Posted on 04/10/2019 1:20:16 PM PDT by servo1969
Amusing story but no where near truth.
The SR-71 was shot at many times, most usually via SAMs, occasionally other jets. . .but the story you mentioned never happened.
A missile may have been launched but (if lucky) would be at max altitude and max range. . .would have been ineffective, moreover, the missile would fly out until it missed (with the motor burn-out shortly after launch).
No way the missile would have been able to fly back and “lock on” to someone because it would never be able to maneuver after expending all its energy, especially after the missile “fall(s) over” - meaning no flyable airspeed - and then get the airspeed necessary to chase a jet down with missile fins defecting (zapping energy/airspeed).
My Dad told me these stories in the 50s. He worked at Republic, but it seems the stories made their way through all the aircraft manufacturers on Long Island at the time.
This.
(already faster than the bullets)
Dumb question?
Wouldn’t the velocity of the projectiles be added to the velocity of the aircraft?
My Condolences to You and His Family.
Thank You for Your Service.
Were You in a Phantom ?
“appears to have been hit by its own ammunition”
I believe reports of this first vegan occurring in late WWII with the Mustang and other prop driven fast movers.
Yes they would be added together. Maybe the pilot fired the cannon and then floored it, and rear ended the bullet. lol
Initially. But the bullets eventually slow to terminal velocity. The engine must have been damaged aft of the turbine blades. Anything hits those and it chews the whole thing up. A single engine jet like the F-16 would be powerless. Has a 16:1 glide ratio, so that’s a saving grace.
Thank you.
I was a Hog Driver (A-10) and then flew Strike Eagles (F15-E).
I should be thanking the taxpayers because they paid me to learn to fly jets and then paid me to fly fighters.
You’re Welcome.
WOW!!! jumping from one end of the spectrum to the other.
I just guess I was Born a bit late, I’m Old School- A-10, F-4, F-14 and F-15’s . And of course the P-51-D
Initially. But the bullets eventually slow to terminal velocity. - gundogAbsolutely. If the plane is in level flight, and the guns are pointed straight forward (not canted upward or downward), then (neglecting wind resistance for a gross first approximation) the bullets will fall to the ground in a parabolic arc (actually in an elliptical orbit, considering the round earth, if you wanna get really technical).Wind resistance, obviously considerable, causes the bullets to slow down to terminal velocity eventually.
The obvious way for the pilot (were he deliberately inclined or thoughtless enough to do it) to collide with bullets he fires would be to raise the nose, thus aiming the bullets into a higher parabola, fire, then lower the nose in a more or less shallow dive. The higher the aim of the shots, the longer it will take for them to fall down to the original altitude of the plane, so in an extreme case you could do it with a subsonic aircraft.
Or, in the degenerate case, you could just stand on the ground and fire straight up - and wait for the bullet to fall down and hit you. Obviously it would be pretty hard to hit yourself by aiming that way. But with jet fighters at high subsonic or even supersonic speeds, it just isn’t that unlikely if you go around aiming at clouds above you, firing, then leveling off or diving a bit.
Precisely what a former Air Force pilot told me he thoughtlessly did, preparing for combat over Korea. See my #16.
I don’t believe I’ve heard of such, but (see my #32) that seems entirely probable given the amount of flying and shooting that went on back then.
Thank you for taking the time to explain it.
. . . and also the fact that wing-mounted machine guns focused at multiple ranges would have a kind of scattershot effect, making it easy to fly into at least one bullet. And live to tell of it.
I don't know how to run all the calculations, but....
A platform traveling at a speed of X fires a projectile with a muzzle velocity of y creates a missal with an initial velocity of X+Y. Let's add some theoretical math.
F-16 traveling 600 MPH
Muzzle Velocity 2,200 F/S (1,500 MPH)
Initial muzzle velocity relative to the ground = 2,100 MPH
He did NOT "catch up" with a bullet that had been properly fired from a perfectly functional system (weapon + platform). Even if he were at MACH 2 (about 1,500 MPH), he couldn't overtake his own ammunition (I think)
Yes, but... wind resistance slows the bullets, not the aircraft. With an original muzzle velocity at over 2000 MPH, the plane would run into the bullets, not the bullets running into the plane.
Post #32...
That makes some sense and the physics works. But the damage shown on the plane in this story looks linear down the dorsal of the fuselage. The damage is from a bullet or bullets leaving the barrel before clearing the aircraft (I think).
If otherwise, then disregard all my comments on this thread. LOL
I look at the photo, and there isn’t enough labeling to tell definitively whether we are looking at the port or the starboard side of the airplane. But IMHO it is a view of the port (left) side. Looking at the less severe damage on the right, I’m saying that the bullet strike struck a grazing blow initially (on the left), but dug in on the right. And, IMHO, the right is aft and the left of the photo is forward.Perfectly consistent, IMHO, with the bullets being fired forward, but being overtaken by the plane.
The idea that bullets from the gun were fired directly into the fuselage - rather being fired forward and being overtaken by the aircraft - is hard to believe. First because if the gun was able to do that, the gun would be insanely out of control and might fall off the plane, and second by the damage on the right of the photo, which is far to slight, IMHO, to be due to a direct shot into the fuselage.
The risk of running into your own “ammunition” in a jet fighter by pushing forward on the stick immediately after firing your gun is a known hazard which a fighter pilot has to know about and avoid. The risk of the gun coming loose enough to fire directly into your own fuselage . . . not so much.
I see. I’ve learned a lot here. LOL
Amazing really.
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