Military aviation quotes...
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Military aviation quotes...
Being a stealth pilot is one of the most labor intensive and time constrained types of flying that I know. We have very strict timing constraints: to be where you are supposed to be all the time, exactly on time, and that has to be monitored by the pilot. For example, during a bomb competition in training in the US, I dropped a weapon that landed 0.02 seconds from the desired time, and finished third!
Lt. Col. Miles Pound, USAF
The most important thing in fighting was shooting, next the various tactics in coming into a fight and last of all flying ability itself.
Lt. Colonel W. A. 'Billy' Bishop, RAF.
Good flying never killed [an enemy] yet.
Major Edward 'Mick' Mannock, RAF.
Well boys, we've got three engines out, we've got more holes in us than a horse trader's mule, the radio is gone and we're leaking fuel and if we was flying any lower why we'd need sleigh bells on this thing...but we've got one thing on those Russkies. At this height why thy might harpoon us but they dang sure ain't gonna spot us on no radar screen!
Major T. J. King Kong in the 1963 movie 'Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.'
Look boys I ain't much of a hand at making speeches, but I got a pretty fair idea that something doggone important is goin' on back there. And I got a fair idea the kinda personal emotions that some of you fellas may be thinkin'. Heck, I reckon you wouldn't even be human beings if you didn't have some pretty strong personal feelings about nuclear combat. I want you to remember one thing, the folks back at home are counting on you and by golly we ain't about to let them down. I tell you something else, if this thing turns out to be half as important as I figure it just might be, I'd say that you're all in line for some important promotions and personal citations when this thing is over with. That goes for ever' last one of you regardless of your race, color or creed. Now let's get this thing on the hump...we got some flying to do.
Major T. J. King Kong, in the 1963 movie 'Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.'
In the early stages of the fight Mr. Winston Churchill spoke with affectionate raillery of me and my Chicks. He could have said nothing to make me more proud; every Chick was needed before the end.
ACM Sir Hugh C. T. Dowding, dispatch to the Secretary of State for Air, 20 August 1941.
One of the secrets of air fighting was to see the other man first. Seeing airplanes from great distances was a question of experience and training, of knowing where to look and what to look for. Experienced pilots always saw more than the newcomers, because the later were more concerned with flying than fighting. . . . The novice had little idea of the situation, because his brain was bewildered by the shock and ferocity of the fight.
Air Vice-Marshal J. E. 'Johnnie' Johnson, RAF.
A fighter pilot is a man in love with flying. A fighter pilot sees not a cloud but beauty. Not the ground but something remote from him, something that he doesn't belong to as long as he is airborne. He's a man who wants to be second-best to no one.
Brig. Gen. Robin Olds, USAF.
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.
Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.
The most important thing is to have a flexible approach. . . . The truth is no one knows exactly what air fighting will be like in the future. We can't say anything will stay as it is, but we also can't be certain the future will conform to particular theories, which so often, between the wars, have proved wrong.
Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.
Aggressiveness was a fundamental to success in air-to-air combat and if you ever caught a fighter pilot in a defensive mood you had him licked before you started shooting.
Captain David McCampbell, USN, leading U.S. Navy ace in W.W.II.
The experienced fighting pilot does not take unnecessary risks. His business in to shoot down enemy planes, not to get shot down. His trained hand and eye and judgment are as much a part of his armament as his machine-gun, and a fifty-fifty chance is the worst he will take -- or should take -- except where the show is of the kind that . . . justifies the sacrifice of plane or pilot.
Captain Edward V. 'Eddie' Rickenbacker.
Next time a war is decided by how well you land on a carrier, I'm sure our Navy will clean up. Until then, I'll worry about who spends their training time flying and fighting.
clichι
I'd hate to see an epitaph on a fighter pilot's tombstone that says, I told you I needed training. . . . How do you train for the most dangerous game in the world by being as safe as possible? When you don't let a guy train because it's dangerous, you're saying, Go fight those lions with your bare hands in that arena, because we can't teach you to learn how to use a spear. If we do, you might cut your finger while you're learning. And that's just about the same as murder.
Colonel 'Boots' Boothby, USAF.
