Guess they did their nav training with the Royal Marines............:}

witchdoctor....
 

.....B-52 heading for FFD and not BZZ......so who's got THEIR nav wrong now then?

Now West Coast do you get it? Given half a chance the Brits will willingly confess to cock ups ad infinitum. We are more than willing to take the piss out of ourselves. We recognise that we are all mortal and that the only way of dealing with it is to have a bit of fun at our own expense.

Doesn't take away any of the achievements that we have tucked under our belt - including painting most of the world red at some time or other, coping with WWI on our own for 90% of the time and coping with WW2 on our own for the first couple of years when everyone, including you guys, had written us off, and kicking our South American bretheren out of the illegal take over of the Falkland Islands over a huge distance. Yes, we probably couldn't have done it without your help and for that we, and the rest of the Western World, will be eternally grateful. Thank you.

But......fer ****'s sake lighten up. One of your invincible 'can't get anything wrong' bomber crews screwed up. Enjoy! Fortunately this time didn't involve any 'blue on blue' type letters to NOK.

RivetJoint

I guess BZZ must have changed their runway lighting system 'cos B-52's did several dets there in the 80's. G models from Dyess AFB and from March AFB. I went flying with them up the Buffer Zone and I must admit it was a little scary as they had never flown in the ETO before. Total cloud coverage from T/O to landing so no chance of spotting the border. The Lt pilot kept asking the 2nd Lt Navs "Are we the right side of the zone?" The EWO showed me Migs and SAM batteries locking onto us on the RWR. On the way home got bounced by some dutch F-104's and with the tail gunner calling the shots, did some pretty impressive aerobatics. Got off the aircraft carrying a little paper bag!!!

Allan907 see PMs

West Coast Let me tell you how the Brits handles am embarrassing situation like this when YOU guys extract the urine outta US....we generally go red, mumble "Go forth and multiply" then we all have a beer together and get up the next day after a nice lie down and take on the real enemy which happens to be certain gentlemen trying to blow the crap out of both our nations with a lot of fervour and enjoyment.
We CAN take the mick AND still be friends. Lighten up a bit.
'Twas a upcock...enjoy the embarrassment of the crew concerned.
I suspect their Commanding Officer will be trifle less amused though.
:\

I Guess you pilots just don't get!!! You Brits like to talk about the US pilots and say how bad we are but the fact is you guys would sit and do nothing if not for us.. I know there are alot of you pilots than can run the world better than the US so step up and do so... I do not have the time you pilots do to sit and bitch I work for my money.. All you piots come from the same lame place you get paid to do nothing... But you can bitch about a USAF pilot that has screwed up...

Sidman, oooh hit a nerve?

Nothing strike you as common in all these cockups?

ALL the crews, Brit and US SURVIVED. Not only that, as we are talking air displays, bombing cometitions, interational exercises etc, these crews were the BEST at the time yet they all screwed up.

Screwed up but through airmanship they survived.

They will also have learnt a lesson in humility. They will also have taken on board the refresher courses in flight safety.

DON'T ASSUME, CHECK.

Check someone else's work.
Check across the cockpit.
Check the docs.
Check the automatic nav systems.

We also survived as we were able to discuss these cockups, 'there but for the grace of God go I.'

With a rant like that I suspect that Sidman is probably one of those wonderful examples of American civilisation that one sees on the Springer Show. One thing's for sure - he's no pilot (or should that be piot??) - probably need a close examination to see if it is human.

Jer-ry, Jer-ry, Jer-ry

BTW Sidman - we DID rule the world for some hundreds of years - even your little patch of dirt was coloured red on the map for a while. You also speak our language, inherited our customs, and shared our technology. It has been 'Pax Americana' only since 1920 or so - once you guys have settled down you might get it right.

....and I've heard many Americans, even in recent years, still referring to us as the "Mother Country", so we can't be that bad, can we :confused:

Being able to laugh at oneself is one of those qualities that makes us Brits great, IMHO ;)

....along with a likeness for and understanding of sarcasm and irony

allan907,

I know this is rather off topic and I don't want to divert the thread as it's making me snigger, but I am in myth destruction mode this morning, so sorry.

We never "coped with WW1 on our own for 90% of the time"
We were a bit part player compared to the French and Germans which ever way you want to look at it, total numbers comitted, casualties, % of national resources mobilised, effect on national economy and % of population effected.

We may have been there sans the US for most of it, but to say we coped on our own is a gross distortion of historical fact.


Back on topic, was once lounging around at Sherburn aero club when a brace of USAF F-100's beat the living daylights out of the place, leaving a strangely silent and puzzled Church Fenton wondering where it's SSAFA airshow act had got to..............................


