including Pakistan—because they’re cheap and easy to maintain compared with other planes they may replace them with (like MiG-29s).

The F-104 was an integral part of the United States Air Force during the Cold War.

It was used in Korea and Vietnam and played a significant role in both conflicts. In Korea, pilots flew these planes to shoot down enemy MiG fighters and attack ground targets. In Vietnam, they served as escorts for bombers on missions over enemy territory as well as providing air cover for ground troops who were under attack by enemy forces on the ground.

It was also used extensively by NATO nations during this time period. For example, Greece purchased 61 F-104Gs from Lockheed Martin in 1967 so that their pilots could train on them before transitioning into Lockheed’s newer supersonic fighter jets: the F-16 Fighting Falcon (which would be introduced around 1981).

The F-104 is a testament to the wide-reaching effects that the Cold War had on aviation technology. It served in roles as diverse as interceptor, strike fighter, and photo reconnaissance plane. Still, wherever they can be seen and heard, F-104s remains a most interesting sound and sight.

October 24, 2022 0 comment

Cold War

Mi-6 helicopters helped to protect VPAF MiG-17 fleet from U.S. air strikes

by Till Daisd March 1, 2022

written by Till Daisd

The MiG-17s were dispersed out into the countryside, carried by large Mil Mi-6 helicopters to the dispersal sites, and carried back to the airfields when missions were to be flown

US aircraft targeted Vietnamese People’s Air Force (VPAF) air bases for the first time in the spring of 1966. The strikes on the MiG airfields at Dong Hoi and Vinh forced a reevaluation of North Vietnam’s air strategy against a numerically superior American military. Previously, Washington had deemed the airfields off-limits (and later in the war, the bases were not authorized to be targeted).

Over 70,000 steel-reinforced concrete plates were stockpiled at the airfields in order to facilitate a rapid restoration, as JP Santiago describes in an interesting article that appeared on his website, Tails Through Time. In addition, a lot of bamboo stems were also stockpiled to be employed for airfield repair. Underground command centers for the base staff were built, as well as camouflaged revetments—some of which were even disguised as huts.

According to Zoltan Buza and Istvan Toperczer in Wings of Fame, Volume 8, article “MiG-17 Over Vietnam,” in order to protect the VPAF’s small MiG-17 force, the aircraft were dispersed in the countryside, carried to these sites by large Mil Mi-6 helicopters, and carried back to the airfields when missions were supposed to be flown. During the war, these sites also saw the dispersion of fuel and ammunition, since it was discovered that a Mi-6 could transport a fully armed and fueled MiG-17 to the airfields from a distance of up to thirty miles.

The aircraft were ready for their missions against impending American strike packages in underground shelters built into the mountains close to the bases. After that, a Mi-6 would carry the fighter as an underslung load to the closest airbase, where it would take off, complete the mission, and then return to the base so that the helicopters could carry it back to shelters miles away by the helicopters.

Fighters were also scattered throughout villages and agricultural cooperatives in areas where the terrain hindered the MiG force from building underground shelters.

March 1, 2022 0 comment

Cold War

The sexy paint scheme worn by these USMC CH-53s during Operation Desert Storm

by Till Daisd March 1, 2022

written by Till Daisd

During Operation Desert Storm, there could have been up to four aircraft painted like these

These captivating pictures feature U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) CH-53 heavy-lift helicopters sporting quite a sexy paint scheme.

These USMC CH-53s wore a Sexy Paint Scheme during Operation Desert Storm

If you look closely, you can discern the outline of a woman on both sides of the fuselage of the CH-53s, as John Faith describes in an interesting article for the Aircraft Resource Center.

Faith claims that although the pictures show two distinct aircraft, during Operation Desert Storm (ODS) there may have been up to four painted in this manner. Helicopter Marine Heavy Helicopter 466 (HMH-466) was the unit that flew these helicopters.

The reason the helicopters ended up that way, as Louis Lofton, the crew chief of one of the CH-53s, explained to Faith, was an immediate need for deployment to the Gulf. The Marines were allowed to paint their squadron aircraft in their own hangars before deployment since there were so many to be painted. Back then, HMH-466 was assigned to the Tustin, California, Marine Corps Air Station (MCCAS). Since 1996, the unit has been stationed at MCAS Miramar, CA.

HMH-466) flies CH-53E Super Stallion transport helicopters. The squadron, known as the “Wolfpack”, falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 16 (MAG-16) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW).

Photo by John Faith via Aircraft Resource Center and U.S. Marine Corps

March 1, 2022 0 comment

Cold War

Two F-104s scored four simulated kills against an F-15B in a single training mission

by Till Daisd February 26, 2022

written by Till Daisd

The debriefing was a hoot. I especially liked the part where the Eagle guy played his recorder and we heard the backseater say “Break, we just got gunned again”!

The first operational fighter plane that could maintain speeds higher than Mach 2 was the Lockheed F-104.

With this capability, the Starfighter represented a significant advancement over the previous generation of subsonic and “forgiving” aircraft. Nevertheless, when the air-to-air engagements took place at subsonic speeds, the lack of wing area put the F-104 at a disadvantage against more traditional fighters since its turn ability in this regime was critical. Hence the importance of not allowing the Starfighter to slow below Mach 1 to take advantage of its speed and vertical climb that were unrivaled at the time.