Only the spirit of attack borne in a brave heart will bring success to any fighter aircraft, no matter how highly developed it may be.
General Adolf Galland, Luftwaffe
The British were sporting. They would accept a fight under almost all conditions.
Gunther Rall, Luftwaffe, 275 victories.
. . . four other pieces of equipment that most senior officers came to regard as among the most vital to our success in Africa and Europe were the bulldozer, the jeep, the 2½-ton truck, and the C-47 airplane. Curiously, none of these is designed for combat.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
You can shoot down every MiG the Soviets employ, but if you return to base and the lead Soviet tank commander is eating breakfast in your snack bar, Jack, you've lost the war
Anonymous A-10 Pilot
Why don't we just buy one airplane and let the pilots take turns flying it.
Calvin Coolidge, complaining about a War Department request to buy more aircraft.
Of all my accomplishments I may have achieved during the war, I am proudest of the fact that I never lost a wingman.
Colonel Erich 'Bubi' Hartmann, GAF, aka Karaya One, worlds leading ace, 352 victories in W.W.II.
If we lose the war in the air we lose the war and lose it quickly.
Field Marshall Montgomery
Lt. Col. Miles Pound, USAF
The most important thing in fighting was shooting, next the various tactics in coming into a fight and last of all flying ability itself.
Lt. Colonel W. A. 'Billy' Bishop, RAF.
Good flying never killed [an enemy] yet.
Major Edward 'Mick' Mannock, RAF.
Well boys, we've got three engines out, we've got more holes in us than a horse trader's mule, the radio is gone and we're leaking fuel and if we was flying any lower why we'd need sleigh bells on this thing...but we've got one thing on those Russkies. At this height why thy might harpoon us but they dang sure ain't gonna spot us on no radar screen!
Major T. J. King Kong in the 1963 movie 'Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.'
Look boys I ain't much of a hand at making speeches, but I got a pretty fair idea that something doggone important is goin' on back there. And I got a fair idea the kinda personal emotions that some of you fellas may be thinkin'. Heck, I reckon you wouldn't even be human beings if you didn't have some pretty strong personal feelings about nuclear combat. I want you to remember one thing, the folks back at home are counting on you and by golly we ain't about to let them down. I tell you something else, if this thing turns out to be half as important as I figure it just might be, I'd say that you're all in line for some important promotions and personal citations when this thing is over with. That goes for ever' last one of you regardless of your race, color or creed. Now let's get this thing on the hump...we got some flying to do.
Major T. J. King Kong, in the 1963 movie 'Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.'
In the early stages of the fight Mr. Winston Churchill spoke with affectionate raillery of me and my Chicks. He could have said nothing to make me more proud; every Chick was needed before the end.
ACM Sir Hugh C. T. Dowding, dispatch to the Secretary of State for Air, 20 August 1941.
One of the secrets of air fighting was to see the other man first. Seeing airplanes from great distances was a question of experience and training, of knowing where to look and what to look for. Experienced pilots always saw more than the newcomers, because the later were more concerned with flying than fighting. . . . The novice had little idea of the situation, because his brain was bewildered by the shock and ferocity of the fight.
Air Vice-Marshal J. E. 'Johnnie' Johnson, RAF.
A fighter pilot is a man in love with flying. A fighter pilot sees not a cloud but beauty. Not the ground but something remote from him, something that he doesn't belong to as long as he is airborne. He's a man who wants to be second-best to no one.
Brig. Gen. Robin Olds, USAF.
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.
Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.
The most important thing is to have a flexible approach. . . . The truth is no one knows exactly what air fighting will be like in the future. We can't say anything will stay as it is, but we also can't be certain the future will conform to particular theories, which so often, between the wars, have proved wrong.
Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.
Aggressiveness was a fundamental to success in air-to-air combat and if you ever caught a fighter pilot in a defensive mood you had him licked before you started shooting.
Captain David McCampbell, USN, leading U.S. Navy ace in W.W.II.
The experienced fighting pilot does not take unnecessary risks. His business in to shoot down enemy planes, not to get shot down. His trained hand and eye and judgment are as much a part of his armament as his machine-gun, and a fifty-fifty chance is the worst he will take -- or should take -- except where the show is of the kind that . . . justifies the sacrifice of plane or pilot.
Captain Edward V. 'Eddie' Rickenbacker.
Next time a war is decided by how well you land on a carrier, I'm sure our Navy will clean up. Until then, I'll worry about who spends their training time flying and fighting.
clichι
I'd hate to see an epitaph on a fighter pilot's tombstone that says, I told you I needed training. . . . How do you train for the most dangerous game in the world by being as safe as possible? When you don't let a guy train because it's dangerous, you're saying, Go fight those lions with your bare hands in that arena, because we can't teach you to learn how to use a spear. If we do, you might cut your finger while you're learning. And that's just about the same as murder.
Colonel 'Boots' Boothby, USAF.
Only the spirit of attack borne in a brave heart will bring success to any fighter aircraft, no matter how highly developed it may be.
General Adolf Galland, Luftwaffe
The British were sporting. They would accept a fight under almost all conditions.
Gunther Rall, Luftwaffe, 275 victories.
. . . four other pieces of equipment that most senior officers came to regard as among the most vital to our success in Africa and Europe were the bulldozer, the jeep, the 2½-ton truck, and the C-47 airplane. Curiously, none of these is designed for combat.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
You can shoot down every MiG the Soviets employ, but if you return to base and the lead Soviet tank commander is eating breakfast in your snack bar, Jack, you've lost the war
Anonymous A-10 Pilot
Why don't we just buy one airplane and let the pilots take turns flying it.
Calvin Coolidge, complaining about a War Department request to buy more aircraft.
Of all my accomplishments I may have achieved during the war, I am proudest of the fact that I never lost a wingman.
Colonel Erich 'Bubi' Hartmann, GAF, aka Karaya One, worlds leading ace, 352 victories in W.W.II.
If we lose the war in the air we lose the war and lose it quickly.
Field Marshall Montgomery
"What do you lot want?" -Gen Custer
"Only one aeroplane? That won't do much harm" -Mayor of Hiroshima
"Thank heavens they didn't come here" -Mayor of Nagasaki
"Look at all the arrows. AARGH, BUG GER!!" -King Harold of England
"I only wanted to make the b£oody trains run on time" -Mussolini
[ 05 December 2001: Message edited by: BEagle ]
"Only one aeroplane? That won't do much harm" -Mayor of Hiroshima
"Thank heavens they didn't come here" -Mayor of Nagasaki
"Look at all the arrows. AARGH, BUG GER!!" -King Harold of England
"I only wanted to make the b£oody trains run on time" -Mussolini
[ 05 December 2001: Message edited by: BEagle ]
Copied this from a similar thread in Jet Blast as it's by a military pilot. Have to say it bought a lump to the throat.
I had that morning gone to say my farewells to Broadhurst and to the RAF. I had made a point of going to HQ at Schleswig in my 'Grand Charles'. Coming back I had taken him high up in the cloudless summer sky, for it was only there that I could fittingly take my leave.
Together we climbed for the last time straight towards the sun. We looped once, perhaps twice, we lovingly did a few slow, meticulous rolls, so that I could take away in my finger-tips the vibration of his supple, docile wings.
And in that narrow cockpit I wept, as I shall never weep again, when I felt the concrete brush against his wheels and, with a great sweep of the wrist, dropped him on the ground like a cut flower.
As always, I carefully cleared the engine, turned off all the switches one by one, removed the straps, the wires and the tubes which tied me to him, like a child to his mother. And when my waiting pilots and my mechanics saw my downcast eyes and my shaking shoulders, they understood and returned to the dispersal in silence.
Pierre Clostermann, 'The big show,' 1951.
PS, anyone know what a "Grand Charles" was/is?
I had that morning gone to say my farewells to Broadhurst and to the RAF. I had made a point of going to HQ at Schleswig in my 'Grand Charles'. Coming back I had taken him high up in the cloudless summer sky, for it was only there that I could fittingly take my leave.
Together we climbed for the last time straight towards the sun. We looped once, perhaps twice, we lovingly did a few slow, meticulous rolls, so that I could take away in my finger-tips the vibration of his supple, docile wings.
