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Posted
4 hours ago, TexasEd said:

Video of the collision at about 1:00

 

I remember these incidents well….

Quote

The only B-47s to see anything close to combat were the aerial reconnaissance variants. The first overflight of Soviet territory with a B-47B, fitted with special radar and cameras in the bomb bay, occurred on 15 October 1952, overflying Soviet airfields in Northeastern Siberia.[68] RB-47s operated from almost every airfield that gave them access to the USSR and routinely probed Soviet airspace. Occasionally, they would avoid confrontations with speed and evasion. At least five aircraft were fired upon and three were shot down. The RB-47s returned fire with their tail turrets, although it is uncertain if they scored any kills; these were the only shots fired in anger by any B-47.[citation needed]

On 8 May 1954, after a top secret reconnaissance mission near the Kola Peninsula, a 4th Air Division / 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing RB-47E, flown by then-Capt (later Col) Harold "Hal" Austin, overflew the Soviet Union at high altitude, out of reach of MiG-15s. Unknown to USAF intelligence, MiG-17s capable of intercepting it had been stationed nearby. The RB-47E was chased by several MiG-17s, firing upon it with their guns over Soviet and Finnish airspace. While taking damage, the RB-47E escaped over Sweden to its home base at RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire. Its top speed and combat radius superiority to the fighter jets were decisive factors. The mission marked the first time a jet aircraft equipped with modern aerial photography equipment, K-17 and K-38 cameras, was used for USAF reconnaissance over the Soviet Union. The incident was kept secret by all parties.[69]

Other interceptions resulted in losses. An RB-47 flying from Alaska was scouting the Kamchatka Peninsula on 17 April 1955, when it was intercepted by Soviet MiG-15s in international airspace before disappearing. Between 21 March and 10 May 1956, 16 RB-47Es and five RB-47Hs operating from Thule performed overflights the length of Siberia 156 times under Project HOMERUN. The Soviets filed a complaint with the US government, which attributed the overflights to "navigational difficulties". MiGs intercepted RB-47s on three separate occasions in late 1958: over the Black Sea on 31 October, over the Baltic on 7 November, and over the Sea of Japan on 17 November.[citation needed]

On 1 July 1960, a PVO Strany MiG-19 shot down an RB-47H (AF Serial No. 53-4281) in international airspace over the Barents Sea,[70] killing four of the crew while two were captured by the Soviets and released in 1961. The co-pilot reported that the MiG-19 jammed his MD-4 FCS (that aimed the tail guns), rendering it defenseless.[71][72]The last known confrontation between MiGs and RB-47s occurred on 28 April 1965, when an ERB-47H was intercepted by two North Korean MiG-17s over the Sea of Japan. While hit by the MiGs, it returned to Yokota Air Base in Japan with three engines out.[73] A few operated during the Vietnam War on missions such as relaying ELINT data, but were replaced by more efficient and capable Boeing RC-135s. The last RB-47H was retired on 29 December 1967.[74]

 

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Posted
45 minutes ago, Schulz2.0 said:

 

11 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

“Deadliest F-16 pilot known” is a nice line to have on your CV, business card, social media, mailbox, door mat, and bath towels. 

He's aggy, but dude took out 21 active SAM sites, so he knows what he's talking about, and is good at it.

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Posted
Just now, atomheartbevo said:

 

He's aggy, but dude took out 21 active SAM sites, so he knows what he's talking about, and is good at it.

Yup, has a few really good books out for those interested.

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Posted
17 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

 

He's aggy, but dude took out 21 active SAM sites, so he knows what he's talking about, and is good at it.

An aggy that actually joined the military?

outlander-cantbelieve.gif

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Posted
5 hours ago, TexasEd said:

 

 

Been away for a few days but was thinking something similar.  The Reaper has been replacing the Predator drones and since the Predators are smaller and not being used as much we could just substitute one of them as the sacrificial drone.

Predator Self Destruct GIFs | Tenor

 

Posted
1 hour ago, SL Xpress said:

It's not said in there, but it was an open "secret" that the North Korean MiGs were flown by Russians. 

Yes, that’s what the scuttlebutt was everywhere in the US military at the time - even where we were stationed in Puerto Rico.

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Posted
34 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

Yes, that’s what the scuttlebutt was everywhere in the US military at the time - even where we were stationed in Puerto Rico.

Are you saying there weren’t North Korean pilots with blonde hair?

Shocked Season 6 GIF by Friends

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Posted
8 hours ago, Laxtonto said:

So with both sides of the conflict asking for ammo, what does this tell us about the legacy Russian\Ukrainian artillery platforms? 

