Russian Bombers in the News

[Weston Bye]

Pretty much a non-story, Russian bombers violating US airspace, but here it is from my perspective and experience.
In 1972 & '73 while on the Enterprise, the Russians would fly down from Siberia to pay us a visit while we were enroute to and from Viet Nam. The Shipboard radar could see them coming from so far away that our "scrambling" of interceptors, including the photo recon plane from my squadron, was a leisurely hour process. The RA-5C Vigilante would accompany the F4 Phantom to record the festivities. The photo was take by the plane whose launch I was a part of. If you look really hard, you might see me standing on the flight deck of the Enterprise.



I guess my point is that they wouldn't be violating our airspace unless we let them.

[Weston Bye]

Here it was from my point of view.



Photo shot with an Instamatic and enlarged to the point of gravel.

[Old Hat]

I guess my point is that they wouldn't be violating our airspace unless we let them.

I had a teacher once tell us to be kind and non-provacitive, to avoid conflicts.
My Dad told me Stand and use your best shot.
....That which you avoid, just gets more opportunity to calculate your weaknesses.

PS; Love the pics!!!

[Tony Ennis]

Vlad Putin is smarting from the drubbing he's taking over his inflammation of the crisis in Ukraine and is trying to get attention.

[alanganes]

Just had to say that those are awesome pictures, WB. Gravel and all.

[Duffy]

Weston, is that you with the sun glasses?

[randyjaco]

Propeller driven bombers, even in the 70's couldn't have been too much of a threat. I presume that Russia has more modern bombers these days?
Great pictures
Randy

[Weston Bye]

According to the news reports, they are using these same Bears, propellers and all. Apparently their top speed is somewhat in excess of 500 mph. They do have the jet Badgers, I think, but the Bears are still flying, much like out B-52s.

[TGTool]

There's always been this poking and prodding on both sides from what I can tell. I had a coworker on submarine crew tell about sneaking into Vladivostok harbor and thinking for sure they'd been spotted when they saw the Russian vessel coming right at them. They hit the bottom and prepared for depth charges that never came so it was a near miss. As it was they played possum for about three days, crept out carefully and limped back with a damaged rudder at least.

Clear violation of Russian space but I've no doubt there's constant testing of detection systems for both sides in a way that's both game and serious.

[Willy]

Thanks for the pics and the memories of the Viet Nam era Weston. Great shots, I always get a woody when I see an F-4 Phantom.
As you say pretty well a non-story as the news is full of many air and sea space violations, not just from both sides but from all sides. Playing both political and military head games I suppose.

As you eluded to both the B-52 and the Russian Tu-95 have been in service much longer than their original designers probably ever dreamed they would. Both of these aircraft deserve praise for their timeless service record.
Although a prop driven plane the Tu-95's contra rotating prop configuration gives it a big advantage in fuel efficiency and thus range. It is expected to remain in active service until at least 2040.

[Royldean]

Weston, thank you for sharing these pictures (and stories).

We've recently hired a new employee who grew up in Soviet Russia, and it's great to compare stories about growing up during the cold war. One interesting thing he told me is that in school, they literately had a class in which they learned how to properly wear gas masks, throw grenades, etc.

I informed him that the best we got over here were the cheesy "duck and cover" filmstrips - although those disappeared long before I was in school (born in '76).

[Weston Bye]

As long as I am visiting the subject, here are a few more pictures:

A rare event, there were 4 or 5 US carriers on Yankee Station at one time in 1973, all within sight of each other.

A huge target of opportunity, the powers-that-be must have been confident that no harm would come.
The photo is of America CVA-66 and Enterprise CVAN-65, the two ships I served on. If you look really close, you can see sailors on the flight decks. One of them on the Enterprise really was me.



This is the Vigilante, the type of plane that shot the pictures.


A couple of pictures of the other carriers from the flight deck of the Enterprise, and me, doing some maintenance & "machining".

[krutch]

Bullies always pick on the weak. And we are looking weak, Obama promised to be more flexible after the reelections, our military budgets are being cut, Future weapon systems canceled, and too numerous other examples of weak showings to mention. What do you expect delirious dictators to do? Saddam thumbed his nose at the USA due to the defeat and retreat from Sudan. Said we were a paper tiger.
China is building up their capabilities and expanding their influence. The little plump dork in NK is rattling swords. Iran is defying and outright supporting actions against the US and allies.
What we are seeing is the build up to the next world conflict.
We never learn from history! All the evidence is know from the past yet no one admits the repeating dominos set up.
We can only hope some strong Leader comes to power and averts a new genocide. Not likely.



Edit: Weston, thank you for your service to our country!

[Plain ol Bill]

No doubt about that being an F4 is there? That trailing some trail points right to it.

[MichaelP]

The West makes the same mistake with Putin as it made with Hitler. It's disheartening to see how this bully took pieces of Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine and continue moving toward a full blown war any day now. Meanwhile our guy and European leaders, mostly, "express concern".