And in that narrow cockpit I wept, as I shall never weep again, when I felt the concrete brush against his wheels and, with a great sweep of the wrist, dropped him on the ground like a cut flower.
As always, I carefully cleared the engine, turned off all the switches one by one, removed the straps, the wires and the tubes which tied me to him, like a child to his mother. And when my waiting pilots and my mechanics saw my downcast eyes and my shaking shoulders, they understood and returned to the dispersal in silence.
Pierre Clostermann, 'The big show,' 1951.
PS, anyone know what a "Grand Charles" was/is?
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"Why can't you keep this bloody thing in balance????" - Mighty Gem
"Why can't you keep this bloody thing in balance???" - Jeep
"Why can't I keep this bloody thing in balance???" - Murphy
"Why can't you keep this bloody thing in balance???" - Jeep
"Why can't I keep this bloody thing in balance???" - Murphy
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That most famous of last quotes:
"Oh $hit".
[ 06 December 2001: Message edited by: ShyTorque ]
"Oh $hit".
[ 06 December 2001: Message edited by: ShyTorque ]
Back when the RN had real carriers and aircraft, I was once told that a Vixen pilot had suddenly said "OH $HIT" for some reason or other. There was then a loud bang as his 'Looker' ejected successfully....
Quite who was more surprised, the pilot to find himself on his own after his observer had seemingly jumped ship for no apparent reason, or the observer who watched his Vixen flying away quite happily, I never heard. I understand that because 'Oh $hit' sounded too much like 'Eject' that the word was henceforth banned in that squadron!
[ 06 December 2001: Message edited by: BEagle ]
Quite who was more surprised, the pilot to find himself on his own after his observer had seemingly jumped ship for no apparent reason, or the observer who watched his Vixen flying away quite happily, I never heard. I understand that because 'Oh $hit' sounded too much like 'Eject' that the word was henceforth banned in that squadron!
[ 06 December 2001: Message edited by: BEagle ]
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Anyone hear the story about the Red Arrows in the days of the Gnat where someone transmitted "Red *, you're on fire!"
There were three bangs and three 'chutes.
Forgive me if I'm wrong!
There were three bangs and three 'chutes.
Forgive me if I'm wrong!
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ShyT
I believe the incident in question was in a circuit somewhere, with about 4 formations, and some bod transmitted: "Lead from two, you are on fire, eject immediatley"..3 parachutes....
something like that anyway....I think it was in the "I wish I hadn't said that" thread a few months ago.......
SJ
I believe the incident in question was in a circuit somewhere, with about 4 formations, and some bod transmitted: "Lead from two, you are on fire, eject immediatley"..3 parachutes....
something like that anyway....I think it was in the "I wish I hadn't said that" thread a few months ago.......
SJ
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The F84 was widely used in NATO air fores in the '50s. For a fighter it carried a lot of fuel, including a saddle tank over the jet pipe (I believe). There was a warning light activated by temperature sensors in the vicinity of this tank. A cracked jp would inevitably triiger the warning light and the SOP was that you banged out instanter Story had it that a section was taxying out in Holland one day and a No 2 saw smoke belching from his leader's tailpipe and yelped on the RT "Hans, you're on fire. GET OUT!" Hans 1 shut down and climbd out. Hans's 2,3 &4, flying around innocently within a few hundred miles, banged out.
Edited for bad Latin by FV
:o
[ 06 December 2001: Message edited by: Flatus Veteranus ]
Edited for bad Latin by FV
:o
[ 06 December 2001: Message edited by: Flatus Veteranus ]
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BEagle
I remember reading an accident report in the crew room in the early 80's about an apparently identical incident to this involving a Buccaneer in the circuit somewhere. It was around the time a Buc lost a wing during red flag.
The punch line to the report was "Aircrew are requested to refrain from using expletives in the air"
There was another report at around the same period where a Buc beat up a ship in some Norwegian Fjord. If I recall correctly the report stated that the Navigator informed the pilot that he was unimpressed with the manouvre and so the pilot went round for another go of the "If you thought that was low watch this" type. The nav was obviously even more unimpressed as he banged out.