On the other hand, an old wizzened FAA mate used to tell a lovely story of doing a display over Leeds City centre for a war weapons week or something similar in a Firebrand, claiming that all railway lines looked a like he had to explain his dazzling display over SHEFFIELD city centre to the subsequent court of enquiry!

PrOOne - OK, fair cop. I plead journalistic licence, or something like that. The point that I was trying to make to the totally insufferable West Coast and the brain dead Sidman, was that they were late to the party.

Last year when the USS Constellation was in port on its way back home from the Gulf, I was given a personal conducted tour by a Lt Cdr and two Lts that we had hosted for a couple of days. Thoroughly nice set of blokes and we had a great time. However, when we left the ship through the official 'front door' there was a pic of the Conny doing replenishment at sea (RAS) and this guy went on about how the US Navy were the only navy able to do this wonderful thing.

I resisted the temptation to tell him that the RN, RAN (and other Navies) did it regularly; that the UK invented the angle deck, the steam catapult, the mirror landing system, jet engine etc etc etc.

With such a myopic view of the world it is perhaps not surprising that WC and Sidman got upset. They probably thought it was a major achievement in the Buff crew just finding the UK:E

Credit where its due, allan - it is not THAT big:D

The American viewpoint is summed up rather well in the movie 'Pearl Harbour' (Harbor?).

Bombs are raining down all over the shop and the hero is asked WIHIH? He says, "I think World War 2 just broke out", obviously unaware that it had actually been going on for slightly over two years at that point.

They certainly seem quite determined not to miss out on the start of the 3rd one!

Taff

Taff Missed, one could very well argue that until Pearl Harbor was attacked there was no true World War. Now true there was a very nasty air war between the Germans and the British (but no ground war as Germany had already conquered Europe.) Japan was in a nasty little war with China and Hitler had made the biggest blunder in modern history by invading Russia. So one could say it was World War one and a half until Pearl Harbor.

Now back to the thread.

Some one earlier pointed out El Paso and Briggs Air force Base in Texas. I have no idea how many times I have landed El Paso and more than a few times at Briggs. (And yes when I landed at Briggs I was supposed to.) However in marginal VFR conditions it is very easy to line up on the wrong airport, even with the ILS tuned. It has happen too more than a few pilots. I of course, being perfect, have never had any such problem (and if you believe that I got some land in Florida I will sell you real cheap!)

Anyway mistakes happen and I will bet you a crisp five-dollar bill to a soggy doughnut that the Aircraft Commander and the Lead Nav. on that B-52 are not any more.
:uhoh:

Scene...Two British LAE's, brothers, one American Pilot, all home from Iran bush operations...locked inside a pub in Oxford on a Sunday afternoon between hours. Also present...a leathery looking older man quietly sipping a pint....and two young loud obiviously intoxicated USAF airmen.

The two youngsters playing the Ugly American role to the hilt...dripping on about the Teabags this...the Teabags that...couldn't fight a war without the Americans...you get my drift here.

I suggested to my drinking buddies that I needed to step over and counsel the two airmen about their manners....but was asked to desist because they did not want any trouble to start which was quite possible seeing the situation and knowing me (I have never been known to be very diplomatic I guess!)

As it turned out...the old feller...gets up from the bar stool...pint in hand...walks over to the airmen...and very politely says..."Won World War II did you laddies? We blew the bugle in "39 and you c--ts did not show up until '42! What took ya so long?"

Standing ovation was given by all...all I repeat....best put down I have ever seen.:ok:

Well, maybe they were hard of hearing; it’s a long way for the notes of a bugle to carry. Sounds like they were a little too young as well.:ok:

'ang on a minute!

If the Yanks had turned up 'on time' in 1939 then WW 2 would have started then, eh?

So they were still late, either way.

No, wait a minute.....oh, I give up.


I notice no-one ever has a dig at the Japanese for turning up late.

Quite a few Yanks did 'turn up' pre-Pearl Harbor...

Ever hear about the Eagle squadrons?

Hey Sidman I assume from your carpet chewing rant, that you are not a Pilot, seeing as how you reckon that you work for a living, but Pilots dont.
Really??....Send your moronic comments to Captain Al Haynes who saved so many lives at Sioux City, or Capt. Eric Moody, who lost ALL (Not a misprint) repeat ALL four engines over Jakarta in a 747, and kept trying time after time to get them relit, and finally succeded saving all on board. Or to the Captain of the Aloha 737 which became a Cabriolet version in flight, or to the Captain of the United 747 which had the side ripped out in flight and lost 9 pax, and the inumerable Military aircrew US and British who gave their lives so you could rant and rave incoherently on this forum.
No....none of these guts did a days work in their lives, did they.??
Keep your racist redneck comments to where they belong.
We were having a good chuckle at the expense of some aircrew who no doubt have had plenty of chuckles from this side of the Atlantic in the past, and no doubt will again, as we will from you lot. Out.