Quote:
Wasn't David Morgan credited with a kill over an Argentine Puma which lost control and crashed after he made a high speed run at it in 1982?
ORAC
Falklands: The Air War
Puma AE503: 23/5/82.
3 x Puma and 1 x A-109 engaged in vicinity of Shag Cove House.
........"Rather than be exposed over water for a lengthy time they had crossed Falkland Sound at its narrowest point opposite Shag Cove House and were just turning north-eastwards towards Port Howard when Dave Morgan saw the lead helicopter........ Morgan's first pass caused the pilot of AE503 to take violent avoiding action and head for the relative safety of the nearest shore. Unfortunately, the pilot's desperate manoeuvres (possibly made worse by turbulent wake from the Sea Harrier) caused him to lose control of the helicopter, which then crash landed on a hillside. Fortunately, the crew had just enough time to scramble clear before it caught fire and exploded."
The A-109 and a second Puma were destroyed y cannon fire on the ground, the last escaped.
So, 3 out of 4 in one engagement. Maybe not as impossible as described.....
I just pulled Dave Morgan's "Hostile Skies" book from my shelf and re-read page 190-197 on the helo encounter and shoot down. page 192 on the first Puma "...I could not depress the gunsight enough to strafe it without hitting the ground myself. Instead I flew straight at it, passing as low as I dared over its rotor head...passed about 10 feet...it crashed heavily... we had discussed about using wing tip vortices...obviously worked..."
Then the "gunship" 109 on pages 193-195, Morgan and wingman John Leeming make several passes, "off no-hit" passes as the 109 ran up a dry river bed, on Morgans third pass "one second burst...hail of sparkling explosions.. massive orange bloom..." The 109 had been flying. Morgan had respect for the ability of the armed 109.
page 195: "Then John called that he had located a further helicopter (Puma) which had landed and shut down.." Lemming was out of ammo. Morgan took several passes to find the help- very hard to pick out from the terrain. Finally he acquired, pulled the trigger and heard a "pop-pop as my two reaming rounds fired..." "Learned later...one of my last two rounds had hit the tail pylon of the Puma, rendering it unflyable.." The aircraft was straffed and destroyed by the relief CAP a few minutes later.
So two were flying.
On page 194 Morgan also talks about the helicopter "rat and terrier" hunting method they had developed years earlier where one FJ would always keep visual.
A great read. Highly recommended.