Cold War Aviation Porn
- Thread starter JuanTwoThree
- Start date
kebabking
Not a Girly Swot, but I like them....
i always had a thing for the Phantom - the B/C/D/J/K/M/N/S always struck me as looking incredibly powerful and brutal, but the E looked sleeker, and a bit like it it was carrying a stiletto as well as a lump hammer. which, i suppose, it was..
i got to see RAF Phantoms do a QRA take-off at RAF Wildenrath in 1990 while on summer camp with the cadets. to say i was struck with awe would be a dismal understatement.
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
Apparently it was initially perceived as one fugly beast, even by the pilots who flew them. One of them was quoted as saying he thought they'd delivered his aircraft upside down
China has got a good collection of old aircraft
Beijing sends bombers, fighter jets on combat patrols over contested S. China Sea
Beijing sends bombers, fighter jets on combat patrols over contested S. China Sea
A380
How do I change this 'custom title' thing then?
If I won the lottery (well more than this week's £2.70) I'd like to get my rotary licence and then try to put one of these on the display circuit...
At Helitech about six years back there was a company offering a retrofit glass cockpit for the Hind. Don't know if it ever came to anything.
At Helitech about six years back there was a company offering a retrofit glass cockpit for the Hind. Don't know if it ever came to anything.
spitfire
Walty McWaltface
A380
How do I change this 'custom title' thing then?
Casually Red
tomorrow belongs to me
Casually Red
tomorrow belongs to me
For the last time Comrade Dougalovich..this is small...this is far away ..
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pogofish
Testicle Hairstyle
For all its neutrality, Switzerland, despite never openly owning a bomb, had a surprisingly well developed nuclear strategy.
Which included around twenty of these toys - The rocket powered Mirage IIIc, with full capacity to deliver French and theoretical Swiss bombs.
Although they were very rarely flown, the Swiss AF kept them-on, modified up to the latest standards until 2003.
The French had about 80, which were maintained until 1988, although they too were rarely in the air.
Also interesting to note that despite not having a bomb and ratifying most of the nuclear limitation treaties, the Swiss had developed plans for pre-emptive strikes on Russia and had even planned for testing and the use of nukes in a defensive capacity on their own territory after invasion and maintained a scientific "institute" capable of making/magiking up to two hundred and fifty nukes, presumably at short notice until 1988.
They didn't finally dispose of their stock of fissile and potentially fissile materials, much of which was stored in forms that avoided international monitoring until early 2016...!
Which included around twenty of these toys - The rocket powered Mirage IIIc, with full capacity to deliver French and theoretical Swiss bombs.
Although they were very rarely flown, the Swiss AF kept them-on, modified up to the latest standards until 2003.
The French had about 80, which were maintained until 1988, although they too were rarely in the air.
Also interesting to note that despite not having a bomb and ratifying most of the nuclear limitation treaties, the Swiss had developed plans for pre-emptive strikes on Russia and had even planned for testing and the use of nukes in a defensive capacity on their own territory after invasion and maintained a scientific "institute" capable of making/magiking up to two hundred and fifty nukes, presumably at short notice until 1988.
They didn't finally dispose of their stock of fissile and potentially fissile materials, much of which was stored in forms that avoided international monitoring until early 2016...!
Casually Red
tomorrow belongs to me
For all its neutrality, Switzerland, despite never openly owning a bomb, had a surprisingly well developed nuclear strategy.
Which included around twenty of these toys - The rocket powered Mirage IIIc, with full capacity to deliver French and theoretical Swiss bombs.
Although they were very rarely flown, the Swiss AF kept them-on, modified up to the latest standards until 2003.
The French had about 80, which were maintained until 1988, although they too were rarely in the air.
Also interesting to note that despite not having a bomb and ratifying most of the nuclear limitation treaties, the Swiss had developed plans for pre-emptive strikes on Russia and had even planned for testing and the use of nukes in a defensive capacity on their own territory after invasion and maintained a scientific "institute" capable of making/magiking up to two hundred and fifty nukes, presumably at short notice until 1988.
They didn't finally dispose of their stock of fissile and potentially fissile materials, much of which was stored in forms that avoided international monitoring until early 2016...!
