It's QUIZ-mas time…

It’s been a while since you guys have been bothered with a nice quiz full of oh-so obscure thingies you might have never heard, facts you actually take for granted of knowing, or stuff that doesn’t actually interest you at all. Everything is military-related and post-1945.

You guys know the drill: answer the questions as good as you can, and you could get a wonderful prize made from pure, 100% authentical respect. Chances are you outsmart the Quizmaster in one point or the other, if so don’t hesitate to boast about that. But if there is a discussion whether an answer qualifies or not… well, it’s the Quizmaster who decides. If you disagree with that, just make your own damn quiz 😀

Have fun, get yer books out and open up a few Google-windows, and if you like to expand on a certain answer you’ve given – please do so.

Good luck!

First round of correct answers, you guys are doing well
The second and final round of answers.

-1-
Name the closest Soviet equivalent to the following Western aircraft. Be as specific as possible, sometimes there is more than one correct answer.
a. EC-130H Compass Call – CUB D is correct, or An-12BK-PPS as the Russians call it. Distiller.
b. EP-3E Aries II – COOT A is false, but very, very, very close.
c. NKC-135ALL – Yep, the Beriev A60 based on the Il-76.
A pic has been added, just for fun
d. RH-53D The Mi-14BT HAZE B is the one i was looking for. While there was a Ka-25BT, i’m not sure if it actually entered operational service. Good one, IRIAF Tomcat.
e. EH-60C – Hip G, or Mi-9. The command post version of the Mi-8. Distiller again.

-2-
After World War II, one of Germany’s more interesting bomber designs out of the infamous ‘Luft 46’ series emerged as a fruit transport aircraft in a Latin American country. What country was this, what was the aircraft, and give the famous name of the designer.
Fabe and Distiller got this one, Horten’s IAe.38 Naranjero. It was basically a downscaled Ho-VIII bomber.

[b]-3-
Name at least 5 countries…
a. … against/over/because of which the F-14 Tomcat in US Navy flew operational combat sorties.
Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, and Lybia are all correct.
Yep, during Operation Frequent Wind (evacuating Saigon and dropping Hueys from aircraft carriers) it was the Tomcat which flew top cover over the then short to end Republic of South Vietnam. Bosnia is also absolutely correct, which makes country number 6. The question was of course for at least five countries 😉 Billy, MPA, Dog House Ldr and Iranian_F14A completed the list.
b. … over which the Tu-22 Blinder from any user flew operational combat sorties.
Chad, Tanzania, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan. Both Fabe and Distiller. No Blinders were used over Chechnya though, but possibly Blinders did penetrate Pakistani airspace in 1987/1988.
c. … which were targeted in any sort of way by the Dassault Etendard or Super Etendard.
UK, Chad, Cote d’Ivory, Bosnia and Sudan are all correct.
The country i was still waiting for was the US, obviously because of the USS Stark which was hit by one of Iraq’s leased Sues.
d. … which have or had regularly military flights to Antarctica.
Distiller aces it again.[color-blue]Didn’t know about India, Hermes. You’ve got a link or a source to read up on that a bit?[/color]

-4-
There was much ado about the MiG-29s FOD-screen in the intakes when it was found out in the West, but a pretty well-known Western aircraft had a similar device for some 20 years already by the time the MiG-29 became operational. What aircraft is this?
Frank scores! It is indeed the A-37 Dragonfly, which has grated screens which fold into the intake when on the ground. During flight, they are folded under the intake duct. You can see the grate dangling below the intake on the following pic of a captured and now preserved Vietnamese A-37B, although it should either be folded completely back, or be stuck inside the intake.

-5-
Although the USAF has left Soesterberg, after some time US aircraft were stationed again on Dutch soil. What is the airbase, where is it, and why are they there?
Tenthije has got the answer i was looking for (perhaps with a little help from Steve?), but i have to admit Dutchy has just that slight paranoia in doing these quizzes which gives him a moral victory here 😀
There are no helos at Brunssum, although until the early 1990s there was a detachment of USArmy Hueys at Maastricht-Beek airport (now Maastricht-Aachen Airport) in support of both that, and the Maastricht HQ.

-6-
a. What aircraft from the Vietnam war gained such a reputation that a piece of geography gained this aircraft’s nickname?
b. Who was the chief designer of this aircraft, who in a previous career was an acrobat in a circus, in his country of birth?
c. Despite being a sturdy aircraft, the losses of this type over South East Asia were staggering. How many percent of all aircraft built from this type hit the ground in this area in an untidy fashion? If you have absolute figures, that’s fine with me too.
d. When was the last flight of this aircraft?
Yep, the F-105. Just after the Russian Revolution, Alexander Kartveli actually worked as a trapeze artist in a circus for some time.
In all, 48% of all Thuds built were left behind in SEA. And the last flight was indeed in February 1984.

-7-
It is not too commonly known that there was a real possibility that Falkans/Malvinas conflict would not have been the first war in which the Harrier would have fought to defend Her Majesties real estate against an invading force. In the mid-1970s, one country prepared to seize a then-British territory. Name both, and specify why the Harrier would have been involved. Bonus credit if you know why this attack eventually was cancelled.
Very good Distiller! Guatemala wanted to annex British Honduras (now Belize), where the RAF maintained a flight with Harriers. Reason the attack was finally cancelled was an earthquake in February 1976, which devastated Guatemala to such an extent that this landgrab would become unaffordable. Of course, later on they had their hands full on rebelling poor people anyway.

-8-
What is/was/are/were:
a. Black Ponies
b. Senior Book
c. Crazy Horse
The first two are correct.
Fantasma got the RC-12 program correct. It actually makes sense: US Army aviation names are usually derived from Native American tribes (Iroquis, Apache, Kiowa…) while Crazy Horse was a Sioux leader.
And for some reason, the exposed bulbous things you can see on those RC-12s might be associated with what you get to see at that other Crazy Horse…(apologies for not being funny at all).

-9-
Name at least 7 pure jet amphibians/seaplanes.
SR.A/1, P6M, Be-10, Be-40 and XF2Y are all correct
The credit goes to the Man Who Visited Gelendzhik: indeed, it’s the Beriev R-1, and the Be-200. The latter is more or less a downscaled Be-40, the former was their first jet flying boat of which i added a pic below.

-10-
Give the aircraft with the following nicknames:
a. Monkeyknocker B-52, because it was so effective in bombing trees. Think monkeys in those trees, and you’ll have a nickname.
b. Crapaud French Vampire.
c. Drut F3D Skyknight. ‘Drut’ was actually chosen because of what it reads backwards.
d. Balalaika MiG-21 is correct, but other Soviet delta+tail aircraft also got this nickname. For those who don’t know, a balalaika is a triangular guitar-like music instrument, which comes in many different sizes. Bhairav – and yes, Letayushii Gastronom definately is the best nickname ever 😀
e. FOD Vacuum F-89, because of the low intakes.
f. Saraj (=barn) The Mi-26, obviously because of it’s basketballfield-sized cargo bay.
g. Grebyonka (=comb) The Su-25, looking like a comb because of it’s pylons sticking out in front of the wing leading edge.
h. Kormilets (=provider) The Yak-28P, because it was so heavily automised. All the pilot had to do was lean back, enjoy the show and wait for the next paycheck to arrive.