Can no one produce 152 artillery shells anymore at a volume to keep up  or is the delivery systems so outdated, that everyone else has moved to a different shell type/bore size, the 155?

I believe the 152(.4) howitzer and other odd sizes like 76.2mm are all metric conversions of British and American inch-based systems from around or before WW1.If you had steam-train era tech, you could probably churn out some functioning WW1-type 6" HE shells. But don't ask me for details because all I had was wood shop.

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Posted

In “Democracy in America”, Tocqueville explains why armies of democracies improve as wars progress, as promotions are made on merit, not political or familial connections. We saw this in WWII (as well as other wars), where the US got its ass whipped at Kasserine Pass. The general in charge screwed it up badly, and was quietly reassigned to the states. Better leaders were promoted (guys like Patton, out of place in a peacetime army, got their chance in war). 
 
It shouldn’t be a surprise for Ukraine to have flawed leaders. It’s what they do with them that matters. Zelensky needs to find a military leader whose judgment he can trust, and fast. Civilian leaders tend to make awful strategic decisions. (FDR had Marshall, Churchill had Alanbrooke and Stalin had Zhukov, and that made all the difference). 

Posted
29 minutes ago, statsman said:

In “Democracy in America”, Tocqueville explains why armies of democracies improve as wars progress, as promotions are made on merit, not political or familial connections. We saw this in WWII (as well as other wars), where the US got its ass whipped at Kasserine Pass. The general in charge screwed it up badly, and was quietly reassigned to the states. Better leaders were promoted (guys like Patton, out of place in a peacetime army, got their chance in war). 
 
It shouldn’t be a surprise for Ukraine to have flawed leaders. It’s what they do with them that matters. Zelensky needs to find a military leader whose judgment he can trust, and fast. Civilian leaders tend to make awful strategic decisions. (FDR had Marshall, Churchill had Alanbrooke and Stalin had Zhukov, and that made all the difference). 

Patton got benched, never forget that (and while that isn't how it ended, it happened).  Counterpoint is that Generals can come and go, and that while leadership is important, it's not the entire story.  No one person is irreplaceable.   Meritocracy certainly matters and is important, but even in the examples you mention you are ignoring that two big factors; 1 the industrial might of the free world was on their side, 2 and much less quantifiable, the will of the combatants.  

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Posted
5 hours ago, blacklab said:

6 wheel?

 

5 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Are there only 2 wheels on the other side?

8 to 6.  It was a rounding error.  You know?  'Cause wheels is round 

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Posted (edited)

Well, Lula is buddies with most of the new axis. 
 

(years ago, I joked with a Brazilian colleague, asking if his country was competing with the US to see who can have the most screwed up politics)

Edited by statsman
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Posted
5 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:


Side note - there’s a well maintained RB-47 at the USAF Museum in Dayton with the full recon package and stories to go with. Don’t miss it if you go.

There are also B-47s at Dyess (Abilene) and Barksdale (near Shreveport) for those who have no desire to visit Ohio,

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Posted
1 hour ago, statsman said:

Well, Lula is buddies with most of the new axis. 
 

(years ago, I joked with a Brazilian colleague, asking if his country was competing with the US to see who can have the most screwed up politics)

Brazil is very dependent on Russian/Belarusian fertilizer. That's a big part of it.

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Posted

Further in the thread, it states they are targeting the marginal, deranged, and those with nothing to lose.  (So Auburn fans - no you really don't know these folks yet, or for easy point Aggies)  Either way, it's a bold strategy

 

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Posted

image.thumb.jpeg.88fe1a6c1d1249f4836875f84c89f2cf.jpegIntergovernmental Agreement with Ukraine is Signed

With this step we fulfilled all the legal requirements to offer Ukraine our unusable, but for Ukraine badly needed 13 MiG-29 fighters and also part of a KUB air defense system, known by NATO as SA-6. The fighters and system will defend Ukrainian cities and save lives against missile and drone attacks from Russian aggressors targeting civilian Ukrainian infrastructure. 
 

Thank you to colleagues from the government for responsible, expert, and humane approach and to to colleagues from the Slovak Ministry of Defense and Slovak armed forces for their precise work and all of the needed national and international negotiations. 
 

 

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Posted

So it's confirmed that Xi will meet Putin in Moscow on Monday.  I can't help but think of two things:

1.  Xi is going to tell Putin to go get his shine box

2.  Mr. Wu and Al Swearengen meetings (nothing beyond the comical nature of these).  

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Posted
13 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

So it's confirmed that Xi will meet Putin in Moscow on Monday.  I can't help but think of two things:

1.  Xi is going to tell Putin to go get his shine box

2.  Mr. Wu and Al Swearengen meetings (nothing beyond the comical nature of these).  

deadwood-wu.gif

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