I heard a story of an aircraft (I think it was a U-2 but I’m not positive) that was near the North Pole and was flying south however he was off course and didn’t realize he was flying toward USSR. We had radar and could see that he was off course but we did not want to let the Soviet Union know that we had radar that could see as far as he was, so the radar operators made some subtle hints to check his course, I think they suggested the pilot home in on a beacon, which was enough to let the pilot figure out that he was off course and heading toward the Soviet Union. When he turned around and changed his course there were already squadrons of fighters scrambled to intercept him. It happened during the Cuban missile crisis and very well could have triggered Armageddon.
(Source documentary. On the Brink: Doomsday)
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This next story is very interesting however I cannot vouch for its credibility. I would consider it an air man legend. My first instinct is that the story is a yarn, however it does sound reasonably plausible, and there are reasons I think it might be true.
Allegedly a U-2 flamed out over Ohio (near WPAFB), and glided all the way to Texas and landed safely.
Perhaps someone can confirm or debunk this story.
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The following is true though it may not sound like it
U-2
http://www.spyflight.co.uk/u2.htm
Did you know that the U-2 could operate from a carrier?
http://www.spyflight.co.uk/u-2s.htm
Did you know that we occasionally flew armed reconnaissance missions and in some cases actually exchanged fire with the Soviets with the aircraft like the RB-47?
http://www.spyflight.co.uk/rb47.htm
RB-47s even over flew Russia. This is a map from one mission.
An RB-47 even exchanged fire with 6 MIG-17s. This is the hole that was left if the RB-47. The mission gave the U.S. the best MIG-17 photo it had to that date.
A photo of a Russia airbase the RB-47 over flew on the same mission 6 Migs attacked the RB-47.
Photographs of some MIG-17s shortly before they opened fire on a RB-47. The mission gave the U.S. the best MIG-17 photo it had to that date.
Early on the morning of 8 May 1954, three RB-47’s took off from Fairford, RAFB in Great Britain and flew around Norway to Murmansk. Two of the aircraft returned the way they came, the third, piloted by Capt. Hal Austin, flew south deep into Soviet territory – their objective: to conduct photo intelligence operations against nine different airbases in hopes of isolating Russian long-range bombers. And as an added bonus, possibly detecting for the first time, the operational deployment of Soviet MIG-17 Fresco’s. Early into the overflight several MIG-15 Fagot’s attempted to identify the intruders as friendly or foe, but because of the RB-47’s altitude the 15’s were no match for the lofty medium bombers. Just a few minutes later however, before Austin, his Co-Pilot, Carl Holt, and their navigator, Vance Heavilin, knew what hit them, several MIG-17’s had engaged them in a hail of cannon fire they likened to hell’s fury. They never expected the MIG-17’s. The SAC Intel Officers who briefed them prior to departing England knew the possibility existed, but never bothered to tell Austin or his crew. That was the way back then, as it is now, ‘the need to know’. The MIG-15’s had obviously determined that the SAC bomber was unfriendly. The reconnaissance-configured bomber was shelled, ripping a gashing hole in its skin, and tracers continued to flash by on all sides. Austin, calling upon his training as an aircraft commander, miraculously maneuvered his bomber out of harm’s way and back to Fairford.
A photo from the gun-sight camera of a MiG-17 shows the shoot down of an RC-130 over Armenia Sept. 2, 1958. (Photo courtesy of Senior Airman John Simpson III)
http://www.nsa.gov/vigilance/vigil00007.cfm
Grimes said Soviets shot down more than 30 U.S. aircraft and 200 crewmembers during the Cold War.
http://www.beanerbanner.com/BB%202/RC-130%20Shoot%20Down.htm
http://www.spectrumwd.com/c130/display/park01.htm
http://www.rb-29.net/HTML/31HAustinB-47/31harb-472.htm
http://arlingtoncemetery.net/wgpalm.htm
http://www.b-47.com/Stories/austin/austin.html
http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/systems/rb-47.htm
Reconnaissance Aircraft attacked, damaged or shot down List/Chart
http://www.spyflight.co.uk/shootdown.htm
http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/bookrev/lashmar.html
Mods I might have posted this in the wrong section, if you want to move it to historical, feel free to do so.
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May 23, 2007 at 6:00 am