Originally Posted by john_pifer
Originally Posted by Astro14
To quote "Hoser" - "there's no kill like a guns kill!".
Shooting a missile at long range is lethal, but to win the maneuvering fight, to counter move with move, exploiting those corners of the flight envelope that you rarely use to gain tactical advantage and to get such a large advantage that you can get behind another airplane to employ the gun as the killing weapon is so deeply satisfying that it's hard to describe.
I've got lots of gun kill footage of F-15s.
My favorite was going 1V2 (that's one of me against two of them) vs. F-15E's out of Aviano when we were deployed to the Adriatic. My ancient, underpowered F-14A, with its TF-30 engines, vs two of the USAF's finest brand new fighters. They had all the advantages, they outnumbered me, better engines, better radars, better everything...they should have won.
Easily.
Except, well, they didn't know how to use the vertical in maneuvering, and their predictable tactics made them easy kills. I gunned them both on each engagement before they ran low on gas and had to go home.
July 22, 1995. I remember it perfectly because it was my birthday.
Killing Eagles, over and over, with the gun, because their drivers made mistakes.
Best birthday present ever.
Last edited:
