Targets

Since you're reading this,  Sarge must still be performing his civic duty as a member of a "jury of your peers".  Given that, I thought I'd bring out a few more photos from the National Museum of the USAF.  Today's subject will be "Targets".

Targets, of course, are something that it's okay to shoot at.  Shooting at something that is not a target is not okay and great effort should be taken to avoid doing.  So, to put this into fighter pilot english, targets are airplanes flown by the "bad guys".  (Yes, I'm not only a fighter pilot, liking things in black and white, I'm also an IT guy, liking things in 0's and 1's.  In my little corner of the universe, airplanes are flown by "good guys" or "bad guys".  YMMV.)

In any case....

Today's subject will be "Targets", which interestingly, there were several examples of in the Air Force Museum.

Fokker Dr.I

For instance, in WWI, this would be a good example of a target.  If you were looking out the front of your aircraft and saw this whilst in a diving left turn, and with your machine guns already firing, this would indeed be a target.

However...

Thomas-Morse S4C Scout

If you were in this Scout, you might be the Target.  The Fokker (and his airplane, old joke) have already started his conversion turn, is using god's "g" to assist his turn, is nose low so gaining airspeed.  Unless you've got friends in the immediate vicinity, you may be in deep kimche.

Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero

Flown throughout WWII with extreme success early on, this aircraft eventually became a target.  However, if you happened to wake up early one Sunday to the sound of engine noise and explosions and decided to go for a flight in your P-36 whilst in your PJs, you might be the target.

In other parts of the Pacific Theater, the Japanese flew these targets.

N1K2 Shiden Kai

Highly maneuverable and well armed, this aircraft had the potential to hold it's own against the Allies best fighters.  However, as a great fighter pilot once said "The quality of the box matters little. Success depends upon the man who sits in it."  By the time this aircraft arrived in theater, the Japanese had few experienced pilots to fly it.

On the other side of the world, the Italians flew some targets themselves.

MC.200 Saetta
Even aircraft in a museum need maintenance

Lest your fighter pilot self be lulled into a sense of complacency, this fighter was flown by the Italians throughout the war.  Another tidbit of "I didn't know" trivia, the aircraft was used by the Italians against the Soviets and achieved a kill ratio of 88-15.

On the German side,  there were three targets I hadn't seen before (I've already seen an ME-109).  First, was this one.

FW-190 D

A cool looking aircraft, I hadn't paid much attention to how far back the pilot sat.  Much like the F-4U Corsair, the pilot actually sat at the trailing edge of the wing.  A dangerous aircraft when flown by a capable pilot, it caused much damage to the Allies attacking bomber forces.  However, as the experienced Luftwaffe pilots were attrited (i.e. shot down and killed), they became less effective.  This phenomenon was the basis of the USAF Doctrine emphasizing gaining and maintaining Air Supremacy.

ME-262

Another case of "too little, too late", political indecision brought this aircraft to the battlefield way too late to make much of a difference.  Its speed advantage made the aircraft virtually undefeatable once on the attack.  This forced the Allies to position fighters over the Luftwaffe bases and attack the ME-262s as they were taking off and landing.  Their low speed during those phases of flight made them very vulnerable.

ME-163B

This was an interesting exhibit of a target.  This was a rocket propelled fighter built by the Germans launched from the ground, it took off in a steep climb having only enough fuel for one pass on the bomber fleet, then glided back to base landing on a skid.  As this particular aircraft was being restored, the museum discovered that it had been targeted successfully and had it flown would likely have destroyed itself.  Built by slave labor, it had a stone stuck in between the fuel tank and its support which would likely have caused a fuel leak.  Additionally, the glue used in the wing lamination was faulty likely causing failure in flight.  Inside the skin was printed "Mon coeur est en chômage".  "My Heart is not occupied."  Some French laborer understood "Never give up, Never Surrender".  

MIG-15 BIS

The MIG-15 was another example of the Red Baron's dictum.  A worthy adversary of the F-86, nonetheless it proved many times to be the target in engagements.  The Sabre was flown by well trained pilots with fighter combat time in WWII.  The Korean Pilots were minimally trained in general and closely controlled by ground radars.  The minimal training usually resulted in their first combat mission being their last.  In the hands of experienced pilots, frequently Russian, the aircraft could and did hold it's own.

MiG-17F

Learning from some of the mistakes made in the Korean war, the North Vietnamese would use their Migs in hit and run attacks rather than sustained turn and burn engagements.  This, plus, some personnel assignment policies in the USAF which significantly reduced the combat experience levels of the pilots flying fighters in the war, reduced the USAF kill ratio to basically 1-1.  Additionally, political decisions to fight the war as "nice guys" precluded strategies to gain and maintain air supremacy. For that matter, those decisions precluded strategies to even win the war.  Which would have been more acceptable, if the people making those decisions were the ones who bore the cost of those decisions.

Know far too many of these 

Wasn't true then, isn't true now, won't be true anytime in the future. More's the pity.

MiG-29A

Nowadays, arriving at this position is not usually a requirement to turn a fighter into a target.  Indeed, it's usually the second most dangerous place to be.  The first, of course, being the Fulcrum's predicament.  Advance ID and missile capability reduce the requirement to maneuver to a rear quarter gun shot.

But arriving here, in a training fight, sure is fun!!!