Thanks to its speed and vertical climb, the aircraft was able to hold its own also against more modern fighters, as Andy Bush, former F-104 pilot and instructor in the USAF Fighter Weapons School (FWS), recalls:

Starfighter 4 Eagle 0: that time two F-104s scored four simulated kills against an F-15B in a single training mission

“I don’t know when the first instance of the F-104 and the F-15 engaging in DACT happened…but I do know when it happened early on at Luke.

“When the F-15 training operation began at Luke in the latter 70s, the initial squadron was the 555th, known as ‘the Nickle’. Sometime in 78 or so, the Nickle guys were looking for DACT with a variety of fighter types, and so they came down the street to the F-104 Fighter Weapons School in the 69 TFTS, also at Luke.

“They wanted to fly against us, and so we agreed to put up a two-ship for a trial mission. Two FWS instructors were selected, one a German instructor (Hartmut Troehler) and one USAF instructor (me).

“The Nickle hosted the mission. We briefed at their squadron with two of their instructors (both F-4 FWS grads). They were going to use the two-seat model for the engagement. We would both have dedicated GCI. We were to simulate Floggers…not a bad idea since the G model that we flew was a good representation of the A2A capability of the MiG-23. Our simulated armament was to be Apex, Aphid, and the gun.

“After the main briefing, Hartmut and I had our own briefing. I was the flight lead and intended to use as much deception as I could. We knew that the F-15 guys were really proud of their radar capabilities…the PD radar was new to the fighter community at that time. I thought that the two Nickle guys would be heavily relying on their radar to enter the fight…as it turned out, I was right.

“My plan was to put Hartmut in close formation and run head-on at the F-15 using GCI for vectoring. Our radar could search out to 40nm but we couldn’t lock on until 20nm.

“We took the first GCI vector and accelerated through the match. Intended to fight fast… high-speed extensions and hook turns. At 20nm, the F-15 made a large blip on my radar and I was able to get a lock. The plan was to Fox-1 at about 16nm and then have Hartmut peel off into a hard 360 to follow me.

“I called the Apex at 16nm, told Hartmut to deploy, and then pushed it up to over 700KIAS. My hope was that the Eagle guys would hold their lock on me and not see Hartmut separate. We could slave our gunsight to the radar lock-on angle… which let me fly right at the F-15. I picked him up visually…he was high, to the right, and had started a conversion turn. I unloaded, and extended away figuring they would try to follow…and they did.

“What that did, of course, was get them sandwiched between me and Hartmut. My guess was that they would get all excited and jump on me without asking where my wingman was. They found out soon enough as their GCI relayed to them Hartmut’s gun attack call.

“I was looking back and saw their break turn that resulted. I went idle and boards slowed to .85M, dropped my maneuver flaps, put my lift vector on the Eagle, and then pulled the jet into a hard 7g turn using a burner to hold my speed. I knew I could sustain that g at around 400KIAS.

“I pulled into a lead snapshot position on the Eagle, closed in, and went guns. The Eagle broke again as their GCI relayed the second gun call.

“By this time, Hartmut was pitching back into the fight. He saw me extend away, went in for his second gun attack, and then extended away after me. I tallied him, gave him a check turn to put us back into line abreast, and then we became a dot.

“The Eagle tried to call a Fox-2 as we separated but with us well over 700KIAS, it was way out of parameters.

“The result was the two Fox-1s and three unobserved gun kills by us. They had no valid shots.

“The debriefing was a hoot. I especially liked the part where the Nickle guy played his recorder and we heard the backseater say “Break, we just got gunned again!”

“Of course, all of this should not have happened. The F-15 should have had us for lunch. But they didn’t, and it was all because they didn’t play to their strengths…and they severely underestimated their opponents. They didn’t do that again and that was a good thing.”

Photo by U.S. Air Force

February 26, 2022 0 comment

Cold War

The Alraigo incident

by Till Daisd February 9, 2022

written by Till Daisd

Ian “Soapy” Watson, the Sea Harrier pilot, had completed only 75 percent of the recommended flying hours.

The Royal Navy Sea Harrier ZA176 made an emergency landing aboard the cargo ship Alraigo on June 7, 1983. This post’s news video shows Sea Harrier ZA176 and Sub-Lt. Ian Watson’s rescue following the Alraigo’s June 1983 docking in Santa Cruz, Tenerife.

Particularly, senior officers reprimanded inexperienced Royal Navy pilot Ian “Soapy” Watson for his incompetence after he lost control of a £7 million Sea Harrier jump jet and landed onto a container ship’s deck.

However, as The Telegraph revealed in 2007, they were secretly shifting the responsibility in an attempt to avoid paying out £570,000 in compensation.

A file released on May 31, 2007, at the National Archives, describes how Sub-Lt. Watson, 25, “incurred the Commander in Chief of the Fleet’s Displeasure” for displaying an unsatisfactory standard of fundamental airmanship.

However, the Ministry of Defense file reveals that before being called into service, he had only accrued 75% of the recommended flying hours in training and had been given permission to fly an aircraft with a known radio defect.

An unnamed senior officer commented: “I am speechless, as was Watson.” Sub-Lt. Watson had taken off from the carrier HMS Illustrious off the Spanish coast on Jun. 7, 1983, to conduct a NATO search exercise.

After winning a salvage claim, the crew of the 2,300-ton Spanish container ship Alraigo shared £340,000, with the owners receiving the remaining £230,000.

Photo by JF Aleman-Canary Islands Spotting, via aviationcorner.net

Photo by JF Aleman-Canary Islands Spotting, via aviationcorner.net

February 9, 2022 0 comment

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