Not one of them had any idea except this man. It reminds me of a passage in Coontz when he was flying out of the bombing range in PI back to the ship and a couple of F4's drilled through the space between him and his wingman. Closing rate over a 1000 mph and nobody else in the formation saw them. A leemer.
We used to watch the mines detonate from a safe distance.
Shortly after I left the UK during an ORI a 4-ship from my old squadron was tanking when a two-ship from a sister squadron coming back from the range went right thru and created a mid-air that sent one of ours and one of theirs right into the drink. The 92nd bird pancaked on the canopy of the 78th bird--all four crew-members were lost.
BTW, there is a you tube of street-fighting in Iraq a few years ago showing Army types rubbernecking from some bldg balconies waiting for an AF 1000lb to take out a position across the street. Should have seen them duck as the concrete frag pattern TOTALLY showered their "curiosity-killed-the-cat" asses, lol I also remember back in Vietnam seeing a pic on the front page of the Pacific Stars & Stripesof a bunch of grunts sitting on an M-113 rubbernecking as an AF bird put in some ordinance nearby and the frag pattern clearly flying over their heads. The headline? "Now THAT's Airpower!" The comments? Those are Idiots..
@ Curt: I'd watch mines from a safe distance, too.
@ Virgil & Curt: One wonders why there aren't more air-to-air collisions and incidents, given how crowded the skies are during war. And Virgil... I'd be getting waaay the hell away from any potential target. All ordnance has a CEP number...
When things are going boom, I like to be in a nice deep hole. Or behind something substantial. Not gawking like a tourist out in the open.
ReplyDeleteI damn near wet my pants in real time, realized what a close call those folks had in slow-mo. That would have taken someone's head off.
A nice deep hole is indeed the place to be. Or in front of a teevee screen.
DeleteAs Bill Cosby says, first you say it, then you do it. . .
ReplyDeleteNot one of them had any idea except this man. It reminds me of a passage in Coontz when he was flying out of the bombing range in PI back to the ship and a couple of F4's drilled through the space between him and his wingman. Closing rate over a 1000 mph and nobody else in the formation saw them. A leemer.
ReplyDeleteWe used to watch the mines detonate from a safe distance.
Shortly after I left the UK during an ORI a 4-ship from my old squadron was tanking when a two-ship from a sister squadron coming back from the range went right thru and created a mid-air that sent one of ours and one of theirs right into the drink. The 92nd bird pancaked on the canopy of the 78th bird--all four crew-members were lost.
ReplyDeleteBTW, there is a you tube of street-fighting in Iraq a few years ago showing Army types rubbernecking from some bldg balconies waiting for an AF 1000lb to take out a position across the street. Should have seen them duck as the concrete frag pattern TOTALLY showered their "curiosity-killed-the-cat" asses, lol I also remember back in Vietnam seeing a pic on the front page of the Pacific Stars & Stripesof a bunch of grunts sitting on an M-113 rubbernecking as an AF bird put in some ordinance nearby and the frag pattern clearly flying over their heads. The headline? "Now THAT's Airpower!" The comments? Those are Idiots..
@ Craig: Cosby is/was a pretty smart guy.
ReplyDelete@ Curt: I'd watch mines from a safe distance, too.
@ Virgil & Curt: One wonders why there aren't more air-to-air collisions and incidents, given how crowded the skies are during war. And Virgil... I'd be getting waaay the hell away from any potential target. All ordnance has a CEP number...
Man. When your time isn't up . . .
ReplyDeleteTrue, dat.
Delete