I think that these recollections are correct although it was a long time ago and I was very, very drunk.
I remember reading an accident report in the crew room in the early 80's about an apparently identical incident to this involving a Buccaneer in the circuit somewhere. It was around the time a Buc lost a wing during red flag.
The punch line to the report was "Aircrew are requested to refrain from using expletives in the air"
There was another report at around the same period where a Buc beat up a ship in some Norwegian Fjord. If I recall correctly the report stated that the Navigator informed the pilot that he was unimpressed with the manouvre and so the pilot went round for another go of the "If you thought that was low watch this" type. The nav was obviously even more unimpressed as he banged out.
I think that these recollections are correct although it was a long time ago and I was very, very drunk.
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aspinwing, my first jet instructor gave his rather awed teenage student a variation of that same line – "In the event that we are required to eject, I will say 'eject, eject, eject!' If you hear me say the second 'eject', it will only be because I have a very long mic/tel lead."
---
The other one that comes to mind was probably apocryphal, but reputed to have happened to a trashie student who was having a very bad day. Not very much had gone right and he was more than a little rattled when after a particularly bad final landing, the instructor, taking pity on him, looked across as they taxied back to dispersal and said "Cheer up, Bloggs."
'Cheer' sounds awfully like another word you don't want associated with the word 'up' while the aircraft is on the ground, and the taxi in was terminated rather abruptly as the aircraft graunched down onto its two spinning propellers.
---
Another one that was to bring about a strict 'no unnecessary talk by ANY crewmember during the takeoff roll' amendment to Squadron SOPS was when a Herc Loadmaster, sitting right down the back of the aircraft, decided to tell the second Loadmaster – on interphone – of his purchases in ports exotique quite late in the takeoff roll. "I bought…" was about as far as he got in discussing his shopping before the captain threw the aircraft into full reverse and max braking. One of the more senior Loadies on the squadron, he took a very long time to live that one down.
[ 07 December 2001: Message edited by: Wiley ]
---
The other one that comes to mind was probably apocryphal, but reputed to have happened to a trashie student who was having a very bad day. Not very much had gone right and he was more than a little rattled when after a particularly bad final landing, the instructor, taking pity on him, looked across as they taxied back to dispersal and said "Cheer up, Bloggs."
'Cheer' sounds awfully like another word you don't want associated with the word 'up' while the aircraft is on the ground, and the taxi in was terminated rather abruptly as the aircraft graunched down onto its two spinning propellers.
---
Another one that was to bring about a strict 'no unnecessary talk by ANY crewmember during the takeoff roll' amendment to Squadron SOPS was when a Herc Loadmaster, sitting right down the back of the aircraft, decided to tell the second Loadmaster – on interphone – of his purchases in ports exotique quite late in the takeoff roll. "I bought…" was about as far as he got in discussing his shopping before the captain threw the aircraft into full reverse and max braking. One of the more senior Loadies on the squadron, he took a very long time to live that one down.
[ 07 December 2001: Message edited by: Wiley ]
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On Bulldogs prior to spinning I used to brief Bloggs that if I decided we needed to leave the aircraft I would shout "Jump, Jump, Jump" and he/she was to go first.
I also told them, if he/she didn't hear me, or go quick enough, I also had it written in capitals on the soles of my boots as a reminder.
I also told them, if he/she didn't hear me, or go quick enough, I also had it written in capitals on the soles of my boots as a reminder.
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Another one, perhaps apocryphal: (Can anyone confirm and/or fill in the details)
A blunt was given a ride in a two-seat fast jet. The pilot gave a comprehensive pre-flight briefing, to the effect that "If we have to get out, pull this handle...etc."
The flight was uneventful, and after shutting down, the pilot turned around and said, "Right, let's get out."
Blunt remembered the pre-flight briefing in way too much detail.
A blunt was given a ride in a two-seat fast jet. The pilot gave a comprehensive pre-flight briefing, to the effect that "If we have to get out, pull this handle...etc."
The flight was uneventful, and after shutting down, the pilot turned around and said, "Right, let's get out."
Blunt remembered the pre-flight briefing in way too much detail.