I guess I misunderstood what you said.
Happens to all of us.
But as I’ve said before, respect all threats but fear none. . .and every fighter prepares for the knife-fight in a phone booth. . .sometimes the merge happens.
Oh. . .when did a radar-guided missile become a proper weapon, and before that, we had no “proper fighters?”
*chuckle
Final thought: an A-10 is a proper fighter because it is flown as a fighter, fly a fighter mission (CAS) and by fighter pilots that have natural aggression.
Cheers,
Proper as in ‘dedicated or primary purpose designed air-to-air combat fighters’. And, basically, ground attack specialized aircraft have always suffered greatly against air-to-air combat fighters.
To wit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilyushin_Il-2#Air-to-air_combat
Owing to a shortage of fighters, in 1941–1942, Il-2s were occasionally used as fighters. While outclassed by dedicated fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190, in dogfights, the Il-2 could take on other Luftwaffe aircraft with some success. German front line units equipped with the Henschel Hs 126 suffered most of all from the ravages of Il-2s. Il-2 pilots also often attacked close formations of Junkers Ju 87s, as the 7.92 mm (0.312 in) machine guns of the Ju 87 Stukas were ineffective against the heavily armoured Shturmoviks. In the winter of 1941–1942, Il-2s were used against Luftwaffe transport aircraft, and became the most dangerous opponent of the Junkers Ju 52/3m. Pilots of 33rd GvShAP were the most successful in these operations. Other successful units were those in 1942–1943 operating near Stalingrad. Their targets were not only Ju 52s but also Heinkel He 111 and Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor bombers, delivering supplies to the besieged German troops.
While the Il-2 was a deadly air-to-ground weapon, and even a fairly effective interceptor against slow bombers and transport aircraft, heavy losses resulted from its vulnerability to fighter attack. Losses were very high, the highest of all types of Soviet aircraft, though given the numbers in service this is only to be expected. Shturmovik losses (including Il-10 type), in 1941–1945, were of 10,762 aircraft (533 in 1941, 1,676 in 1942, 3,515 in 1943, 3,347 in 1944 and 1,691 in 1945). The main defensive tactic was to fly low and reduce power as the fighter closed in. This could make the fighter overshoot and fly into the Il-2’s firing zone.