Being a WWII fighter must have been something else
- Thread starter nitro
- Start date
My grandfather flew spitfires in the RAF before America entered the war (Battle of Britain). His brother (my great uncle) flew S&R float planes and was presumably KIA on a training mission in the english channel. My step-grandfather flew 25 missions over Europe as a navigator in a MK 1 Lancaster bomber.
My gf's great grandfather was Inspector of the Reich Navy in WW2. Vice Admiral equivalent. Sailed and was killed on the Tirpitz.
Pretty cool to see where we come from...
My gf's great grandfather was Inspector of the Reich Navy in WW2. Vice Admiral equivalent. Sailed and was killed on the Tirpitz.
Pretty cool to see where we come from...
Being a WWII fighter must have been something else
Yup - really any war
Another human being trying as hard to kill you..., as you're trying to kill them
Never knowing if today is your last
Seeing your buddies (that you've trusted with your life) get their head blown off / guts shot out / bleeding out - and nothing you can do about it
The endless screams..., pain..., suffering..., memories/ nightmares - that never cease
The letters written to loved ones about how their loved one died / will never be returning how
Lives torn apart / kids growing up with out their parent/ civilians losing everything (collateral damage)
======================
If it appears I am anti-war - I am not
It is..., at times - necessary
Just don't glamorize the shit
RN
Yup - really any war
Another human being trying as hard to kill you..., as you're trying to kill them
Never knowing if today is your last
Seeing your buddies (that you've trusted with your life) get their head blown off / guts shot out / bleeding out - and nothing you can do about it
The endless screams..., pain..., suffering..., memories/ nightmares - that never cease
The letters written to loved ones about how their loved one died / will never be returning how
Lives torn apart / kids growing up with out their parent/ civilians losing everything (collateral damage)
======================
If it appears I am anti-war - I am not
It is..., at times - necessary
Just don't glamorize the shit
RN
i'll bet your a hit at parties redneck
a realdog fight minus nitro's romanticism
On January 4, 1989, near the Libya coast, Two F-14s from the USS John F. Kennedy are alerted to a pair of Libyan MiG-23 Floggers. The MiG-23s had taken off from Al Bumbaw Airfield near Tobruk. The F-14 Tomcats locked the MiGs with their powerful AWG radar. Normally such a radar lock resulted in the MiGs retreating back to Libya, not this time. The Tomcats were threatened by AA-7 Apex missiles and were cleared to engage the MiGs. During a lengthy six to eight minute air battle, the MiGs continued to threaten the Tomcats and finally, after several attempts to evade the MiG radar threat, the incoming pair of MiG-23s were declared hostile and the F-14 crews were cleared to engage. The crew of the lead F-14A, fired an AIM-7 Sparrow missile which did not stike its target, while the second F-14A AIM-7 missile found its target, destroying one of the MiG-23s. The lead F-14 re-engaged the remaining MiG-23 firing an AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-seeking missile which detonated in the tailpipe of the MiG. Both MiG-23 pilots ejected safely from their destroyed jets. No future Libya MiG-23s ever engaged another U.S. Navy F-14 Tomcat.
My mom and dad's 52nd anniversary was yesterday. My dad was a crop duster pilot at 16, and then a navigator for the Marine Corps in the late 1950's and early 60's. He was in between Korea and Viet Nam. He "did his time", and got the fuck out. (Younger folk won't know what that means). He loves military history, as do I. Especially aviation history.
He wanted nothing more than to become an airplane mechanic. I have no idea why, since he loved flying so much. But that's what he wanted. But he met my mom, went to Nebraska, and ended up as an engineer at 3M in St Paul.
He used to be in awe of the P-51 and B-17 stories on the tv. But now he prefers the hunting channels, and he still, to this day, thanks God that he was in between wars.
It's only "something else" if you win the dogfight.
Mine flew P-38's in Europe, photo squadron....helped map out the invasion. Shot down (flak) over Stuttgart, burned, broken leg, was interrogated by the S.S. for two weeks which included being kept in a hole, beaten, having a gun placed to his head, somehow his wife and my mother's names were known - they told him they would have them murdered all in an attempt to find out where he had taken pictures- he never talked.... 9 months in a POW camp before being liberated.
Toughest Man I ever met.
It's amazing what those guys did.... My step-grandfather helped liberate the Netherlands (bombing) and airlifted supplies into the country after the Nazi retreat had left them starving. The Hollanders were so desperate for food they chased the allied bombers as they dropped pallets of food, and were sometimes crushed to death. One of the few times my dad saw him cry.