Well the mission report was attributed to Douglas Bader as it had his signature. Eric
> On 08/26/2025 10:17 AM EDT Dan Solon via Mifnet <mifnet@lists.mifnet.com> > wrote: > > > Re Douglas Bader, is it not the case that he would have been blazing away > with eight.303 machine > guns in his Spitfire or Hurricane, whichever he flew. > > Daniel Solon > Still waiting for Air Chief Marshal "Stuffy" Dowding to get the credit he > deserved for winning the Battle of Britain, > and also waiting for broader understanding that Churchill's ultimate ace in > the hole in 1940 was the Royal Navy. > A rerun of 1588 and 1805, when neither the Spaniards nor Napoleon could get > their armies across the Channel. > > On Tue, Aug 26, 2025 at 3:57 PM RWM via Mifnet <mifnet@lists.mifnet.com > mailto:mifnet@lists.mifnet.com> wrote: > > > > > Too close for missiles, too close for guns, going to whatever isn't > > strapped down and can be thrown... > > > > - Bob Mann > > > > > > > > On 8/26/2025 9:26 AM, ERIC Smith via Mifnet wrote: > > > > > Seems to me it wouldn't take much engineering to strap a .50 cal on the > > > underside of that mother and give it some stand-off ability. Even a 7.62 > > > would do. The ghost of Erich Hartmann must be itching for a rematch. > > > > > > When I read about the shotgun it reminded me of a a mission report on the > > > wall of the Douglas Bader pub in Martlesham Heath. "I opened fire at 50 > > > yards and ceased fire 50 feet." So we're back to that I guess. > > > > > > Eric > > > > > > > On 08/26/2025 5:12 AM EDT srbrown via Mifnet <mifnet@lists.mifnet.com> > > > > mailto:mifnet@lists.mifnet.com wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > I'll ride shotgun for you, Eric, as EU laws make me too old to fly > > > > commercially. > > > > > > > > Unless you can do it with a CPL and Class 2 medical. > > > > > > > > Simon > > > > > > > > -------- Original message -------- > > > > From: ERIC Smith via Mifnet <mifnet@lists.mifnet.com> > > > > mailto:mifnet@lists.mifnet.com > > > > Date: 25/08/2025 19:30 (GMT+00:00) > > > > To: "<mifnet@lists.mifnet.com> mailto:mifnet@lists.mifnet.com"; > > > > <mifnet@lists.mifnet.com> mailto:mifnet@lists.mifnet.com > > > > Cc: ERIC Smith <j...@comcast.net> mailto:j...@comcast.net > > > > Subject: [Mifnet 🛰 73796] Retirement Job > > > > > > > > It isn't unusual for airline pilots to retire then find another flying > > > > job for a time. Many end up at Netjets but few of them last more than a > > > > year there. > > > > > > > > Up until now I haven't been interested but something just caught my eye. > > > > > > > > Eric > > > > > > > > https://www.wsj.com/world/ukraine-russia-drone-hunting-e2fea5fc?mod=hp_trendingnow_article_pos4 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Hunting Russian Drones in a Prop Plane With Shotguns and Rifles > > > > > > > > > > > > Ukrainian defenders use an array of unusual methods to fend off attacks > > > > while preserving stockpiles of more advanced tools > > > > > > > > > > > > This month, a beaten-up, Soviet-era propeller-driven plane taxied to a > > > > halt on a rural runway and two of Ukraine’s top air aces clambered out, > > > > one carrying a rifle. The pair, clad in olive-drab flight suits, are > > > > part of a low-tech solution to the high-tech problem of Russian drones > > > > https://www.wsj.com/world/russia-iran-drone-factory-ukraine-aea9bf5b?mod=article_inline. > > > > > > > > The 56-year-old pilot, who learned to fly as a hobby before the war, > > > > and the gunner, 38, a former auto mechanic who had never been in a > > > > plane before the invasion, are part of a squadron dedicated to knocking > > > > down the unmanned Russian attack and reconnaissance aircraft > > > > https://www.wsj.com/world/ukraine-russia-drone-war-adef7e49?mod=article_inline > > > > that are the bane of ground troops and civilians. > > > > > > > > In the past year, these two unlikely air warriors have flown around 300 > > > > combat missions as part of the 11th Army Aviation Brigade and downed > > > > almost half the unit’s total of 120 drones eliminated, according to its > > > > deputy commander, Col. Mykola Lykhatskiy. > > > > > > > > Ukraine has some of the West’s most advanced air defenses > > > > https://www.wsj.com/business/this-new-missile-defense-system-is-challenging-the-patriot-5068e625?mod=article_inline, > > > > including the Patriot missile system. It also has F-16 jets that it > > > > sometimes uses to down missiles and drones. But it has also developed a > > > > series of lower-cost tactics to counter the threat from the skies, > > > > ranging from nets to signal jamming > > > > https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/ukraine-russia-drones-fiber-optic-cable-6c96a9f1?mod=article_inline. > > > > > > > > Soldiers and volunteers also man pickup truck-mounted heavy machine > > > > guns to try to take out explosive-laden Shahed drones. Others use > > > > vintage Soviet missiles fired from launchers made out of reused > > > > shipping containers. > > > > > > > > Then there are the men and flying machines of the 11th. When a drone > > > > appears on military radar screens, crews scramble to their two-seater > > > > Yak-52 trainers, with a sliding glass canopy reminiscent of World War > > > > II fighters. Usually, they are airborne within 15 minutes. > > > > > > > > Their squadron has brought military aviation back to its very > > > > beginnings in World War I, engaging the enemy at close range with a > > > > marksman leaning out of his cockpit with a gun. > > > > > > > > The Yak-52 is so basic that it has no radar of its own and has to fly > > > > in the daytime, when the crew is guided by radio before visual contact. > > > > Their cockpit gets so cold in the winter they need thick jackets, > > > > gloves and old-school, fur-lined flying helmets. > > > > > > > > Pilots sit near their planes waiting for the command to scramble. Like > > > > World War II pilots, they stencil drones they have shot down onto the > > > > side of their plane, which was later destroyed in a Russian missile > > > > attack on their air base. They now have another Yak. > > > > > > > > Their main targets are Orlan and Zala reconnaissance drones, and Shahed > > > > explosive drones. The propeller-driven Orlan and Zala look like a > > > > miniature plane and kite, respectively, while the distinctive > > > > triangular shape of the Shahed has become one of the most recognizable > > > > sights of this war. The propeller-powered models of these drones fly at > > > > speeds of up to 115 miles an hour, making them easy to chase for the > > > > Yak, which can fly at over 180 miles an hour. > > > > > > > > The successes of these planes and helicopters account for around 10% to > > > > 12% of the drones intercepted by Ukraine on a typical day, said > > > > Lykhatskiy. > > > > > > > > > > > > Last month, around 11% of all long-range drones launched by Russia got > > > > through Ukraine’s air defenses, according to data analyzed by the > > > > Center for Information Resilience, a U.K.-based open-source > > > > investigations organization. > > > > > > > > The Ukrainian prop planes will typically fly within 200 to 300 feet of > > > > the drone before the gunner opens the canopy, leans out and fires. > > > > > > > > “There is such great new technology now, yet I am still hanging out of > > > > the cockpit shooting at drones with a shotgun,” said the auto > > > > mechanic-turned gunner. He likened the experience to shooting a gun > > > > while riding a horse. The gunner has tried a number of weapons and > > > > currently favors a German Haenel MK55 automatic rifle. > > > > > > > > Sometimes pilots get so close they can use their plane’s wings to tilt > > > > the drone’s wings and send it off course, said Lykhatskiy. British > > > > pilots used that tactic in World War II against Germany’s V-1, widely > > > > considered the world’s first missile. > > > > > > > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > Revised: 20250507 > > > > > > > > You are receiving The Mifnet because you requested to join this list. > > > > > > > > The Mifnet is largely a labor of love, however the infrastructure isn't > > > > exactly cost-free. 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