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Cold War Aviation Porn

88 PPSH-41 submachine guns in the bomb bay of a Soviet Tu-2 bomber. Known as the "Hedgehog", it was to fly over formations of enemies and unleash all 88 PPSH-41s simultaneously. This system had a theoretical rate of fire of 79,000 rounds per minute.

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Awesome. Though if the war in Ukraine has proven one thing for certain, CAS as a human-flown, fixed-wing aircraft is dead.

It's a derail, but...

Although I kind if think that this is correct (I'm not actually a fan of the A-10, I take the view that in an age where pretty much every munition is guided it's benefits are tiny margins, and it's drawbacks are enormous...) I think we should be wary of taking a truth from the Ukraine war and transposing it onto every other.

In this case, both Ukraine and Russia are fielding battlefield interdiction aircraft (and others) that have limited sensors, and absolutely shit defensive systems like jamming gear, radar warning receivers, laser detectors, and chaff from the 1940's. In those circumstances, even the world's worst SAM's and radar guided guns are going to have a field day.

Those circumstances simply don't fit with western aircraft and systems, not least because our doctrine (and capability) would start with heavy SEAD, and using munitions like Brimstone to go for the gun tracks from well outside their range.

That's not to say that NATO CAS could swoop about like it did over the Helmand Valley, but that we should be wary of implementing lessons that apply to a much lesser extent to us.

Stockpiles matter, logistics matter, resilience matters, regeneration matters, the Deep Battle matters - these are lessons that the west has happily ignored since 1914 at every opportunity it got, and they've trumpeted themselves yet again in Ukraine - but for the air power lesson for me is that while NATO could fight a CAS war, it would be much better off using every scrap of it's airpower in the Deep Battle, and leaving close support to the artillery.

Always fight your wars in other people's countries - because wars in your own create so much devastation that even if you win, you might as well have lost, and always ensure that if he does turn up in yours, half his kit is already in flames and he's got no diesel left.
 
I remember as a kid always going to Cornwall Aero Park near Helston which was basically loads of old jets, helicopters etc from back in the day. You could even sit in some of them. They had the front section of a Shackleton which was very popular as you could sit there and flick all the switches and stuff... before they eventually covered them all up with clear plastic. I guess health and safety wasn't a big thing back in the early 80s. My favourite was the Sea Vixen which, sadly, you weren't allowed to sit in. The park eventually morphed into something called Flambards with loads of rides etc and most of the aircraft disappeared sadly. I think it got most of them originally from RNAS Culdrose which was a mile or so down the road. We used to go to the annual air day there. Always remember a Buccaneer coming from nowhere on a low flypast over the top of the crowd catching everyone by surprise. One of those 'Jeeesus!!!' followed by nervous laughs all round moments.

 
The last years of Yugoslavia, it seems, saw an attempt to build a Yugoslav fighter bomber with help from Dassault and BaE:


Remarkable similarity with the EFA, which eventually became Eurofighter/Typhoon and Rafale - be interesting to see whether the Yugoslavs were seen as a potential partner in EFA, or if this was a smaller, simpler, cheaper version that might get export orders that Eurofighter/Rafale was too rich to get the nod for ...
 
"Goodnight"

i remember, and it wasn't so long ago, when TV stations signed off overnight and many would finish with some patriotic thing. the station i seemed to be watching most often finished with the Air Force Hymn, not this video iirc but similar to it.


I definitely remember that
 
Remarkable similarity with the EFA, which eventually became Eurofighter/Typhoon and Rafale - be interesting to see whether the Yugoslavs were seen as a potential partner in EFA, or if this was a smaller, simpler, cheaper version that might get export orders that Eurofighter/Rafale was too rich to get the nod for ...

BAE P106 was the single engined Eurofighter proposal which got short shrift from senior brass as being insufficiently expensive and complicated.

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BAE lied fluently and maintained they could still make an export success of the twin engine EFA as it would be 50% cheaper than the imminent F/A-18. It actually turned out to be 3x more expensive.
 
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