I remember reading their pilots were quite expert...probably the best in the world... at navigating through mountain ravines and the like, hugging the cliff face . It was embedded in their overall defence strategy . And they built their airbases inside mountain caverns...just like Thunderbirds and James Bond villains .
Also I think the Swiss road network was often dual purpose , many roads designed to be capable of use by fighter jets .
Casually Red
tomorrow belongs to me
Here's a good article on them here . Lots of fun facts .
The well hidden bunkers of the Swiss Army and Air Force » MiGFlug.com Blog
Back in the day they only let married pilots have ejector seats !!!
The well hidden bunkers of the Swiss Army and Air Force » MiGFlug.com Blog
Back in the day they only let married pilots have ejector seats !!!
pogofish
Testicle Hairstyle
It was indeed - Switzerland and Germany both had a developed policy of "highway strips" for quite some time, based on the idea of main bases being taken-out in the first wave, meaning that further actions heeded to be conducted from ad-hoc facilities nearer the front line.
The other side of this was reflected in the interest in developing a wide range of VTOL and STOL aircraft to operate from them - which is well represented in the "Planes that never were" thread but at some point, (late 1960s?) the strategic thinking changed, highway strips lost their importance and most of the aircraft work was cancelled/diverted to other purposes.
Meanwhile Belgum and Holland instead took full advantage uf US funding to build a significant number of emergency airfields that were basically just runways and basic support facilities that would be brought quickly into service in times of tension. A hunt around on Google Earth soon turns them-up!
Except for Switzerland - but they still didn't pick-up the option for a VTOL version of the Mirage that Dassault wanted to develop - that would have been something!
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pogofish
Testicle Hairstyle
Yes - the hills behind my relatives near Geneva were absolutely riddled with them. Bunker spotting was indeed a game we played on country walks!
The Swiss Navy (don't laugh!) used to "Invade" Stonehaven just down the coast from me a couple of times a year - on navigation training out of Rotterdam in a little wee boat - With the objective being the Marine Bar! One of our lot did his military service in them and phoned-up one night to invite us down for a drink.
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pogofish
Testicle Hairstyle
I think that's considerably more than the RAF offered its pilots - IIRC they decided against any ejector seats for both of these planes?
Casually Red
tomorrow belongs to me
Nice article here on the fighter aces of North Vietnam , a seriously brave bunch of pilots
Vietnamese Aces - MiG-17 and MiG-21 pilots
Vietnamese Aces - MiG-17 and MiG-21 pilots
not-bono-ever
meh
Something with twin tails skimmed over me when snorkelling in Jordan a couple of days ago- looked like a vampire or something- are these still in use in Jordan?
ETA obviously not in use but still flying
ETA obviously not in use but still flying
LDC
On est tous des pangolins
God, I'd give my eye teeth to fly in one of those. Preferably while swigging whisky and machine gunning undesirables on the ground from the door.
kebabking
Not a Girly Swot, but I like them....
God, I'd give my eye teeth to fly in one of those. Preferably while swigging whisky and machine gunning undesirables on the ground from the door.
I've flown in a couple operated by (I think) the Polish air force - if you do get the opportunity, don't look too closely at any of the fittings.
They are also incredibly small inside - 8 blokes and their gear my arse...
I flew in the HIP's in Afghanistan, to describe them as a ramshackle piece of shit is to insult ramshackle pieces of shit.
pogofish
Testicle Hairstyle
Might it be this one?
Seems its an ex-RAF/UK-private reg aircraft that has been sold to Jordan and is now operated as part of the Jordan Airforce Historic Flight. Which does not have a particularly good record for maintaining its aircraft, so regularly needs to replace them with still flyable planes from other countries.
This is apparently because their two other flyable Vampires have been crashed - and the rest were sold-off to Rhodesia decades ago.
LDC
On est tous des pangolins
Yeah, my worry about flying in one would be less the flying and more the unplanned falling from the sky.
kebabking
Not a Girly Swot, but I like them....
It would be a fucking ace Facebook death notice though...
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spitfire
Walty McWaltface
Have you ever been in a flying school Cessna? The training ones look like an old caravan inside.
LDC
On est tous des pangolins
I have, but with a parachute that gave me a well needed sense of security.
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